On the forth day of Christmas, two guys want to see, their dance moves inspire our city.
Co-workers and friends Matt Monnin, 34, of Lakeview, and Peter Frederiksen, 27, of Logan Square, are squaring off in a dance battle-known as the Rudolph Dance Off-every day in December leading up to Christmas. Each day a new video is posted to rudolphdanceoff.com, where users can pick a daily winner.
The duo dances around a boombox set in front of a different Chicago locale every time.
Both Frederiksen and Monnin said they enjoy dancing at weddings they attended and had long been brainstorming a possible synchronized dance video, but never got around to it. The idea was birthed then, Frederiksen said, when a couple co-workers with knowledge of their penchant for dancing approached them with a proposition.
A pair of friends "approached Matt and I because we're such seasoned dancers," he said. "They asked us if we wanted to do 25 dance offs. How do you say, 'No,' to that?"
Site visitors can vote for either Frederiksen or Monnin as their favorite. The pair will tally points for each day as well as in total to declare a winner on Dec. 25.
There's nothing else riding on the outcome, except for, you know, their friendship.
"I won't be able to look Matt in the face if he wins," Frederiksen said.
"I'd still look at Peter, but that's as far as it would go," Monnin said.
Frederiksen and Monnin said they are taking requests for future songs on their dedicated Facebook page., Not all the competitions have been filmed yet, they said. All the battles are one take, except for one yet-to-be-reasled dance off on Promontory Point, when a huge wave crashed over the break wall and soaked them.
There's no hidden agenda or advertisement associated with Rudolph Dance Off, they said. It's just a fun way they hope will inspire others to dance during the holidays.
"For family and friends it's just kind of a gift," Monnin said, adding he's heard and seen comments online from people saying they've been inspired to dance too. "If you like it, that's fantastic. If you think we look like idiots, even better. We're really just trying to highlight the city, the season and some fantastic dance skills."
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