NBC Announces New Dance Competition, Compares It To The Olympics

Dancers from all over the world will compete in a new NBC dance competition, tentatively titled Superstar Dancers of the World.

Superstar Dancers of the World is the latest project from American Idol masterminds Nigel Lythgoe and Simon Fuller.  According to NBC, "The unique series will pit the masters of various dance genres from eight countries against each other. Equal parts sporting event, rock concert and artistic exhibition, Superstar Dancers of the World is
poised to become one the greatest spectacles of dance performance ever
seen on television."

And the hype is only beginning.

"This is the most challenging and exhilarating project I've ever done," Nigel Lythgoe, who is a judge on Fox's So You Think You Can Dance, said in a press release. "Nothing of this magnitude has ever been attempted before
on television."

NBC exec Craig Plestis is quoted as saying: "This dance competition is very much like the Olympics." The countries already scheduled to participate include Ireland, India, Argentina, Russia, and South Africa.

Superstar Dancers of the World will be hosted by Lord of the Dance star Michael Flatley, who recently served as a guest judge on Dancing with the Stars. The competition will premiere in early 2009.