So You Think You Can Dance is an American dance competition reality show, which returned for its eighteenth season on March 4, 2024.^[1][2]

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An eighteenth season of So You Think You Can Dance was announced on December 5, 2023, with a judging panel composed of series creator Nigel Lythgoe (which would have been his seventeenth season as judge), season 2 contestant and season 7–11 and 14 All-Star Allison Holker,^[3] and former Dancing with the Stars pro dancer Maksim Chmerkovskiy. Comfort Fedoke guest judged during the auditions. Cat Deeley returned to her role as host for a seventeenth consecutive season.^[1][2]

In January 2024, Lythgoe departed from the show following a sex abuse lawsuit from former judge Paula Abdul.^{[4][5][6][7][8]} He was replaced by season 17 judge JoJo Siwa.^[9][10]

The season premiere ended with a tribute to season 4 runner-up, former judge, and Holker's husband Stephen "tWitch" Boss who was found dead by suicide in December 2022.

The auditions for season 18 of So You Think You Can Dance took place in Pullman Yards in Atlanta, Georgia where all the dancers had to audition in front of judges Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Allison Holker, and special guest judge Comfort Fedoke.^[11] Unlike previous seasons, this season took more of a documentary style and taught the audience a little bit more about the dancers' background. Notable dancers included Easton Magliarditi who auditioned for So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation, Jin Lee, who had dedicated her dance to Allison Holker's late husband Stephen "Twitch" Boss,^[12] Kenidee Allen who had trained with Maks,^[13] Kaylee Bays, a dancer that had been diagnosed with Ehlers-Danolos syndrome that left her in a wheelchair,^[13] and Mariyah Hawkins who had previously auditioned for So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation.^[14]

Like season 17, the Callbacks/Academy Round was renamed the Choreography Round and took place over the course of one day, as opposed to one week like past seasons. The Choreography Round consisted of two rounds led by choreographer, Galen Hooks. The first round had the contestants dancing in different groups, the second round focused on partner work. 35 contestants made it to the choreography round and contestants were eliminated after each round until 10 remained to advance to the studio shows.

Contestants are listed in chronological order of elimination.

For the first time this series, the judges are solely responsible for which dancers are safe and which are eliminated, with no audience voting. Previously, the dancers which received the most audience votes each week would be safe from elimination.