Paula Abdul's new dance show to debut soon, auditions to begin in fall; People aged 5 to 106 encouraged to apply

08/30/2010 by Corinne Heller

Auditions for Paula Abdul's new dance competition show are set to be held this fall, starting at the end of September, and the former American Idol judge says there is no age limit.

"You can be of any age, from like five or six to 105 or 6 and you would be surprised at the unbelievable, beautiful, niche-oriented, passionate dancers coming forward," Abdul told OnTheRedCarpet.com before the 2010 Emmy Awards on Sunday. (See a list and photos of Emmy winners as well as red carpet pictures)

The show is tentatively titled Paula Abdul's Dance Show and is modeled after the British series Got to Dance. It is set to debut on CBS in the middle of next season.

People interested in competing on the show, which was announced in May, are encouraged to upload audition videos at paulaabduldanceshow.com, register with the website and attend an audition in Los Angeles or New York in the fall.

"You can enter as a soloist, a duo, a group, in all styles of dance," said Abdul, an award-winning choreographer. "In fact, I'm encouraging people to fuse styles together."

Abdul, who left American Idol in 2009 after serving on the judges panel since the show's debut in 2002, will produce, judge and mentor contestants on her new series.

The former Laker Girl was seen as the "cheerleading" judge who offered a more sympathetic ear and words of encouragement, in contrast to Simon Cowell's typically-acerbic tone and dry and sometimes insulting comments. Cowell left the singing contest series after the finale of its ninth season in May to start a new show - an American version of British talent series The X Factor.

"I needed some time to really kind of reflect on the amount of hard work that I put into American Idol," Abdul said about her departure from American Idol. "It was the biggest blessing of my life. I learned so much and it was so wonderful to be able to go back to my roots, where I was when I started, behind the camera, rooting and nurturing talent to take flight."

Nigel Lythgoe, who is returning as executive producer of American Idol after a break and as part of what appears to be a series shake-up amid declining ratings, produces and helps judge a dance contest series called So You Think You Can Dance. Randy Jackson, another veteran American Idol judge who is believed to be returning, produces a group dance competition series called America's Best Dance Crew.

Steven Tyler, lead singer of the rock band Aerosmith, is set to become a judge on American Idol next season, his bandmate Tom Hamilton said in mid-August, while the future of Kara DioGuardi, who replaced Abdul on the judges panel, is unclear.

Ellen Degeneres, who joined the show last season, had said she had decided to leave American Idol, citing a busy work schedule and saying she felt it difficult to "judge people and sometimes hurt their feelings." She recently showed off her hip hop dance moves on So You Think You Can Dance.

FOX entertainment chairman Peter Rice has said he expects a panel to be in place by the time auditions begin before the judges in mid-September. American Idol's 10th season is set to air in January.

Check out the video interview with Paula Abdul, carried out by reporter Rachel Smith: