Norton National Dance Day Resolution Leads Up to July 30 D.C. and Nationwide Celebration
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Before Congress left town for its summer recess, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) introduced a resolution marking Saturday, July 30, 2016, as National Dance Day, celebrated annually on the last Saturday of July. National Dance Day celebrations began on the National Mall in the District of Columbia and in Los Angeles, California in 2010. The Kennedy Center and the Dizzy Feet Foundation, in conjunction with Congresswoman Norton, will present a free, all-day celebration of National Dance Day featuring dance performances, interactive routines, and dance lessons on Saturday, July 30, 2016, from 1:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m., at the Kennedy Center.
“National Dance Day is the time each summer to come together and celebrate dancing as the perfect way to have fun while leading a healthy lifestyle,” Norton said. “I am grateful to the tremendous work of the Kennedy Center and the Dizzy Feet Foundation, who each year have made National Dance Day a success. I cannot wait to dance alongside residents at the Kennedy Center next Saturday.”
Leading up to National Dance Day, the Dizzy Feet Foundation has produced the official 2016 National Dance Day routine, choreographed to the song “Dance Like Yo Daddy.” Launched in 2010 by So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD) co-creator Nigel Lythgoe, National Dance Day is an annual celebration that encourages Americans to embrace dance as a fun and positive way to maintain good health. Norton first introduced a resolution to mark National Dance Day in 2010.
The full text of the resolution is below.
RESOLUTION
Expressing support for dancing as a form of valuable exercise and of artistic expression, and for the designation of July 30, 2016, as National Dance Day.
Whereas Nigel Lythgoe, executive producer and celebrity judge for the dance-themed television show “So You Think You Can Dance”, in association with the Dizzy Feet Foundation, has encouraged the creation of National Dance Day celebrations in nations around the world, beginning with the first National Dance Day on the National Mall in 2010;
Whereas the Dizzy Feet foundation and the Kennedy Center, in conjunction with the office of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, will celebrate National Dance Day on July 30, 2016, in Washington, DC, at the Kennedy Center;
Whereas National Dance Day has captured the imagination of people throughout the Nation and around the world and has helped popularize dancing as an art form, a form of exercise, and as a way of having fun;
Whereas National Dance Day encourages many forms of dance expression, representing the Nation’s rich artistic, regional, ethnic, and racial diversity;
Whereas National Dance Day features the spectrum of dance, from classical to popular to line and partner dances;
Whereas dancing helps improve heart health, burn calories, strengthen muscles, and improve flexibility for people of all ages;
Whereas health officials have repeatedly documented an overweight and obesity epidemic among United States citizens of all backgrounds and ages;
Whereas dancing, in all its variations, is a popular form of physical exercise;
Whereas this year at the Kennedy Center in the Nation’s Capital, performances by the Dance Place Step Team, Bowen McCauley Dance, Furia Flamenca, Native Pride Dancers, and Evan Ruggiero will entertain and encourage dancing;
Whereas instructional videos are available on the Dizzy Feet Foundation YouTube channel featuring dance routines for all skill levels in advance of National Dance Day to be performed by audiences on National Dance Day; and
Whereas the last Saturday in July continues to be the day to celebrate National Dance Day annually as it has been for the past six years: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives—
(1) supports the designation of National Dance Day to celebrate and encourage a national commitment to dance and dance education;
(2) acknowledges that dance is making an important contribution to health by encouraging physical fitness and reducing overweight and obesity; and
(3) commends Nigel Lythgoe for his leadership in promoting National Dance Day.