You've Seen the Stars, Now Watch Everyday People: The Dance Floor is the Battlefield as Hopefuls are Put to the Test in TLC's 'BALLROOM BOOTCAMP'

You've Seen the Stars, Now Watch Everyday People: The Dance Floor is the Battlefield as Hopefuls are Put to the Test in TLC's 'BALLROOM BOOTCAMP'

-- Three Ducklings Dance Like Swans - or Do They? - After Grueling Training Regime --

-- Renowned Trio of Dance Instructors Train Students Culminating in Competition --

SILVER SPRING, Md., Sept. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- The muscle exertion and breathing rates of ballroom dancers performing in one dance competition is equivalent to those of Olympic-level cyclists, swimmers and runners. Ballroom dancing has recently emerged as a pop cultural sensation -- sweeping the country and dazzling average individuals with its grace, splendor and eloquence. But, ballroom dancing is accessible to everyone. Anyone can learn -- but only if they have the motivation, the training and the mindset to succeed. Even USC quarterback and Heisman Trophy-winner Matt Leinart enjoys ballroom dancing as he completes a course this semester toward his college degree!

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030530/TLCLOGO )

In a new television series that gives average folks the opportunity of a lifetime to fulfill their dreams, viewers are able to see these competitors preparing for battle -- ballroom style! TLC makes itself at home at Danceland Studio in Hollywood, California, to give viewers an inside look into ballroom dancing and the sweat, rigor and personal determination necessary for success in BALLROOM BOOTCAMP, premiering Friday, October 7, 2005 at 10 PM (ET/PT). In this series, these everyday individuals are pulled from their comfort zone and subjected to a scrupulous and intensive five-week training program in preparation for a highly anticipated face-off in a professionally adjudicated competition.

Each week, master dance instructors Susannah Cuesta, Gocha Chertkoev and Christian Perry attempt to give the participants the physical, mental and social tools necessary for success and stop at nothing to transform the participants from ordinary to extraordinary. The BALLROOM BOOTCAMP participants will learn five dance styles -- the cha cha, waltz, tango, jive or rhumba. Then, each participant pairs up with a professional dancing counterpart to take their training to the next level -- entering a professionally accredited dance competition and showing off their newly acquired skills.

However, the journey during BALLROOM BOOTCAMP will not come easily as each participant must also juggle his or her personal lives and careers during this short-yet-intensely- painstaking training period. Nothing stops -- not their jobs, not their families, and definitely not the clock. There will be emotional hurdles to overcome, conflicts to dissolve, ballroom blunders to fix and lives to change. Michelle Yahn, one of the competitors vents her frustration as she cries, "It's like trying to learn French in three weeks. It's impossible."

BALLROOM BOOTCAMP is produced by Original Productions for TLC. Thom Beers is the executive producer for Original Productions, and Kathy Davidov is the executive producer for TLC.

TLC is dedicated to high-quality, intelligent and relatable nonfiction entertainment: authentic personal stories that inspire, engage, inform and unite our audience in the spirit of life's possibilities. TLC intimately connects more than 94 million homes in North America to the human experience through its "Life Unscripted" approach to storytelling. Discovery Networks, U.S., a unit of Discovery Communications, Inc., operates and manages Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Travel Channel, Discovery Health Channel, Discovery HD Theater, Discovery Kids Channel, Discovery Times Channel, The Science Channel, Discovery Home Channel, Military Channel, Discovery en Espanol, FitTV, Discovery Kids en Espanol and Discovery Travel & Living (Viajar y Vivir). The unit also distributes BBC AMERICA. Visit TLC on the web by going to http://www.tlc.com/.

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030530/TLCLOGO AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/ PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com Source: TLC

CONTACT: Brian Eley of TLC, +1-240-662-2957, Brian_Eley@discovery.com; or Rachel Saunders, +1-323-866-0880 x106, rsaunders@js2comm.com, for TLC

Web site: http://www.tlc.com/

NOTE TO EDITORS: For high-resolution photography, please go to www.press.discovery.com

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