Huh. That's a really big change.

No shit. More "Dancing With The Stars" than SYTYCD.

Yeah, I'm looking a little askance at this whole thing. I'm trying to reserve judgment, but I really don't get the motivation.

That just sounds effed up. Did they run out of good dancers to put on the show???

right? how long is this season going to be? it sounds like this will finish up by July 4th.

10 weeks, right? 10 finalists, one eliminated per week.

I'm of too minds. I was hoping for an All-star season, and this sort of gets me what I want from that, maybe. But on the other hand, I don't get pairing dancers we know with dancers we don't know.

9 weeks, right? Have a finale with 2 remaining dancers?

Right, that makes sense. But it's the same as doing 20 dancers and sending two home each week. I think.

I hate this change and Nigel and Co. will really have to go some to change my mind. First, I have no confidence in who Nigel would choose as an "all star". I have a feeling we're going to wind up with a lot more supposed fan favorites like Mischa Chan, Chbeeb, and the Tween Terror and a lot fewer Travis and Danny and Janine. Second, if I'm going to get all stars, then I want a real all stars season, not this wannabe DwtS. If I wanted to watch that show, i'd watch it. Third, the problems with the show last season had little to do with the format. They had a few awesome, high profile contenders drop out very early in the season which left us with a less than stellar cast. The choreography was very uneven. Again they lost one of their most consistent choreographers in Mia, and it's imperative that they address the quality issue with their stable of hip hop choreographers if they want to continue to have that as a category on this show. Also, the experiments with world dance styles has been a huge bust except for Bollywood. Make it stop. Finally, the permanent three judge panel just does not work. I missed the variety of voice, even if that voice was as incoherent as that of Cecily and Olissa. Go back to the days of Nigel and a rotating cast of guest judges. Mary, and even Shankdaddy to an extent, is best in small doses. Bring at least one new choreographer and have them sit on panel each week. Any of those fixes would do more for the show than thus innovation. I may be proven wrong and it may turn out to be the best thing since sliced bread, but ad of today, I officially pre-hate it.

Somehow, I believe these changes have something to do with $$. I'm not sure if having this set up means they have better control over who goes out on tour (and thus can make sure the tour makes $$) or if the talent this year isn't as strong as they would like and so they are covering with "all-stars."

The ratings weren't great last year, so this might be the last Hail Mary.