Norton to Welcome Dance Groups, Dance Fans to National Mall Saturday for National Dance Day

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On National Dance Day, dance groups from across the region take center stage on the National Mall, along with chances for the audience to join in the fun on Saturday, July 28, 2012, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.on the National Mall, near the Smithsonian Metrorail station. The third annual National Dance Day features dancers from D.C. and the surrounding area performing every type of dance, from stepping to flamenco, and throughout the day the audience will move and groove with the help of two celebrity guests. Famous Zumba instructor Kass Martin will teach the crowd a Zumba routine during the celebration, and So You Think You Can Dance Season 7 winner Lauren Froderman will teach the audience a hip-hop dance. The steps to both are available online at https://dizzyfeetfoundation.org/national-dance-day. Tents for the audience ensure that heat and other weather should not be a concern.

This year's National Dance Day celebration in D.C. is sponsored by the First Lady's "Let's Move!," the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), and the Dizzy Feet Foundation, established by producer and celebrity judge Nygel Lythgoe of So You Think You Can Dance, in cooperation with Norton. The annual celebration, held nationwide on the last Saturday in July, celebrates dance as an art form and promotes dance as a form of physical exercise. This year's program will be hosted by radio personality Jeannie Jones and Miss DC USA, Monique Thompkins, and is produced by Michael McBride, manager of MetroArts at WMATA. Dance groups performing are Explicit Dance Works, Taratibu Youth Association, Dcypher, Beat Ya Feet Kings, Furia Flamenca, Raediant Movement, Def Nation Royals, Spotlight Studio, TeamWeGonMakeIt, Smooth and EZ Dance, Piernas Locas, Dhoonya Dance, Inverson Mall Walkers, and hometown favorites The Manzari Brothers, who appeared on So You Think You Can Dance after Lythgoe saw them perform at the first D.C. National Dance Day celebration, are returning.

"The third annual National Dance Day is shaping up to be an extravaganza – from the best dance group talent from our region to exciting new dances celebrities will teach the crowd," Norton said. "National Dance Day is meeting its mission from coast to coast and around the world – to get us dancing for physical fitness, to celebrate dance as an art form, and to have fun. I'm game – and I know D.C. is, too!

National Dance Day is free and open to the public.

Published: July 27, 2012