The SYTYCD Final Four: Adechike, Lauren, Robert and Kent
So You Think You Can Dance Co-Creator, Executive Producer and Judge Nigel Lythgoe has been talking about “National Dance Day” for weeks now and today, July 31st, is the day! To talk about the beginnings of the idea and how he has spread the word, Lythgoe talked to journalists earlier in the week and yours truly was on the call to ask the first questions.
Jim Halterman: I know we’ve been hearing a lot about the National Dance Day on the show the last couple of weeks. Can you talk about the genesis of it, where the idea came from and how you guys took off with it?
Nigel Lythgoe: I think the realization of how So You Think You Can Dance has opened up an entire community that was extremely quiet, the dance community, that suddenly came alive with programs like So You Think You Can Dance, America’s Best Dance Crew, and Dancing With The Stars, and I read one morning about the obesity problem and I thought listen, this is an absolutely perfect way to try and combat obesity is to get people dancing. It helps me … the world of dance and it helps them get fit at the same time.
Lythgoe with Mia Michaels, Adam Shankman and host Cat Deeley
So I just mused with the idea and I tweeted it, “Hey, we’re going to have a Dance Day.” I never dreamt that it would take off as much as it has done. Obviously withthe benefit of using the television program, it’s grown, but it’s really important to note that this isn’t about So You Think You Can Dance really and it’s not about FOX television. It’s about an entire country realizing how much they enjoy dance and then using that and using the power of dance in order to help with sort of a fitness regime, which then links into the First Lady’s idea of “Let’s move.” So it all came together.
JH: Outside of the show, how have you guys been spreading the word?
NL: I’ve been tweeting it. I know that it’s on the Dizzy Feet Foundation Web site. Again, it fits in with us. We’ve got a scholarship program [click to continue…]
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