Cheryl Scott was at a restaurant in London final yr, when a employee who acknowledged her approached for a chat.
That form of factor occurs ceaselessly for the ABC7 Chicago meteorologist, however extra sometimes within the Midwest. You’d think about the tableside customer may need wisecracked about depressing English climate or requested Scott for a private forecast.
Nope.
“I can’t wait to look at your New 12 months’s Eve!” the person gushed.
By that, he meant the tightly choreographed, high-octane mini-movie productions that air throughout the widespread “Countdown Chicago” particular every year and have Scott and information anchor Terrell Brown (and an area troupe) dancing throughout town.
Viewers who’ve caught (and favored) the routines on-line have written in from Japan, Dubai and all around the United States — such is the recognition of the occasion, which started when a producer urged Scott and Brown have an impromptu on-air dance-off.
“So we went for it, and it was a whole and utter catastrophe,” Brown mentioned as he was engaged on the 2025 present’s ultimate edit in mid-December. “We walked away from that have going, ‘Why don’t we take our time if we’re going to do one thing like that and truly produce it and put some effort behind it?’ ”
Neither Scott nor Brown, who’s the “Countdown Chicago” present’s govt producer, had any prior skilled dance expertise.
“I grew up dancing once I was little — simply your typical jazz, faucet and ballet lessons,” Scott mentioned.
Which may come as a shock to followers of the present, the place the standard of the dancing rivals one thing you’d see within the latter rounds of “America’s Acquired Expertise.”
Scott, Brown and their inventive group begin mulling themes and scouting places for the present a yr prematurely (their first dance was in 2018). Brown writes a shot-by-shot screenplay. They work with choreographers and dancers from Puzzle Field Dance Studio, an organization on the North Facet.
Final yr’s phase featured an invasion of AI robotic creatures trying to take over town. Sister Jean Dolores Bertha Schmidt of Loyola College Chicago — aka “Sister Jean,” then 104 — made a cameo (in silhouette) as the pinnacle of mission management who dispatches town’s “most interesting brokers,” Scott and Brown, to neutralize the robots.
Dancing breaks out on a CTA practice, the Merchandise Mart L platform, on a Wendella tour boat.
The entire thing is shot in 12 hours at evening, after a yr’s planning.
“In order that once we get to that evening, each minute, each second of the shoot is deliberate element by element,” Brown mentioned.
Productions have been filmed on the Area Museum, within the grand foyer of the Civic Opera Home, at Navy Pier and on State Road. It doesn’t at all times go easily. A Chicago go to by President Joe Biden meant the crew needed to reschedule a drone shot above the Area Museum due to restricted air area.
And generally, the dancers movie in frigid circumstances — as they did final yr.
“I don’t wish to say for positive it was 35 (levels), however the temperature dropped dramatically that evening,” Scott mentioned. “We had a entrance transfer in after which it began raining. So we’re dancing on this boat and the floor is tremendous slippery. So now we have to pause manufacturing.”
On this yr’s video, the duo’s seventh, Scott and Brown present up as “academics” jazzing up a uninteresting highschool dance at St. Ignatius School Prep on the Close to West Facet.
Brown mentioned scouts visited excessive faculties throughout town and suburbs for about two months to seek out one that will work. The group wanted a college near downtown and one that will be keen to accommodate a manufacturing crew making a number of visits.
“They’d their college students line the corridor (at Ignatius). They’d posters with our names on them. It was like a pep rally once we walked into the varsity,” Brown mentioned.
Brown and Scott already are entertaining concepts for subsequent yr’s manufacturing. Would they be up for leaping out of an airplane?
Certain.
“We each flew with the Blue Angels,” Scott mentioned.
How about one thing much more daring, like wire strolling — the way in which Nik Wallenda did a couple of years again, throughout the Chicago River?
“Besides we’d have to bounce on the wire,” Brown mentioned.
A manufacturing set within the Prepare dinner County Jail? (In spite of everything, actor Hugh Grant’s jail dance quantity in “Paddington 2″ was a show-stopper).
“Most likely not,” mentioned Brown, with an indulgent smile.
“There are particular issues that wouldn’t carry pleasure to Chicago,” Scott mentioned.
Provided that each appear to be often known as a lot for his or her dance strikes because the work on their day jobs, has both given any thought to a profession change?
“I can not sing, however, hey, you by no means know. A visitor look on a Broadway present in Chicago for Terrell and I may very well be enjoyable in the future,” Scott mentioned.
