LOOKS LIKE "Dancin' on Air" has been resurrected.
Mike Nise, executive producer of the 1980s teen dance show, said yesterday that he has a "verbal agreement" with MyPHL17 to air new episodes of the show, featuring new dancers, on Saturday mornings as soon as next month.
A MyPHL17 spokesman confirms the station is working with Nise's company, Omni 2000, to put together a new show, but had no timeline.
"There's a good buzz around the show," says Travis Brower, of the television station. "The last couple specials we did, did very well . . . in July, Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve," Brower said.
To commemorate the 30th anniversary of the program, the station ran weekend marathons of old episodes in July, many featuring a teenage Kelly Ripa.
Nise says he has produced another flashback special to air soon on the station, and cameras rolled in November at the Electric Factory for a party featuring many of the show's old dancers.
He says the overwhelming response and interest in the specials from former dancers and fans alike inspired the new show.
For the new program, Nise says he plans to recruit dancers ages 17 to 21 from area high schools and colleges. The old show's dancers were as young as 14. He says he believes there will be an older audience this time but "younger kids will still watch, too."
Interested dancers can contact Nise through dancinonair.com, omni2000.com or by calling 856-963-6400.
He plans to shoot at Beat Street in Huntingdon Valley.
"Dancin' on Air" ran from 1981 to 1987 on Channel 17 before morphing into "Dance Party U.S.A." on USA Network. It went off the air in 1992.
As for a host, Nise isn't sure, although he's planning to have a primary host with a few other broadcasters involved.
"Jersey Boys" set a box-office record for an eight-show week at the Forrest Theatre between Jan. 1 and 8, raking in $1,617,700 in ticket sales.
The show, playing at the Forrest through Saturday, broke its own record from its 2010 engagement at the theater, grossing $1,225,598 in a week.
Before that, "Phantom of the Opera" had been the leader, taking in $1,214,323 in a week in 2006.
