You Can Dance – Po prostu tańcz!
Created by	Simon Fuller Nigel Lythgoe
Directed by	Roch Fortin Bartosz Łabęcki
Presented by	Kinga Rusin (series 1-5) Patricia Kazadi (series 6-9)
Judges	Agustin Egurolla (series 1-9) Michał Piróg (series 1-9) Maciej Florek (series 9) Ida Nowakowska (series 9) Weronika Marczuk-Pazura (series 1-4) Anna Mucha (series 5) Kinga Rusin(series 6 - 8)
Country of origin	Poland
No. of seasons	9
No. of episodes	117 + 3 specials
Production
Executive producers	Ewa Leja (TVN) Grzegorz Piekarski (Golden Media Poland)
Production locations	Various cities (auditions); Various cities around the world (choreography camps); live shows: Studio in Janki (series 1 - 4); Farat Film Studio, Warsaw (series 5 - 7); Transcolor Studio, Szeligi near Warsaw (series 8 -)
Running time	45 mins auditions and choreography camp episodes 75 mins live shows
Production companies	Golden Media Poland Endemol Poland (series 8) Conrad Sewell Productions, Inc. (series 9)
Original release
Network	TVN
Release	5 September 2007 (2007-09-05) – 6 June 2012 (2012-06-06)
Release	2 March 2015 (2015-03-02) – 18 May 2016 (2016-05-18)
Related
You Can Dance – Nowa generacja (TVP; 2021, 2023)

You Can Dance – Po prostu tańcz! (You Can Dance – Just Dance!) is a televised Polish dance competition with a format based on the American show So You Think You Can Dance. Dancers compete to win PLN 100,000, and a 3-month scholarship in dance school Broadway Dance Center and International Dance Academy in Los Angeles from season 7 on. The winners to date are (in order of season): Maciek "Gleba" Florek, Artur Cieciórski, Wiola Fiuk, Ania Kapera, Jakub Jóżwiak, Dominik Olechowski, Brian Poniatowski, Mateusz Sobecko and Stefano Silvino.

Format

As with most entries in the So You Think You Can Dance franchise, dancers are chosen by expert judges who pick an initial pool of talent from open auditions. In the Polish iteration, these dancers (usually numbering 36) then travel to advanced multidisciplinary workshops in countries abroad (equivalent to the 'Vegas Week' or 'Boot Camp' portions of other So You Think You Can Dance shows). Over successive waves of choreography rounds, the judges ultimately select 16 (seasons 1–4) or 14 (seasons 5-present) contestants to compete in the live competition shows. In the live portion of the competition, the Top 16 or 14 dancers compete as couples in duets and in group routines, competing for home viewer votes, with a bottom three couples picked by judges most nights and the male and female dancers garnering the fewest votes being eliminated. Each Season ends with a Top 3 or Top 2 finale.

Open auditions

The open auditions, the first stage in determining a season's finalists, take place in 5–6 major Polish cities each season and are typically open to anyone aged 16–30 at the time of their audition. The cities where auditions are held change from season to season but some, such as Warszawa and Gdańsk, Wrocław have featured in most seasons. This stage is divided into two parts: first is the pre-casting phase, in which dancers perform an improvised routine to the music given by pre-casting judges (usually choreographers). Dancers chosen to advance to the next round receive a blue wristband. During this next stage, dancers perform their routine (typically a solo, but duet and group routines are allowed as well) before a panel of show judges. This panel then decides on-the-spot whether the dancer demonstrated enough ability and performance value to proceed further. If the dancer exhibited exceptional ability in their performance, judges award a "ticket" to the next round, (the workshops), which are held each season in a city outside of Poland. Alternatively, if judges are on the fence about the dancer, they will ask the contestant to wait until the end of that day's auditions to participate in a short test of their ability to pick up professional choreography.

Workshops

The second stage of the selection process is a seven-day-long process in which the remaining dancers are tested for overall well-rounded dance ability, stamina, and their ability to perform under pressure. The dancers are put through a series of dance styles that are later prominent in the competition phase, such as hip-hop, jazz, ballroom and contemporary. Judges eliminate dancers during certain lessons by giving them yellow and red cards. After approximately three days, dancers perform in front of the judges and there are cuts after every genre. Remaining dancers advance to the final choreography round which features a special guest choreographer (often these are choreographers connected to original U.S. version of the show: Tyce Diorio, Wade Robson, Brian Friedman). At the end of the workshops, usually less than 30 competitors remain in a pool that final contestants are chosen from. Most seasons have featured 16 top finalists for the competition portion of the show, but from season 5 through the most recent seasons, a Top 14 has been selected

Finalist selection

Finalists are selected during the final session at the end of workshops week. Dancers perform their final choreographed routine (usually in groups of 5 or 6) in front of the judges panel and the guest choreographer. After all groups have performed, the judges panel addresses each remaining contestant individually and reveals whether they will remain in the competition for the live shows, though sometimes they may ask for one last solo before making this determination.

Top 16/Top 14 to Top 10

Following the finalist selection process, the show transitions into its regular competition phase, which lasts the rest of the season. The competition stage is divided into 7–9 weeks, with two contestants eliminated per week (or in the case of semi-finals in seasons 1–3, one contestant). Dancers are paired up in some seasons at random, and in others by judges into male-female couples that will stay paired until the last 2 or 3 weeks of the competition if neither is eliminated. These couples perform every week in randomly selected styles. These duets, as with all non-solo performances at this stage in the competition, are choreographed by professional choreographers, who are often noteworthy names in their own genres. Prior to most duet performances, a video packet of clips of the couple preparing to perform the routine is shown; these packets are intended not only to demonstrate the couple's efforts to master the routine, but also to give glimpses of the personalities of the dancers as well as to allow the choreographer to give insight as to the thematic, narrative, and artistic intentions of the piece. Following each duet performance, the panel of judges gives critical feedback.

After every performance episode, the judges pick a bottom three couples. Each of these six dancers are then in danger of elimination and must perform a solo as their last effort to impress and stay in the competition. It is at this point that viewers can vote for their favorite dancers. The eliminated dancers are then announced and given a brief send-off via a video montage.

Top 6 to Finale

Around the time that the show enters its 'Top Six' competitor phase, there are typically several format changes that take place. The judges give up their power to save dancers at this point, and eliminations are determined exclusively by viewer votes, with judges serving in only an advisory capacity. Each season undergoes one final format shake-up in its last week, which typically takes place when the show reaches a Top 2 (in seasons 1-3 - Top 3). In the final show, the remaining dancers typically each dance duets with all of their remaining fellow finalists as well as perform solos and participate in group numbers. The season finale episode is often the most elaborately produced show of a season and features the last performances of the competitors, guest dancers, additional group numbers and multiple video packets chronicling the course of the season's events, all culminating in the announcement of the winner of the competition.

Judge's panel

The judges panel has been consistently composed of three permanent judges, with only rare guest judges supplementing this number. In season 2 Izabella Miko joined the panel as additional judge. Agustin Egurolla serves as the executive judge of the panel and can overrule majority decisions, and has done so on two occasions. In season 5 Weronika Marczuk-Pazura left the show and was replaced by Anna Mucha, who in turn left the panel in season 6 and was replaced by the show's former host, Kinga Rusin.

Overview of format and presentation by season

Differences from the original So You Think You Can Dance

While basically similar in format to the American version of the show it is based upon, the Polish version of the show is different in a few respects. For example, Po prostu tańcz! has never featured a results show that is separate from the main weekly performance show, as the U.S. version did in seasons 2-8 and as such the Polish show has not featured musical guests and only rarely presents guest or returning dancers. Po prostu tańcz! also features a smaller overall cast—the callbacks have been limited to a mere 36 to 50 dancers (depending on the season), as compared to numbers regularly over a hundred and even approaching two hundred in the U.S. "Vegas Week" and the number of finalists in the Polish show are numbered 14 or 16, as opposed to the U.S. version's typical Top 20. Lastly, Po prostu tańcz! employs a judge's panel made up entirely of permanent members and has featured only one guest judge (Izabela Miko) on one occasion.

Dance Styles and Choreographers

Over the course of its seven seasons, You Can Dance - Po Prostu Tańcz! has featured dozens of distinct dance styles in its choreographed routines. Most of these styles fall into four categories that are regularly showcased and can be found in almost every performance episode: western contemporary/classical styles, ballroom styles, hip-hop/street styles, and Jazz and its related styles. Various other forms of dance that do not especially fall into these broad categories are seen as well, but not as regularly. The following styles have all been seen in a choreographed duet or group routine; styles featured only in auditions or solos are not listed.

Classical Styles

Routines from the classically derived style of contemporary dance are the most common dances seen on the show, being seen in every performance episode of the series. While contemporary, lyrical, and modern dance are typically considered three separate (if overlapping) styles, has been to refer to all routines in this area as "contemporary". Ballet routines have occurred much more rarely, being seen only in seasons 2 and 3.

Street and Club Styles

Hip-hop routines are also present in every performance episode.

Ballroom Styles

Ballroom styles are also seen usually in every performance episode until the Top 6.

Jazz, Broadway, and Musical Theater Styles

Jazz is featured in nearly all performance episodes. While these routines are typically labelled simply "Jazz", the genre is notable as being one of the most fusional featured on the show and various style combinations and sub-categories have been referenced.

Regional/Traditional Styles

In addition to the broad categories above, many more styles that are less common in the Poland are sometimes featured.

Finalists

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