OXYGEN MEDIA GREENLIGHTS SEASON TWO OF HIT SERIES "DANCE YOUR ASS OFF"
Magical Elves On Board to Produce New Season
New York, NY November 2, 2009 Oxygen Media today announced the return of the popular, weight loss/dance competition series, "Dance Your Ass Off" for a second season to air in 2010. The announcement was made today by Amy Introcaso-Davis, Senior Vice President, Original Programming and Development for Oxygen Media.
The critically acclaimed series, and Oxygen's most watched freshman series in network history, "Dance Your Ass Off" returns for its sophomore season with Magical Elves, the production company behind the successful Bravo series "Top Chef." Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz will serve as executive producers. Lisa Ann Walter conceived the original "Dance Your Ass Off" and exec produces along with Kate Rigg.
"We loved watching as contestants danced off nearly five hundred pounds, and are proud to bring our audience another season of this exciting competition format," said Amy Introcaso-Davis, Senior Vice President, Original Programming and Development for Oxygen Media. "We're looking forward to working with Magical Elves on 'Dance Your Ass Off,' and with them we hope to inspire the entire country to eat healthy and get off the couch and dance!"
"'Dance Your Ass Off' is a vibrant and infectious show, but it also changes people's lives," said Dan Cutforth, Executive Producer, Magical Elves. "The format is an amazing platform for compelling stories and great entertainment, and we're excited to become a part of it."
The first of its kind hybrid series that combines two popular genres -- weight loss and dance competition -- "Dance Your Ass Off" became Oxygen's most watched freshman series in network history among W18-49 (382,000), A18-49 (494,000) and more than one million total viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research.
"Dance Your Ass Off" features talented, full-figured contestants who struggle with their weight and dance to unleash their inner thin. Last season, the contestants' 'thinspiration" resulted in more than 500 lbs. lost. The series pairs each contestant with a professional dance partner who trains them for their weekly stage performances. Then they burn up the dance floor and the calories in front of a live studio audience and a panel of expert judges. The judges score the routines, and then the contestants weigh in to reveal their weekly weight loss. The dance score and the weight loss are combined for an overall score, which determines who is sent home each week.
Casting for the new season is currently under way. For complete casting information, go to www.dyao.oxygen.com and http://www.castingduo.com/danceyourassoff.
About Magical Elves
Magical Elves is the production team behind some of the highest quality reality programming on television. Since their partnership began eight years ago, The Elves, Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz, have been nominated for eleven Primetime Emmys. This year Project Runway and Top Chef are both nominated in the Outstanding Reality Competition category for the third year in succession. Magical Elves are the recipients of the first Peabody Award ever presented to a reality television program for Project Runway and they produced 4 of Entertainment Weekly's 20 Best Reality Shows of all time. Notable credits include "Bands on the Run", "Project Greenlight" and "Last Comic Standing" and the Elves have several shows in production including "Top Chef", "Top Chef Masters", "Top Chef: Just Desserts", "The Art Show" and "Kell on Earth" for Bravo and "Arranged Marriage" for CBS.
About Oxygen Media
Oxygen Media is a multiplatform lifestyle brand that delivers relevant and entertaining content to young women, wherever they are. Oxygen is rewriting the rulebook for women's media, with a vast array of unconventional and original content including "Bad Girls Club," "Dance Your Ass Off" and "Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood." Popular features online include makeOvermatic, tweetOverse and hormoneOscope. Available in 75 million homes, online at www.oxygen.com, or on mobile devices at wap.oxygen.com, Oxygen Media is a service of NBC Universal.
