The Kennedy Center Celebrates National Dance Day on July 30th

Kennedy Center, in partnership with the Dizzy Feet Foundation and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, invites everyone to celebrate the art of dance as it hosts the Northeast's installment of National Dance Day on Saturday, July 30, 2016 from 1:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. This free, day-long celebration takes place on the Kennedy Center's North Plaza also includes a 6:00 p.m. performance on the Millennium Stage in the Grand Foyer, which will be streamed live on the Kennedy Center website and archived for future viewings; features interactive dances, lessons, outdoor performances, live music, and more including the return of the summer night social "Dancing Under the Stars."

So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD) All-Star and fan favorite Alex Wong will lead patrons in the National Dance Day routine. Food and drinks will be available for purchase on site during the event.

Emceed by radio/television personality, actress, and media executive, Jeannie Jones, the day-long event features performances and instruction in a wide variety of dance styles by artists including Evan Ruggiero, a one-legged tap dancer, singer, and guitarist; renowned contemporary Dance Company, Bowen McCauley Dance; the D.C.-area Irish dancing school, The O'Neill James School of Irish Dance; Work It! Studio Fitness DIVAS, a D.C. based dance and fitness team of fit and professional women; D.C. Bhangra Crew, Indian traditional dancers; CapoeiraDC with the Afro-Brazilian martial art of capoeira; choreographer and Hip Hop dancer, Teren Dickson; high energy steppers from the Dance Place Step Team; Latin Social dance with Kat Kinnunen; the internationally known Native Pride Dancers who blend modern and traditional Native American dance styles; D.C. area school Dance Institute of Washington; flamenco with Furia Flamenca Dance Company; and jazz with Joy of Motion's Youth Dance Ensemble Director, Helen Hayes.

Each year the Dizzy Feet Foundation produces and distributes an instructional video featuring the dance routine for the public to learn in advance of the day's performance. All-star Alex Wong will be on hand for group lessons at the Kennedy Center on July 30. The 2016 National Dance Day routine is available now on Dizzy Feet Foundation's YouTube Channel. The public is also encouraged to submit videos of themselves performing this year's routine. Official 2016 host venues for July 30 include The Music Center, Los Angeles, CA; the Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C.; and Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, Orlando, FL. For more information about National Dance Day, please visit the Dizzy Feet Foundation website.

Born in Canada, Alex Wong has won two Junior World Titles in Tap and Showdance (2000), the Audience Choice Award and was a Bronze Medallist in the 2003 Genee International Ballet Competition, and in 2004, he became the first Canadian to win the Prix de Lausanne competition in Switzerland. He has danced with American Ballet Theatre and was a Principal Soloist with the Miami City Ballet. He was a finalist on Season 7 of the FOX hit series So You Think You Can Dance competing for the title of America's favorite dancer but was sidelined by an injury halfway through the season. Later that year, both pieces he performed on So You Think You Can Dance, choreographed by Mia Michaels and Tabatha and Napolean both won Emmy Awards. He has appeared on Glee, Smash, The Voice, Dancing with the Stars, SYTYCD Vietnam and China, The Oscars, and several national commercials including Trident, Microsoft, and McDonalds. He was also a semi-finalist on American Idol. He released his first dance single "Crave" on iTunes and Amazon, filmed his music video, starred in a short film, and made his Broadway debut, playing the role of Sniper in the Original Broadway Cast of the Disney musical Newsies, which won two Tony Awards and received six other Tony nominations. He also won the ACCA Award for Outstanding Original Chorus for the Broadway 2011-2012 season. He recently finished shooting the new television series drama Flesh & Bone portraying the role of Kim, NBC's Peter Pan LIVE!, Ted 2, The King & I on Broadway, CW's Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris, and was featured on the cover of Dance Magazine. For more information, visit: @alexdwong.

Launched in 2010 by So You Think You Can Dance co-creator and Dizzy Feet Foundation co-president Nigel Lythgoe, National Dance Day is an annual celebration that takes place on the last Saturday in July. This grassroots campaign encourages Americans to embrace dance as a fun and positive way to maintain good health and combat obesity. National Dance Day achieved national recognition in July 2010, when Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, a long-time proponent of healthy lifestyles, announced that she was introducing a congressional resolution declaring the last Saturday in July to be the country's official National Dance Day.

National Dance Day at the Kennedy Center Schedule:

1:00 - 5:30 p.m.: Dance performances and activities on the North Plaza
6:00 - 7:00 p.m.: Millennium Stage event in the Grand Foyer
8:00 - 8:30 p.m.: Dancing Under the Stars dance lessons on the North Plaza
8:30 - 9:30 p.m.: Live music and dancing on the North Plaza
9:30 - 10:00 p.m.: Dance lesson on the North Plaza
10:00 - 11:00 p.m.: Live music and dancing on the North Plaza

The Dizzy Feet Foundation was founded in 2009 by producer Nigel Lythgoe and director Adam Shankman, among others to support, improve, and increase access to dance education in the United States. Guided by a board representing all aspects of the American dance community, the foundation provides scholarships to talented students to support the next generation of professional dancers. The Dizzy Feet Foundation also strives to support, improve and increase access to dance education through the community dance programs they fund that expose children in low-income areas to the life-long benefits of dance. The Dizzy Feet Foundation is a nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)3 charitable organization. For more information, go to dizzyfeetfoundation.org.

The Kennedy Center is the only U.S. institution that presents a free performance 365 days a year. Created in 1997 and underwritten by James A. Johnson and Maxine Isaacs, the Millennium Stage features a broad spectrum of performing arts each day at 6 p.m. Brought to the public by Target Stores and The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation, the Millennium Stage helps fulfill the Center's mission of making the performing Arts Accessible to everyone. In the past 17 years, more than 3 million visitors have seen 6,000 groups with performances as varied as: jazz, ballet, storytelling, popular music, contemporary dance, opera, choral music, tap dance, theater, chamber music, symphonic music, puppetry, stand-up comedy, and cabaret. Of the more than 43,000 performers who have appeared on the Millennium Stage, approximately 25,000 have been Washington-area artists and more than 4,500 have been international performing artists representing more than 50 countries. The Millennium Stage has also hosted artists representing all 50 states, and has presented more than 15,000 artists in their Kennedy Center debuts. Since 1999, each night's performance has been broadcast live over the Internet, and more than 4,430 of these performances have been digitally archived on the Kennedy Center's website, www.kennedy-center.org.