Dancer’s Studio Dances into Record Books on Today Show

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CLARION, Pa. (EYT) – Members of Dancer’s Studio in Clarion visited New York City on Tuesday for a once in a lifetime opportunity, where they landed on the “Today” show and literally danced their way into the record books.

Thirteen dance students from Dancer’s Studio, and studio owner A-Jo Gallagher joined over 200 others to set a new Guiness World Record for largest street dance performance, and the feat was captured on video shown live during the September 8 edition of the “Today” show on NBC.

The Guiness rules for the record were clear: all 250-plus dancers involved had to perform a choreographed dance routine for five straight minutes – a feat they accomplished to roaring applause from the New York City crowd.

Dancer’s Studio heard about the event from the famous New York City dance instructor leading the charge into the record books, Pavan Thimmaiah of PMT Dance Company.

Thimmaiah invited Gallagher and her students to join in the efforts.

“I got a notice of it about a month ago, but we never really touched base on it, and then he called on Sunday and asked if we could come. We had about 24 hours notice, but I called people and asked who could do it. We got 13 students and six parents who went along on the trip, and we made it happen,” Gallagher said.

(Dancers who attended the event: A-Jo Gallagher; Abbey Barron; Ashley Barron; Kaylee Baumcratz; Gretta Bish; Gracie Dunkle; Lauren Johnson; Janiya Jones; Abigail Keth; Lissie Lauer; Sarah Lavin; Julia Love; Angela Olson; and Kelsey Wolf.)

Despite the quick turnaround time, Gallagher said it was an easy decision to make the trip.

“I couldn’t turn this down. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I am so blessed to be able to take my students on these adventures. To get that kind of opportunity and to get it in dance, which is their craft, that was amazing for the kids. It’s more than just dance, it’s traveling, teamwork, culture, and educational. It is a great honor to get my students on national television and be part of the Guinness Book of World Records. They work so hard all year long, and this was half work but it was half fun, too, ” Gallagher said.

The work came first, as the group from Clarion held a three-hour session learning the dance routine the night before they joined the performance. It was all part of a busy schedule which let them be part of a group to enter the record books.

“We got up at 4:00 in the morning the day before to travel, then had three hours of training. We got a couple hours of sleep, and it was up at 5:20 a.m. to head to the ‘Today’ show,” Gallagher said.

Dancer’s Studio received a lot of footage, and every member of the studio made it on TV, Gallagher said.

Students also enjoyed the New York City subway system, food, culture, and some shopping before heading to Rockefeller Center where the show took place.

“At least five of our students had never been to the city, so for them it was something really special beyond the dancing,” Gallagher said.


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