Nigel Lythgoe

Nigel Lythgoe OBE (born 9 July 1949) is an English television and film director and producer, television dance competition judge, former dancer in the Young Generation and choreographer. He was the producer of the shows Pop Idol and American Idol and is the creator and executive producer of, and a regular judge on, So You Think You Can Dance. He also created the 2009 competition Superstars of Dance.\n', '

Born in Wallasey on the Wirral, to dockworker George Percival Lythgoe and Gertrude Emily Lythgoe, he became interested in dance at the age of 10. He began tap dancing, and went on to study at the Hylton-Bromley School of Dance and Drama and the Perry Cowell School of Dance, both in Wallasey, Merseyside where he studied classical ballet, modern jazz, ballroom, character, classical Greek and National dance from various countries. Lythgoe\'s first professional job was in the Corps de Bal…