‘So You Think You Can Dance’: Guinness record-setting Dance Dance Revolution event

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When it comes to auditioning before ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ executive producer and judge Nigel Lythgoe, it helps to stand out. ‘Whenever you can attach a label to somebody, you stand a chance of being successful,” revealed Lythgoe during an interview last week. “So we’ll say ‘farmboy,’ ‘rollerskate girl,’ ‘big-boob girl,’ ‘small-bum girl,’ you know, anything.”

But on the season premiere of ‘So You Think You Can Dance” on Thursday night, being ‘underwear guy’ wasn’t such a good thing. When a dancer took to the stage in tighty-whiteys and nothing more, Nigel was too distracted to judge and rejected the scantily clad contestant. ‘It was a bold statement,’ admitted the dancer after hearing the news. ‘I’ll try something more – uh – clothed next year.’

And underwear guy was hardly the only stand-out at auditions. Returning rejects ‘Gold Inferno’ and ‘Sex’ also took to the stage again Thursday – and got rejected anew. The rejects were as wily as ever when they got sent home. ‘They’re racist against tall people,’ insisted one especially livid reject.

But not everybody at auditions went home angry. Lythgoe proclaimed one dancer ‘my favorite dancer of 2008,’ and the judges all agreed that another had ‘the ‘it’ factor.”

Even though “So You Think You Can Dance” just returned this week, I’ve been on the beat since last Monday, when I attended a record-setting “SYTYCD” event at the Nokia Theatre. The mission: to perform the largest simultaneous dance mat routine in history, a la Dance Dance Revolution. To set a new Guinness World Record, “SYTYCD” needed at least 100 people to participate in a dance pad performance for at least five minutes.

DDR and ‘SYTYCD’ enthusiasts began to congregate at 3 p.m., in the swelter of the Nokia Theatre courtyard. One hundred dance pads were assembled, and some solid prizes awaited the dancers: a video game console, a dance video game and mat, a 23-inch LCD flat-screen television and a year’s supply of Wrigley Extra gum. The gum was piled high on a table in the courtyard; a veritable mountain of Island Cooler, Sweet Watermelon and Strawberry Banana. By my calculations, it was a year’s supply of gum for somebody with about 15 mouths.

KIIS-FM’s Dave Styles was there to keep the sweaty crowd pumped, and a mysterious energy drink with a “SYTYCD” label was there to help Styles with his mission.

The event drew an eclectic crowd, a spray-tanned and pedicured blond stood beside a disabled dance enthusiast, who stood beside a gregarious wannabe belly-dancer in a lacy pink top and sequined shawl. The only thing they all had in common was their bright orange “SYTYCD” sweatbands.

As the dancers took to their mats, Styles informed them that they were about to be led by “someone who’s dedicated their life to DDR.” When the man in question emerged, he hardly looked like the type to dedicate his “life to DDR.” Tall, dark, handsome and buff, our caller demanded respect as he mounted his dance pad, clad in dark jeans, a black tank and a black beanie. A few rows back, a dancer meditated and stretched in the hot sun.

People from Guinness huddled around a timer, waiting for the event to begin. Access Hollywood, E! and Fox 11 News stood by as Lythgoe arrived to greet the attendees. “Thank you so much for turning up here, especially in this heat,” Lythgoe exclaimed. “Enjoy yourselves. Make sure you get lots of water. Lots of liquid.”

And with that, the fun began. “Right, right … Left, left … Up, left, down, c’mon!” instructed the caller. The choreography sped up, and more than one dancer gave up and started booty-shaking instead. About two minutes in, even the caller got tripped up. As it turned out, five minutes was a really long time to mat-dance, especially in the heat. Some dancers gave up and played leapfrog on the mats, while other dancers kept their eyes glued to the screen, determined not to miss a step.

“Y’all wanna stop or you wanna keep going?” inquired the caller, when the five minutes were finally up. “Let’s keep going!” he shouted, answering his own question. Sweat poured down his face as he clapped and spun to the blaring music. “I know I’m looking like my face is melting, but that’s OK!” he shouted in encouragement. Finally, at nine minutes and 56 seconds, 100 very sweaty people called it quits. Their makeup melted, hair askew, but they were placated by the knowledge that they were “a part of history today” – and by a steady stream of disco ball key chains and very fruity gum.

After the event, Lythgoe had to rush back into the Nokia Theatre, where he was watching rehearsals for the finale of his other show, “American Idol.’ I walked with Lythgoe to get his take on the “SYTYCD” event. When I asked who came up with the idea for the Guinness World Record mat dance, Lythgoe replied, “Who came up with the idea? I don’t know… It’s basically a publicity stunt to get you guys out here and to advertise the fact that we’ve got the premiere on Thursday, and so I can only congratulate whoever came up with the idea. And they did it on my doorstep while I’m doing the [“Idol”] finale!”

For more of Lythgoe’s trademark honesty, watch him judge “So You Think You Can Dance.” The first episode aired Thursday, but you can catch it when Fox rebroadcasts the episode at 8 p.m. Monday. Or, for “SYTYCD” pundit Claire Zulkey’s wrap-up, click here.

-- Stephanie Lysaght