'RHYTHM NATION' TV show to audition dancers at Slippery Rock on Tuesday

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. -- "Rhythm Nation," the dance version of "American Idol," comes to Slippery Rock University on Tuesday to hold auditions and select 30 to 50 dancers for the next round of competition in New York City.
Dancers from the region, including 50 from SRU, will be given 30 seconds to audition before the show's producer, Los Angeles-based Nicola Gaha, who will select those who advance.
"Rhythm Nation" debuts nationally on Fox TV July 13.
Auditions are open to men and women ages 18 to 30, from anywhere in the country, and will be taped.
They will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in SRU's Pearl K. Stoner Instructional Complex.
Advice
Nora Ambrosio, dance department chairwoman, advised her dance majors to "prepare their best 30 seconds to show themselves in the best possible light."
Ambrosio said Gaha wanted to come to Pittsburgh and contacted her about holding auditions at SRU. The producer also will tape Old Main, the campus administration building.
"They asked for a landmark," Ambrosio said.
Ambrosio said the auditions present "a real opportunity" for the school's dance students because "it's a real casting call."
SRU has 91 dance majors and 50 dance minors, including senior Melinda Planey, who recently won the 2005 Student Literary Award from the National Dance Association.
Francie Lloyd, '04 graduate, was invited to perform her own "Lady of the Lake," last spring at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and has since begun a dancing career.