Got to Dance, originally titled Just Dance, is a British dance competition that was broadcast on Sky One in the United Kingdom from 20 December 2009 to 28 December 2014. Auditions for the show were held in specially built "Dance Domes" and are open to all dance acts of any age, style or size but must be of an amateur level.
The show was hosted by Davina McCall, with Ashley Banjo and Kimberly Wyatt as judges. In series 1 to 3, Adam Garcia was a judge but was replaced by Aston Merrygold in series 4. However, on 31 January 2014, Merrygold announced that he would be leaving the show. Garcia returned as a judge for series 5 in 2014. Since series 2, the prize money is £250,000 for the winning act. On 24 October 2014, it was announced that series 5 would be the last.
Format There were five stages to the competition:
Stage 1: Producers' auditions (these auditions decide who will perform in front of the judges, but they are not broadcast or acknowledged on the show) Stage 2: Judges' auditions Stage 3: Callbacks (some acts may have to perform again at this stage for a place in the semi-finals) Stage 4: Live Semi-finals (each act performs in one semi-final, with only two advancing to the final, three in series 5) Stage 5: Live Final
Voting Viewers in both Ireland and the United Kingdom could vote via Phone, Red Button (through Sky TV only) or via the official iPhone application, which was introduced in the second series. Viewers could vote for free using the Got to Dance website, which was introduced in the fourth series.
Series overview Series Year(s) Time Main presenter Judges Winner (dance style) Prize money12010January–FebruaryDavina McCall Ashley BanjoAdam GarciaKimberly WyattAkai Osei (Street)£100,00022011Chris and Wes (Street) £250,00032012January–March Prodijig (Irish stepdance)42013Ashley BanjoKimberly WyattAston MerrygoldLukas McFarlane (Contemporary)52014 August Ashley BanjoKimberly WyattAdam GarciaDuplic8 (Street)(mentored by Adam Garcia)
Series 1 (2010) Auditions for the first series were held in October 2009 in Edinburgh, Manchester and London.
The winning act, 10-year-old Akai, won the £100,000 prize money.
Semi-finalists
Jukebox Juniors from Ely Bhangra Heads from Coventry Emily from Edinburgh Parallel from Uxbridge Status from Leeds Martin Sierra from Norway Kane Ricca from St Albans Raw Edge from Blanchardstown Beyond Repair from London
MJ Latin from Preston DNA from Telford Matthew Koon from Whitefield Dance Dynamix from Liverpool Fancy Feet from Dungannon The Box from Glasgow Unity Youth from East London Eclipse from Cardiff Akai Osei from Lambeth
Semi-finals The live semi-finals for Got to Dance 2010 began on Sunday 24 January 2010. There were six acts in each live semi-final (18 in total). Each act performed in one semi-final each with only 2 advancing to the final. The judges awarded gold stars to the acts they believed deserved a place in the final and red stars to the ones who have not quite delivered the performance that they were hoping for.
Semi Final 1 (24 January) OrderContestant(s) Song(s) performed toStarsResultAdamKimberlyAshley1Jukebox Juniors "Let's Groove" by Earth, Wind & Fire "Around the World" by Daft Punk "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" by Wham! "Breakin'... There's No Stopping Us" by Ollie & Jerry "Jump" by Kris Kross★★★Advanced2Bhangra Heads "Heer" by Jags Klimax★★★Eliminated3 Emily "Uninvited" by Alanis Morissette★★★Advanced4Parallel "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince "Bonkers" by Dizzee Rascal "It's Not Unusual" by Tom Jones "U Can't Touch This" by MC Hammer★★★Eliminated5 Status "Forever" by Chris Brown "The Unbirthday Song" from Alice in Wonderland "Push Up" by Freestylers★★★Eliminated6Martin Sierra "Paparazzi" by Lady Gaga "Hung Up" by Madonna "Hey Ya!" by Outkast "Fighter" by Christina Aguilera★★★Eliminated
Semi Final 2 (31 January) OrderContestant(s) Song(s) performed toStarsResultAdamKimberlyAshley1Kane Ricca "Somebody Told Me" by The Killers★★★Eliminated2Raw Edge "Main Title (Theme From 'Jaws')" from Jaws "Street Player" by Chicago★★★Eliminated3 Beyond Repair★★★Eliminated4MJ Latin "The Way You Make Me Feel" by Michael Jackson "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" by Michael Jackson "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough" by Michael Jackson★★★Advanced5 DNA"Gossip Folks" by Missy Elliott feat Ludacris★★★Eliminated6Matthew Koon "Stop and Stare" by OneRepublic ★★★Advanced
Semi-final 3 (7 February) OrderContestant(s) Song(s) performed toStarsResultAdamKimberlyAshley1Dance Dynamix"Tik Tok" by Ke$ha Evacuate the Dancefloor" by Cascada ★★★Eliminated2Fancy Feet"Hot n Cold" by Katy Perry★★★Eliminated3The Box"Hallelujah" by Alexandra Burke★★★Advanced4Unity Youth "Spaceman" by Babylon Zoo "Star Wars Theme" from Star Wars★★★Eliminated5Eclipse "Do Your Thing" by Basement Jaxx★★★Eliminated6Akai "Pump It Up" by Joe Budden "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" by Michael Jackson "Lose Control" by Missy Elliott ★★★Advanced
Live Final (14 February) Order Contestant(s) Song(s) performed to Number of Gold stars Result1 Emily "Cry Me a River" by Michael Bublé "Run" by Leona Lewis ★★★Eliminated2 MJ Latin "I Want You Back" by Jackson 5"The Love You Save" by Jackson 5 "Rockin' Robin" by Michael Jackson ★Eliminated3 The Box "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey ★★Top 34 Akai Osei "Apache" "Freeze" by T-Pain "It Takes Two" by Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock ★★★Winner5 Matthew Koon"Beautiful Day" by U2 ★★★Eliminated6 Jukebox Juniors "Ease On down the Road" from The Wiz "I Can Make You Dance" by Zapp "Robot Rock" by Daft Punk ★★★Top 3
Series 2 (2011) A second series of Got to Dance began with a special "Warm Up" show that was broadcast on 19 December 2010 then fully on 2 January 2011. The prize money for the second series was £250,000, the largest cash give-away on a television talent show (at the time).
The format of the second series of Got to Dance was slightly different to the first series. There were eight audition shows followed by four live semi-finals, and a live final at Olympia, London on 27 February 2011 in front of an audience of 6,000 people. The dance dome auditions for the series were held in Glasgow, Dublin & London.
The winning act, Chris and Wes, won the £250,000 prize money.
Callbacks At the Callbacks, the judges could not decide between eight of the acts so they organised a dance-off to fill the last four semi-final places. The acts in each category had to "face-off" their opponent with one dance; the judges then decided the winner of the each "face-off" and that act went through to the live semi-finals.
The eight acts in the dance-off were:
Alleviate (won) vs Sean and Stacey, Dance Dynamix (won) vs Frameous, Lauren Hair (won) vs Natalie, Addam McMillian vs Crazy Popper (paired as duo named Liquid Metallic)
Semi Finalists
Alleviate from Flintshire & London Back2Back from Wolverhampton Bolly-Flex from Tower Hamlets Cerebro from Tottenham Chris & Wes from Hayes Damhsa Dreams from Geashill Dance Dynamix from Liverpool Ella from Cornwall Elmes 3 Style from Southend-on-Sea Eruption from Port Talbot Ghetto Fabulous from Dublin Guyz in Sync from Walthamstow Lauren from Greenock Liquid Metallic from various places
Luke from Mansfield Mystic Force from Galway Octavia from Romania Podilya from Manchester QMX from Nottingham Razzle Dazzle from Belfast Shockarellas from Trafford Synergy from Southampton Tamara from Musselburgh Tap Attack from various places Trilogy from South London Trinity Warriors from Derby Turbo from London Two's Company from Belfast
Semi-finals The live semi-finals for Got to Dance 2011 began on Sunday 30 January 2011. There were seven acts in each live semi-final (28 in total). Each act performed in one semi-final each with only 2 advancing to the final. The judges awarded gold stars to the acts they believed deserved a place in the final.
Semi-final 1 (30 January) OrderContestant(s) Song(s) performed toStarsResultAdamKimberlyAshley1Cerebro"She's Got That Vibe" by R. Kelly "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love" by Usher "Workin' Day and Night" by Michael Jackson "Wannabe" by Spice Girls "U Can't Touch This" by MC Hammer★★★Eliminated2Podilya★★★Eliminated3Luke "Barcelona" by Freddie Mercury★★★Eliminated4Chris and Wes"Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson "Like I Love You" by Justin Timberlake "Ante Up" by M.O.P. "Mysterious Girl" by Peter Andre "Red Alert" by Basement Jaxx★★★Advanced5Eruption "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough" by Michael Jackson "Yeah Yeah" by Bodyrox feat. Luciana "Whip My Hair" by Willow★★★Eliminated6Alleviate"Love the Way You Lie" by Rihanna★★★Advanced7Ghetto Fabulous "She Wants To Move" by N.E.R.D. "On to the Next One" by Jay-Z "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" by Marilyn Manson★★★Eliminated
Semi-final 2 (6 February) OrderContestant(s) Song(s) performed toStarsResultAdamKimberlyAshley1Shockarellas"Ching-a-Ling" by Missy Elliott "Get Ur Freak On" by Missy Elliott "Lick Shots" by Missy Elliott ★★★Eliminated2Guys in Sync"Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen★★★Eliminated3Damhsa Dreams"Siamsa" by Ronan Hardiman★★★Eliminated4QMX"1999" by Prince "My Humps" by Black Eyed Peas "Rule the World" by Take That★★★Eliminated5Ella"Your Song" by Ellie Goulding★★★Eliminated6Turbo"I Feel for You" by Chaka Khan "Touch It" by Busta Rhymes "Day 'n' Nite" by Kid Cudi vs Crookers★★★Advanced7Dance Dynamix "Beautiful Monster" by Ne-Yo "Take Over Control" by Afrojack feat Eva Simons★★★Advanced
Semi-final 3 (13 February) OrderContestant(s) Song(s) performed toStarsResultAdamKimberlyAshley1Elmes 3 Style"Supermassive Black Hole" by Muse★★★Eliminated2Octavia"Nara" by E.S. Posthumus★★★Eliminated3Trilogy"Closer" by Ne-Yo "It's Raining Men" by The Weather Girls The Way I Are"—Timbaland feat. Keri Hilson★★★Eliminated4Tap Attack"Spybreak!" by Propellerheads★★★Eliminated5Two's Company"Illuminated" by Hurts★★★Advanced6Back2Back"Hotel Room Service" by Pitbull "Kaun-Nee-Jaandah" by PBN★★★Eliminated7Lauren"Make You Feel My Love" by Adele★★★Advanced
Semi-final 4 (20 February) OrderContestant(s) Song(s) performed toStarsResultAdamKimberlyAshley1Tamara"Drumming Song" by Florence and the Machine "You've Got the Love" by Florence and the Machine★★★Eliminated2Mystic Force"Rude Boy" by Rihanna (cover)★★★Eliminated3Liquid Metallic"Where’s My Money (Caspa Remix)" by TC "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" by Daft Punk★★★Eliminated4Synergy"Let's Get Loud" by Jennifer Lopez★★★Eliminated5Razzle Dazzle"The Salmon Dance" (Crookers 'Wow' Mix) by The Chemical Brothers "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion "Rock That Body" by Black Eyed Peas "We R Who We R" by Kesha★★★Advanced6Bolly-Flex★★★Eliminated7Trinity Warriors"Jump Around" by House of Pain "Pass Out" by Tinie Tempah★★★Advanced
Final The live final was 90 minutes long (taking place at Olympia) and featured the eight dance acts that made it through the semi-finals as well as a special performance from 2010's winner Akai Osei and dance troupe Diversity. After the acts performed there was a 6-minute window for voting. For the first time in a UK entertainment program, viewers could vote using a specially designed application for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.
Live Final (27 February) OrderContestant(s) Song(s) performed toNumber of Gold starsResult1Razzle Dazzle"Fancy Footwork" by Chromeo "Ice Ice Baby" by Vanilla Ice "Born This Way" by Lady Gaga★★Top 32Lauren"Who You Are" by Jessie J★★Eliminated3Chris and WesOne More Time" by Daft Punk "Just the Two of Us" by Will Smith "Anyway" by Duck Sauce "Don't Cha" by Pussycat Dolls "One" by Swedish House Mafia ★★★Winners4Dance Dynamix"Hold It Against Me" by Britney Spears★Eliminated5TurboI Need Air by Magnetic Man feat Angela Hunte ★★★Eliminated6Two's Company"Fix You" by ColdplayEliminated7Trinity Warriors"Rockin to the Beat" by Black Eyed Peas "American Boy" by Estelle "Kids That Love to Dance" by Professor Green feat Emeli Sandé★★Eliminated8Alleviate"Someone Like You" by Adele★★★Top 3
Series 3 (2012)