JOHN SCHNEIDER, BROOKE NEVIN AND ROMA DOWNEY HAVE BEEN CAST TO STAR IN "WEDDING DANCE," AN ORIGINAL MOVIE WHICH HAS BEGUN PRODUCTION IN VANCOUVER, FOR AIR ON HALLMARK CHANNEL IN 2009

John Schneider ("Smallville"), Brooke Nevin ("The 4400") and Roma Downey ("Touched By An Angel") have been cast to star in "Wedding Dance," an original movie about a young bride-to-be who is shocked when the father she never knew shows up alive and holding the deed to her family's dance studio. It is the first of many surprises for Cyd who will soon learn other surprises about her father, including their shared love of dancing.

"Wedding Dance" has begun production in Vancouver, Canada for air on Hallmark Channel in 2009.

Cyd Scarborough (Nevin), a dance teacher in her hometown of Elksville, is busy teaching her classes at the Scarborough Dance Studio and finalizing details for her approaching wedding to the love of her life, accountant Zach. Her best friend, Jessie, is helping her stay organized, but Cyd dearly misses her deceased mother. To further muddle her thoughts, a real estate developer has offered to purchase the studio that has been in the family for several generations. If she sells, Cyd would have a chance to pursue her dream of becoming a therapist.

When she learns the shocking news that Tanner Grey (Schneider) � her father that she never knew � is alive and owns the family dance studio, she just wants to take care of business and get the studio sold quickly. She turns to her attorney, Laura Williams (Downey), for help, but as it turns out, Tanner isn't in a hurry to hand over the deed or leave Elksville.

"Wedding Dance" is being produced by ANNUIT COEPTIS DEVELOPMENT in association with Johnson Production Group. Jean Abounader ("Life on Liberty Street") and Tim Johnson ("Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman") are the executive producers; Christian Bruyere and Kirk Shaw are producers. Mark Jean ("7th Heaven") will direct from a story by Jean Abounader and J.B. White ("The 12 Days of Christmas Eve") and teleplay by J.B. White.

Hallmark Channel, owned and operated by Crown Media Holdings, Inc., is a 24-hour basic cable network that provides a diverse slate of high-quality entertainment programming to a national audience of 86 million subscribers. The top tier program service is distributed through more than 5,300 cable systems and communities as well as direct-to-home satellite services across the country. Hallmark Channel consistently ranks among the top 10 ad-supported cable networks in Prime Time and Total Day household ratings and is the nation's leading network in providing quality family programming. Crown Media also operates a second 24-hour linear channel, Hallmark Movie Channel.