Two weeks after the Disney Channel launched the Make Your Mark: Ultimate Dance Off, the competition is going strong, with more than 5,400 (!) audition videos submitted online by talented young dancers from all over the United States.
Screenshot from the Make Your Mark: Ultimate Dance Off website, image copyright Disney
When Disney first announced the Make Your Mark: Ultimate Dance Off several weeks prior to the launch of the official website, there was very little information online regarding specific rules and regulations. At first it was unclear how the six finalists would be chosen as it was announced that dancers could submit their videos online OR audition in person at five audition cities throughout July. A lively discussion started up on this blog about the contest, and hopefully everyone got their questions answered. Thanks to all of the commenters!
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With the school year wrapping up and summer finally here (in the northern hemisphere, anyway), it’s the perfect time for families to go outside and connect with their communities and get kids actively involved in changing the world for the better.
I recently completed volunteer orientation with New York Cares, New York City’s largest volunteer organization whose 50,000+ volunteers help more than 400,000 disadvantaged New Yorkers every year. I am excited about the opportunity to start volunteering with one of the hundreds of projects available every month, from sorting pantry foods to painting schools, knitting with senior citizens, organizing books at the local library, recording books for the blind, and weeding and planting community gardens.
New Yorkers aren’t the only ones who have embraced the volunteer spirit, and the Walt Disney Company is inspiring kids around the world to become more environmentally active through Disney Friends for Change: Project Green, an innovative multi-platform environmental initiative on Disney Channel, Radio Disney, and Disney.com that invites young people to join together to help the planet.
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From a recent string of tween-friendly musical series, it’s clear that the Disney Channel loves music stars. First there was Hannah Montana, then Jonas L.A., and the cast of I’m In the Band (not to mention made-for-TV movies Lemonade Mouth, Camp Rock, and the High School Musical franchise). But the Disney Channel’s recent foray into the world of popular music, Shake It Up, is the first to focus on dancing rather than singing.
Promotional image for Disney Channel's Shake It Up, copyright Disney
Shake It Up is a sitcom that follows the adventures of best friends CeCe Jones and Rocky Blue (played by stars Bella Thorne and Zendaya) who pursue their dreams of becoming professional dancers when they land dancing roles on a local series, Shake It Up Chicago.
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The High School Musical franchise has launched three High School Musical films, a reality series (High School Musical: Get in the Picture), a concert tour, a stage musical, an ice tour, a book series, numerous video games, and now a direct-to-DVD spin-off film starring Disney Channel darling Ashley Tisdale who reprises her role as ambitious blonde diva Sharpay Evans.
Screenshot from Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure, photograph by Ben Mark Holzberg, copyright Disney
In Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure (out today on DVD and Blu-ray), Sharpay is finally Broadway-bound after a producer scouts her dog Boi during a musical performance at the Lava Springs Country Club. Sharpay moves to New York City, convinced that fame, fortune, and a fabulous penthouse apartment await, only to realize that the Big Apple is a dog-eat-dog world and the path to stardom is not an easy one. As one of the main antagonists in the first two High School Musical films, Sharpay is the narcissistic prima donna that everyone loves to hate, and the spin-off presents a new challenge for Tisdale to show the softer side of Sharpay… which should be a cinch for the actress who spent three years as lovable candy-counter girl Maddie Fitzpatrick on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody.
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Fifteen years ago when Radio Disney first debuted, Selena Gomez was in preschool, Justin Bieber was in diapers, and Willow Smith hadn’t even been born. Back then there were no iPods, iPhones, or iTunes, and streaming music online and through mobile applications was inconceivable. In the late ’90s, the Dallas-based network and its affiliates played the latest hits from fresh-faced former Mickey Mouse Club stars Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, and Christina Aguilera, as well as pop sensations the Backstreet Boys, Spice Girls, and Hanson.
Now that Radio Disney is celebrating its 15th birthday, the technology and celebrities may have changed, but Radio Disney’s core mission to promote Disney-approved performers and properties through kid-friendly, contemporary mass market music remains the same.
Selena Gomez, Ernie D, and Jake Whetter kick off Radio Disney's 15th Birthday celebration (DISNEY CHANNEL/RICK ROWELL)
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