A young Canadian dancer has taken an early lead in FOX's dance reality television show "So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation." Tate McRae is now being dubbed as a frontrunner, having wowed the judges with her performance during the auditions.

In the show's last episode, Paula Abdul, Nigel Lythgoe and Jason Derulo all agreed that the 12-year-old Calgary native was very special. McRae received a standing ovation after performing her 58-second routine. Abdul called it nothing less than perfection from start to finish. She said the little girl moved so seamlessly, there appeared to be no beginning, middle and end in her performance. Lythgoe, on the other hand, told McRae that the other contestants would be fighting over her to get a chance to team up and work together. He also said that as far as he was concerned, McRae was going through to the Academy.

In her interview with Calgary CTV News, the young dancer shared how difficult it was for her and her mother Tanja to attend the auditions. As a Canadian, McRae had to wait for her visa to be able to travel to New York. She recounted that she received the permit about a week before the last auditions and that she and Tanja had to move fast so that she could be there on time. McRae said she has been a huge fan of the show from the start and that everything has been surreal for her.

"It's incredible. It's actually such a strange feeling because I've never done something like this before so it's actually incredible and such a surreal feeling seeing myself on TV and just experiencing this but everything that's going on right now is amazing. At that time I was in shock, I couldn't even process what the judges were saying," she shared.

Meanwhile, "Dance Moms" star Maddie Ziegler is set to join Abdul and the others as a special judge next episode. Design N Trend reports that the young dancer shared a teaser of her upcoming visit in the show on her Instagram account. The clip reportedly shows her congratulating the lucky ones who are moving on to the next round of competitions.

"So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation" airs Mondays at 8 p.m. EST on FOX.