So You Think You Can Dance is a United States television reality program and dance competition airing on the Fox Broadcasting Company network. Season four premiered on May 22, 2008, with Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy returning as permanent judges and Cat Deeley returning to host. Joshua Allen was announced as the winner on August 7, 2008, the first hip-hop dancer to win the title. Auditions Open auditions for this season were expanded to the following six cities: For the first time, New York City was not a stop on the audition tour. To be able to audition, contestants had to be between the ages of 18 and 30 and able to be legally employed in the United States. Partner auditions were allowed. Las Vegas week Over 200 contestants who impressed the judges in the initial auditions each received a plane ticket to a challenging week of callback auditions at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The week consisted of multiple rounds of choreography, with dancers cut from the competition every round. This season, the rounds included a hip-hop routine with Napoleon D'umo and Tabitha D'umo, a Broadway number with Tyce Diorio, the foxtrot with Jean-Marc Généreux, group choreography, contemporary choreography with Mia Michaels, and a final solo for the remaining contestants. Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy were part of the judging panel for the week, along with Debbie Allen, Mia Michaels, Napoleon D'umo and Tabitha D'umo. Finals Format As in seasons 2 and 3, the finals began with 20 contestants, ten male and ten female. After partners are assigned, couples pick a dance style out of a hat, are rehearsed by a choreographer, and perform their routine. Following the airing of the performances, home viewers vote for their favorite couple. The bottom three couples (six dancers overall) are then liable for elimination by the judges on the live, or broadcast on Broadcast delay in the western United States, results show. All six dancers perform a solo, after which the judges eliminate one male and one female contestant. If the eliminated dancers are not from the same couple, their respective partners form a new pair for the following week's performances. Once the field of dancers is narrowed down to the top 10, permanent partnerships dissolve and contestants draw their new partners from a hat each week. The judges no longer have any say in the elimination