TORONTO — He's danced with Michael Jackson and choreographed hit stage shows, but Toronto-raised Sergio Trujillo says there's something exceptional about creating routines for "So You Think You Can Dance Canada."

"I think the thing that I love the most about it is the freedom," Trujillo said in a recent phone interview, noting producer Sandra Faire never turns down his concepts or ideas.

"Also in terms of what I do -- I do so much theatre, it's all Broadway-based, and television is different. You can sort of break the rules a little bit on television.

"Kids nowadays expect bigger, quicker, faster and so the challenge for me is: how can I create a number that is more interesting, that is more diverse, that is more unique than the last time that I choreographed a number?"

Last week, Trujillo -- choreographer of lauded musicals including "Jersey Boys," "Memphis," "Next to Normal" and "The Addams Family" -- created a Cirque-du-Soleil-meets-Argentinian-tango group number for "Dance Canada."

On Monday, he'll be a guest judge on the show, which is down to the Top 16 after last week's elimination of Toronto's Dwayne (Boneless) Gulston and Teya Wild of North Vancouver, B.C.

Trujillo, who has worked on the show before, said this season's contenders are showing a surprising amount of commitment behind the scenes.

"They knew that I was going to do a tango, they knew that I was going to do something that was more theatrical, and they came in (to rehearsals) dressed ready to go," said Trujillo, who lives in New York.

"There was a kid, Boneless, who was one of the hip-hop dancers, and he came in dressed like he was a ballroom dancer, which, you know, you sort of at times have to dress for the part and I found that incredibly surprising."

Trujillo was first discovered in the 1980s by Jackson's longtime choreographer, Michael Peters, during an audition in Toronto.

Trujillo eventually got to dance with the late King of Pop himself for a broadcast celebrating MTV's 10th anniversary in the '90s.

Now that he's made his mark on Broadway and beyond, he wants to inspire the young hopefuls of "Dance Canada."

"I think it's important for me to teach the kids, for them to be able to learn something," he said. "I treat them as if though they were rehearsing for a Broadway show, the way that I would treat an audition in New York City and the way that I would treat them as if I was rehearsing for a show.

"If anything, I raise the bar for them in terms of what I expect from them."

Trujillo is also developing several stage shows in which he's the director and writer: "White Noise," "Havana" and "Flashdance," which he hopes to premiere in Toronto either next year or the year after.

He said he's also working on a project with Des McAnuff, artistic director of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival with whom he worked on "Jersey Boys."

"Des and I, we're like Fred (Astaire) and Ginger (Rogers)," Trujillo said with a laugh.

"We work really well together and we try to do as many things as we can together."

"SYTYCDC" airs Monday and Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. ET on CTV.