Former Dallas Cowboy and reality TV dancing champion Emmitt Smith joined 30 daring dancers under the mirror ball to kick off the "Dodge Durango Tango" endurance dance contest at the State Fair of Texas on Thursday, Sept. 27. After more than27 hours of cutting a rug, Angela Vanhoose of Dallas, TX was the only contestant still on the dance floor and was crowned the "Durango Tango" champion, winning an all-new 2008 Dodge Durango.
Former Dallas Cowboy and reality TV dancing champion Emmitt Smith shows off some fancy foot work with Katie Jordan of Rusk, Texas, and Angela Barron of Keller, Texas, to kick-off the Dodge Durango Tango endurance dance contest at the State Fair of Texas in Dallas on Thursday, Sept. 27.
For their efforts, the dancers raised $18,000 for the Boys Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas. For every hour the competition lasted, the Chrysler Foundation pledged to donate $500 to the Boys Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas to continue its mission to inspire and empower the youth in the local community.
"I've never done anything like this before," said Vanhoose. "By the 23rd hour, I felt my legs starting to shake, but I held on because I really wanted to win that new Dodge Durango. I kept my eyes on the prize and now I can't wait to cruise around town in my new Durango."
The Durango is no ordinary SUV and this was no ordinary dance competition. To make the "Dodge Durango Tango" different from other dance contests, each participant was paired with a life-sized doll to use as a dancing partner.
Jordan Hall of Irving, Texas, shows off some fancy dance moves.
"The Dodge Durango is a bold and powerful vehicle that's packed with performance as well as best-in-class interior and cargo room, and best-in-class towing capacity and horsepower with the 5.7-liter HEMI engine," said Mike Accavitti, Director - Dodge Brand Marketing. "Over the last 27 hours, the Durango Tango participants showed that they were also best-in-class, showing off some incredible moves and giving a great performance - proving they're just as amazing on the dance floor as the all-new 2008 Dodge Durango is on the road."
Star of the Show
To make sure the contest started off on the right foot, Smith, an ESPN analyst and NFL record-holder as well as a reality TV dancing champion, shared some of the pointers that earned him a dancing title last year and talked with contestants about their strategy for winning the contest.
"What a great competition. When Dodge invited me to be a part of the `Durango Tango' contest I couldn't resist," said Smith. "Those contestants went out there with their game faces on and were dancing their hearts out to win that great looking Durango. I don't know how they did it, but some of them even managed to make their dancing partners look like real dancing stars."
Although Vanhoose won the dance-off, all participants went home as winners after receiving a Dodge prize package. Additionally, the first runner-up who danced also danced for 27 hours received a $500 cash prize, while the third, fourth and fifth runners-up danced for 26.06, 25.43, and 25.17 hours respectively each received a $250 cash prize.
Contestants Stance on Dance
Dodge polled each of the contestants to learn more about why they signed up for the contest and their dancing preferences. Here's the dancing dish:
• Leader of the Pack: When contestants were asked what their favorite group dance is, the Electric Slide took the lead with 33 percent of the contestants' votes, while 27 percent said the Macarena.
• Dancing Star: Just as Smith received the most consumer votes to win the reality TV dancing title, he also won over the hearts of the Durango Tango contestants as 54 percent of the contestants said that Smith was their favorite reality TV dancing star.
• Dance Fever: Nearly all of the contestants 63 percent stated that dancing is one if their favorite pastimes.
About the 2008 Dodge Durango
The 2008 Dodge Durango offers the "Goldilocks effect" - not too big, not too small, but just right, for a distinctively Dodge sport-utility vehicle standing out among increasingly soft competitors. With spacious third-row seating and cargo room to spare (rare in the full-size SUV segment), the 2008 Dodge Durango offers a full range of top-end comfort and convenience features at a great value. The starting Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price on the 2008 Dodge Durango is $27,200, including destination charge. Customers who demand performance and efficiency may choose between three engines: a standard 3.7-liter V-6, a new E85-compatible, 4.7-liter V-8 engine with the Flexible-Fuel Vehicle (FFV) designation as well as improved fuel economy with more horsepower and torque, and a 5.7-liter HEMI V-8 with Chrysler LLC's fuel-saving Multi-displacement System (MDS). Dodge Durango stands out with many best-in-class design elements, and isn't afraid to be different.