ABC Releases Official Details For The Dancing With The Stars Season 18 Semi-Finals
ABC Media Net has released details for Monday. I am so excited for Kenny Ortega to be a judge. I’m also excited on a new Macy’s Stars Of Dance performance as well!! Read on for more including dance information…
“Episode 1809” – Emmy Award winning director and choreographer Kenny Ortega makes his “Dancing With The Stars” debut as a guest judge on American Icons Night when he sits alongside Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Ann Inaba, MONDAY, MAY 12 (8:00-10:01 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network. The semi-finals begin as the five remaining couples must rise to the challenge of performing two different routines to music by legendary and modern American Icons. The couples will perform a variety of dance styles including Foxtrot, Rumba, Jazz, Viennese Waltz, Quickstep, Samba, Cha Cha, and Jive. At the end of the night, one couple will face elimination leaving only four couples to move on to the Finals.
Kenny Ortega’s work as a director, choreographer and producer is known and loved by millions around the world. Ortega has been the recipient of three Emmy Awards, a DGA Award, an Imagen Creative Achievement Award and an American Choreography Lifetime Achievement Award, among many others. In the arena of film, Ortega was mentored by the legendary Gene Kelly and has choreographed such landmark films such as “Dirty Dancing,” “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” “Pretty in Pink,” and “To Wong Foo.” He has also directed and choreographed the films “Newsies” and “Hocus Pocus.” For over two decades, Ortega was Michael Jackson’s director and creative partner. He directed both the “Dangerous” and “HIStory” world tours in the 1990’s. Their creative partnership came to an abrupt end as they were working together on what was to be their greatest effort to date. Jackson’s untimely death brought the production and the world to a stunned halt. Left with over 100 hours of rehearsal footage, Ortega, along with his close collaborators, assembled a two-hour feature film celebrating Jackson’s talent. The feature film, “This Is It,” was released in 2009 by Sony Pictures and received an overwhelmingly positive response worldwide. Ortega has also worked with many legendary musical artists such as Barbra Streisand, Madonna, Gloria Estefan, Elton John, Rod Stewart, Bette Midler and The Pointer Sisters. Recently, Ortega directed Disney Channel’s “High School Musical” and “High School Musical 2,” which was seen by over 17 million viewers when it premiered, making it the most watched program in cable telecast history. Ortega just completed directing a romantic comedy, “A Change of Heart” and is currently directing “Descendants” an Original Movie for the Disney Channel.
“Macy’s Stars of Dance” returns for a third installment with creative oversight and choreography by Emmy® Award-winning Choreographer and Pro Dancer, Derek Hough and Christopher Scott from “So You Think You Can Dance.” The unique performance will be a tribute to classic Hollywood featuring Hough and Disney Channel’s Jessica Lee Keller from “Teen Beach” as the leads. The piece will also feature 26 additional dancers including a variety of “Dancing With The Stars” Pros.
