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LPMA wrote:

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The fact that Blake is in it completely turned me off.

Ya, it made me vomit a bit when I heard as well. BUT this is about the dancers and hopefully his presence wont be too obtrusive.

Tre Armstrong looks like she will be my favorite judge, but time will tell. I also am thinking that Tre is dancing in the commercial with Blake. What a novel concept, having actual working dancers judging routines.

New 'Dance' promo hits the air during the U.S. Finale

Updated Fri. Aug. 8 2008 2:32 PM ET

Lindsay Zier-Vogel, CTV.ca

If you thought the first So You Think You Can Dance Canada TV promo was hot, you ain't seen nothin' yet. The first "Call to Action" spot featured Kat De Luna's infectious song, "Whine Up" and got Canada wondering, 'Can you spin? Can you jump?'

In the new promo, The Pussycat Dolls sing "When I grow up, I wanna be famous I wanna be a star..." and this promo asks no questions. Instead, there's just a single statement: "It's about time."

Maestro McGrath

Airing during the Season Finale of the U.S. So You Think You Can Dance, the new Canadian promo features Canadian guest judge Blake McGrath as both the choreographer and lead dancer. Decked out in a three piece suit, complete with a top hat and cane, McGrath is the maestro of the promo.

"The first "Call to Action" promo was really well received," CTV Creative Agency's promotions producer and director Cosimo Zitani says. "So with this one...we had to let it evolve. We wanted to see if we could blow it out of the water."

"We wanted to give it a theatrical feel and really hype people up that the show's about to start," McGrath says. "We [took] it to a more edgy, high fashion world."

Haute Couture Meets Vintage Goth

The jeans and hoodies from the first promo are replaced with top hats and cumberbunds and three piece suits with the girls decked out in couture skirts with big belts, amazing hats and loads of tulle. "I didn't want to go the basic route, but wanted to push it stylistically," McGrath says of the visual choices he made.

"I see it as having a haute couture vintage goth feeling," Zitani adds.

Room To Room

McGrath and Zitani transformed the Guvernment nightclub on Toronto's lakeshore into a dance-crazed fashion show, complete with chandeliers and water and glitter. Each of the different rooms holds a different choreographic flavour.

The black and white room was where a lot of the hard-hitting choreography took place, McGrath notes, where the pink hued room with the pink chandelier was deemed 'the girlie' room. "The colour is just amazing," McGrath says excitedly.

In the water scene, McGrath had the dancers take showers in full wardrobe. "It was crazy," he says. "We wanted to get dirty and get silly and just roll around in [the water]. There was set choreography, but really we just got into it."

Zitani was impressed with McGrath's enthusiasm and commitment, especially in the water scene: "He really puts his heart and soul into it as a choreographer and a dancer. He jumps right in there. It's just a joy to work with an artist and performer like that."

The Process: Inside and Outside

McGrath has danced in many commercials before, from Hummer ads to iPod spots, so what was it like to be both inside the process as a dancer and outside the process as the choreographer? "It was a blast," he says.

Before this promo, Zitani has worked extensively with dancers and dance film and says he's spent a lot of time learning the art of collaborating with choreographers. "I like to be there during the casting and rehearsal processes...It is about establishing a bond with the choreographer so they trust you."

It was a quick process for the nine Canadian dancers. They arrived for a freestyling audition on Friday and if Zitani and McGrath liked what they saw, they asked the dancers to come back for a closed audition. They chose the top nine dancers within an hour on Friday and they started in on the choreography right away. Rehearsals on Friday and Saturday were followed by a costume fitting on Sunday and they filmed the entire promo on Monday.

Editing and Choreographing

Though McGrath choreographed the movement, Zitani notes the editor takes on the choreographic role in the editing room. "That's why I try to absorb as much of the choreographer's style in the process," he says. "I want to make sure the vision stays true."

"Be careful what you wish for..."

As the dancers blow gold glitter in slow motion, covering the pink room in gold, The Pussycat Dolls sing: "Be careful what you wish for 'cause you just might get it."

That's right Canada, you've wished for it, your very own So You Think You Can Dance, and it's on its way...