AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE SUPERSTAR MISTY COPELAND SET AS GUEST JUDGE ON NBC'S "WORLD OF DANCE"

Copeland Joins Thrilling and High-Rated New Dance Competition Series July 18 and July 25 for Round Three of the Competition, "The Cut," Along with Judges Jennifer Lopez, Derek Hough and NE-YO and Host/Mentor Jenna Dewan Tatum

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. - June 21, 2017 - Ballet dancer extraordinaire Misty Copeland, the first African-American principal ballerina in the history of American Ballet Theatre, will be a guest judge on the July 18 and July 25 episodes of NBC's new high-rated competition series "World of Dance."

Copeland will be joining for round three of the competition, "The Cut," where the competitors face the deepest and most intense cut of the season. More than half of the acts will be sent home, and only the top two acts from each division will move on to the Division Final.

"When judging the best of the best, we knew we needed an all-star guest judge with passion and credibility to mentor these incredible dancers," said judge/executive producer Jennifer Lopez. "Misty Copeland is at the top of her game and we are so honored that she was able to lend her expertise and experience to the 'World of Dance' stage."

"World of Dance" gives dancers the platform to showcase their talents and compete for a life-altering grand prize of $1 million, led by a judging team of extraordinary dance superstars - Lopez, Derek Hough, NE-YO and host/mentor Jenna Dewan Tatum.

In its first three weeks, "World of Dance" has averaged a 2.1 rating in adults 18-49 and 8.7 million viewers overall in "live plus same day" results from Nielsen Media Research, making it the #2 entertainment series of the summer to date in 18-49 and total viewers, behind only NBC's "America's Got Talent." In 18-49, it's the highest-rated first-year summer series through its first three weeks since 2013 and CBS' "Under the Dome," and in total viewers, it's the most-watched first-year summer alternative series at this point in nine years. The May 30 "World of Dance" premiere grew to a 3.0 rating in "live plus three day" Nielsens, with the increase of 0.64 of a rating point being the biggest L+3 lift ever reported by Nielsen for an alternative series premiere.

Copeland joined ABT's Studio Company in 2000, joined American Ballet Theatre as a member of the corps de ballet in 2001 and in 2007 became the company's second African-American female soloist and the first in two decades. In 2015, she was promoted to principal dancer, making her the first African-American woman to ever be promoted to the position in the company's 75-year history. That same year she made her Broadway debut co-starring in the critically acclaimed musical "On the Town."

In 2014, Copeland debuted in the lead character of Clara in American Ballet Theatre's production of "The Nutcracker." Later that year she made history as the first African-American woman to perform the lead role of Odette/Odile in American Ballet Theatre's "Swan Lake" during the company's inaugural tour to Australia. Copeland reprised the role during ABT's Metropolitan Opera House spring season in 2015, as well as debuted as Juliet in "Romeo & Juliet."

Copeland has been featured in numerous television programs and publications, including "CBS Sunday Morning," "60 Minutes," "Today," "This Week with George Stephanopoulos," MSNBC's "Melissa Harris Perry," Vogue, Essence, Ebony, and People magazine.

Copeland is the author of 2014 New York Times bestselling memoir "Life in Motion," co-written with award-winning journalist and author Charisse Jones. Her new book, "Ballerina Body," also a New York Times bestseller, was published this year.

In partnership with preeminent global dance brand World of Dance, the series brings the world's elite dancers together to compete in epic battles of artistry, precision and athleticism. Solo dancers will compete against duos and crews in an unlimited range of dance, including hip-hop, popping, locking, tap, ballet, break dancing, ballroom, stomping and more.

Handpicked from qualifying events around the nation and thousands of online submissions, competitors are divided into three divisions: Junior (any size act, 17 years old and under), Upper (groups of 1-4, 18 and older) and Team (groups of 5+, 18 and older). Our panel of experts score the acts using a precise point system developed by World of Dance, using the following criteria: Performance, Technique, Choreography, Creativity and Presentation. The competition consists of five rounds: Qualifiers, Duels, The Cut, Divisional Final and the World Final. In the first four rounds, dancers only compete within their division, but in the World Final - the winner from each division will compete against each other for the $1 million grand prize.

World of Dance is among the most trusted and fastest growing dance and music entertainment brands, combining a successful digital platform of more than 8 million subscribers with the world's largest international urban dance competition. What began in 2008 as a single event is now a continent-spanning, tour de force of human spirit and sick dance moves. The World of Dance Tour attracts YouTube stars, industry icons and tens of thousands of fans to events in more than 25 countries, spanning the U.S., Europe, South America, and Asia. The inspiring performance videos captured from these events drive 30 million monthly views online, making World of Dance the largest dance entertainment channel on YouTube. No language barriers. No animosity. Just pure, awe-inspiring movement.

Jennifer Lopez, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas & Benny Medina executive produce for Nuyorican Productions. Also executive producing are Kris Curry, Matilda Zoltowski, Alex Katz, David Gonzalez, Matthew Everitt and Al Hassas. The series is produced by Universal Television Alternative Studio in association with Nuyorican Productions and World of Dance.