Photo credit: Adam Rose/FOX

It’s always an honor to be asked back to So You Think You Can Dance to be an All-Star. Sure, it’s a steady job in the middle of the summer, but the importance of the role has grown over the years. It’s more than just a one-week cameo; they are considered a series regular cast member.

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This year the fight for a strong team is even more evident. Some of the returning All-Stars from Season 13 have the experience to understand how it’s important to not only to have a technically versatile dancer, but also someone they can mentor for the live shows. It’s a journey to make it to the finals.

The other aspect that is extremely important is personality. We know the entire All-Star group has tons of personality, but do the contestants? That’s the question they have to answer for themselves in picking the right contestant.

Executive producer Jeff Thacker gave them more freedom this year as well. It was mentioned quite a bit during Academy Week that the All-Stars were encouraged to pick outside of their genre. Once the full Top 10 has been revealed, I think you will even find it hard to categorize some of the contestants because they are that strongly cross-trained.

There are some interesting dynamics with the All-Stars they picked this season, too. There was a lot of emotion that went into deciding on the right contestant — sometimes with familiar faces and sometimes with fresh faces. That’s what makes the element of uncertainty quite exciting for Season 14 — it might not be the experienced professional who goes home with the title of “America’s Favorite Dancer.”

Photo credit: Adam Rose/FOX

If there’s one thing I appreciate with all of the All-Stars is how grateful they are to grace the SYTYCD stage each week. The show has been a gift to their careers and they love to be there because it’s family and because it’s home.

For more insight on this year’s group of All-Stars, watch my ‘To The Pointe With Kristyn Burtt’ interview with Allison Holker:

Comfort Fedoke:

This article was originally written for Dance Network.

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