So You Think You Can Dance (U.S. Season 2)

So You Think You Can Dance (U.S. Season 2)

The second season of So You Think You Can Dance premiered May 25, 2006, with new host Cat Deeley.

On August 16, Benji Schwimmer was announced as the winner of season 2 and received the grand prize of $100,000, a new hybrid SUV, and a one-year contract with Celine Dion's Las Vegas show, A New Day.... Schwimmer almost did not make the show's top 20 — he was officially first runner-up dancer in case any of the male dancers ran into unforeseen difficulties prior to the start of filming. As it happened, for the second year in a row, Hokuto Konishi was unable to get his visa cleared to work in the U.S. in time for the first taping, and he was cut. Schwimmer took his spot in the Top 20 and fared well from the start, garnering consistent praise from the judges and votes from viewers. Schwimmer and fellow grand finalist Donyelle Jones, who were paired as a couple from the first performance episode, became the first contestants in the show's run to never face elimination from being in the bottom six or bottom 4 dancers.