The Kennedy Center presents a full day of in-person activities on National Dance Day on Saturday, September 21, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. This annual event, celebrating its 15th anniversary this year, is presented through a partnership between the Kennedy Center, the American Dance Movement and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) and invites people of all ages and abilities, from the youngest dancers to professionals, to participate in a free celebration of the joy of dance and movement. During Saturday’s outdoor events, activities on the main stage will be closed captioned from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

This year’s event at REACH recognizes the community-building power of dance and explores how different dance forms strengthen community well-being. Coinciding with the fifth anniversary of REACH’s opening, this event features day-long classes and performances by local Washington DC dance organizations and artists. Select events are supported by the Kennedy Center’s Social Impact division, Millennium Stage and Dance Sanctuaries, and the Center’s Hip Hop Culture programs.

Hosted by “Millennial Hype Man” KyleOnTheMic, you’ll experience a variety of dance styles with something for everyone, from tap and percussion to contemporary dance, line dance, Latin dance, hip hop, dance for Parkinson’s, bilingual family dance and more. The festivities will continue into the evening as part of the center’s REACH @ 5 weekend celebration. Indie mambo band Orkestra Mendoza will perform on the Millennium Stage in REACH Plaza at 6 p.m. and will lead a dance lesson with Ferocity Dance before the performance. The day will end with a street party in REACH Plaza at 8 p.m. Find more activities as part of the REACH @ 5 celebration here.

On Saturday, participants will also have the opportunity to learn the official National Dance Day routine, developed by Christopher Scott, choreographer of the upcoming feature film Wicked. The routine brings together dancers and dance enthusiasts from around the world to celebrate National Dance Day and invites participants to learn original choreography and put their own spin on it. This year’s instructional video will be released in the coming weeks and can be found on the American Dance Movement website.

A full and detailed schedule for National Dance Day can be found on the Center’s website. All National Dance Day events are free and access to the venue is on a first come, first served basis and may be limited based on capacity.

Founded by producers Nigel Lythgoe (So You Think You Can Dance) and Adam Shankman (Hairspray, Step Up, What Men Want), the American Dance Movement (ADM) is a grant-making organization that builds healthy communities by expanding access to dance and movement, educating on its benefits, and inspiring generations of dance enthusiasts through its annual event, National Dance Day (NDD). National Dance Day was created in 2010 by Lythgoe in collaboration with Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, who introduced a resolution recognizing dance as a valuable form of movement and artistic expression. Since 2019, National Dance Day has been celebrated annually on the third Saturday in September.

In addition to the Kennedy Center, the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California, and the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach, Florida, are the official host venues for National Dance Day 2024. For more information about National Dance Day, visit the American Dance Movement website.

Christopher Scott is a three-time Emmy-nominated choreographer, dancer, director and producer who started tap dancing on the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica, California with John and Sean Scott at the age of 15 and is one of the most sought after choreographers today. He cut his teeth as a choreographer on the groundbreaking web series The LXD: The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers, where he also played the role of Copeland. This led to him choreographing several live performances for The LXD including So You Think You Can Dance, Dancing With The Stars, TED Talks and the Emmy-nominated 82nd Academy Awards. Since then, he has secured several choreography credits including the film adaptation of In The Heights, Being the Ricardos, Step Up 4: Revolution, Step Up 5: All In, America’s Best Dance Crew, and he has received three Emmy nominations for his work spanning 9 seasons of So You Think You Can Dance. Christopher has also worked with Disney on multiple occasions, choreographing the record-breaking Disney Channel Original Movies Teen Beach Movie, Teen Beach Movie 2 and ZOMBIES. His most recent project is the highly anticipated upcoming film adaptations of the global Broadway phenomenon Wicked.

In addition, Christopher has choreographed for well-known artists such as Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez, Miley Cyrus, Imagine Dragons, Khalid, Gloria Estefan, Miguel and Gwen Stefani. His exciting and imaginative choreography can also be seen in the acclaimed commercials for the Microsoft Surface tablet and the viral hit Safety video for Virgin America. In 2015, Christopher was also the Director of Choreography for the Closing Ceremony of the 2015 European Games with a cast of over 1,500 performers.

In addition to his skills as a choreographer, Christopher has also appeared as a dancer in many films including the music video for Beyoncé: Get Me Bodied, Glee, 17 Again, Alvin and the Chipmunks and Hannah Montana: The Movie. He was also cast as Hair in Step Up 2: The Streets and played the role in the 3rd, 4th and 5th installments of the film franchise. Since then, he has directed several episodes of The LXD: The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers, his short film How to Catch a Ghost and the brand-leading commercial Hello Bello (They Call Me). Finally, Christopher has served as a producer on many film and television programs including Fox’s The Big Leap, ABC’s Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Anniversary Celebration and the Emmy-winning Disney+ original film Sneakerella. He is extremely grateful to all of his incredibly generous mentors who have helped him along the way.

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