Dance Moms alum Maddie Ziegler will be on FOX’s So You Think You Can Dance not as a contestant but as judge.
I guess when you’re 13 and already have a successful professional career, there is little else to do but start to offer advice to others. Ziegler joins Paula Abdul, Jason Derulo, and series co-creator and executive producer Nigel Lythgoe on the panel of judges. Cat Deely will be returning to the show as the host.
Season 13 of the dance competition series on FOX has been titled So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation. Deadline reports The show is going to be different than in past seasons because the age limit used to be 30, but now it’s 13. This season, the contestants will be kids, ranging in ages from 8-13. As a child star and professional dancer herself, Ziegler is in a unique position to help guide other young dancers on their path to stardom.
According to E! Online, in a statement released about the addition to the judges’ panel, FOX said Ziegler will “lend her expertise as a young dancer to critique and praise the contestants as they battle it out during the studio shows this summer.”
“Through the Dizzy Feet Foundation, I’ve had the great privilege of working with incredible young talent who will eventually shape the future of dance in this country,” said Lythgoe. “By evolving the So You Think You Can Dance format this season, we can showcase the very best junior dancers out there and open up the world of dance to a whole new generation.”
Ziegler rose to fame on the popular show Dance Moms. She joined the series in 2011 and quickly stood out as an extremely talented dancer. She got her start on Dance Moms, but then went on to star in Sia’s “Chandelier,” “Elastic Heart,” and “Big Girls Don’t Cry” music videos which took the internet by storm. The “Chandelier” music video currently has over 1 billion views on YouTube. (Yes, you did read that correctly.)
Ziegler may have had her start in dance, but she is also an aspiring actress, appearing in shows such as Pretty Little Liars and Austin & Ally. She will be making her feature debut in the upcoming The Book of Henry, and she is currently the face of Capezio dancewear.