NEW YORK, NY (Cold Stone Creamery) - After a hot contest of "sweet moves" at
Madame Tussauds New York on Wednesday,
Ariana DeBose of Raleigh, N.C., was named the Cold Stone Creamery "
Shake It Up" Dance
Champion of 2006. As the grand prize winner,
Ariana will receive $15,000 and free shakes and smoothies from Cold Stone Creamery for life.
The contest was packed with excitement as the judges initially declared a tie between Ariana and Jimmy Edgett of Maricopa, Ariz. Both contestants then had to compete in a head-to-head dance off to Fergie's latest hit "London Bridge." After a three-minute battle of sweet moves, Ariana was announced the official winner by secret ballot.
The judging panel included: Fergie of the multi-platinum two-time Grammy Award-winning group, The Black Eyed Peas; Doug Ducey, Cold Stone Creamery CEO; Ray Karam, Cold Stone Creamery Sr. Tastemaster(TM); Tahsan Scott, Cold Stone Creamery crew member from Sacramento, Calif.; and Mayra, a Make-A-Wish Foundation wish recipient from Washington, D.C.
"I'm completely overwhelmed; this experience was absolutely surreal and everyone was so amazing. I've been dancing for 12 years, and even for me this was a definite challenge as I didn't know what the other dancers were going to do. I was so excited when they announced I was the winner," said Ariana.
Ariana first caught the eye of the judges with her high-energy routine to a mix of songs from MIA, the YingYang Twins, Nelly and Christina Aguilera. For the tie-breaker, Ariana improvised her best moves to win the dance competition. Most of her winnings will go into a college savings fund, but she also plans to enjoy a trip to Europe.
The Cold Stone Creamery "Shake It Up" Dance Contest was launched during National Ice Cream Month on YouTube.com to celebrate the launch of the new indulgent shakes and smoothies available in stores nationwide this summer.
The six runners-up will receive free shakes and smoothies for a year. To view the videos that won the finalists a trip to New York City for the final competition, visit www.coldstonecreamery.com/shakeitup and click through to the Cold Stone Creamery group on YouTube.com.
The six runners-up include:
- Kylee Darcy, 17, from Fairfax, Calif. Kylee showcased her years of dance training in hip-hop and Latin ballroom in a routine to "Shake It Up" by the Wild Boyz.
- Tyler Nilson, 25, from Santa Monica, Calif. Using the inspiration of the Cold Stone Creamery crew who is constantly busting a move while serving ice cream, Tyler performed to "Bust A Move" by Young MC.
- Jimmy Edgett, 20, from Maricopa, Ariz. Jimmy, who can most often be spotted displaying his breakdancing moves on Mill Avenue in Tempe, Ariz., to earn pocket change, wowed the crowd with his routine to "I Believe in Miracles" by the Jackson Sisters.
- Jennifer Ellingson, 17, from Cedar Falls, Iowa. Jennifer, who started dancing when she was 4, performed to the appropriately titled "Ice Cream & Cake" by the Buckwheat Boyz.
- Ken Townsend, 48, from Glen Allen, Va. With the hope of securing tuition for his son who entered college this fall, Ken shook it up with a routine designed to get people on their feet.
- Jasmine Reid, 22, from Brooklyn, N.Y. She's been dancing for 16 years and showcased her training in a routine choreographed to Ciara's "Hotline" to a hometown crowd.
