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''Electric Circus'', aka '''''EC''''', was a Canadian Live Dance Music Television Program aired on MuchMusic and Citytv . It aired from September 16 , 1988 until December 12 , 2003 . It can best be compared with the American dance series '' Soul Train '' and '' American Bandstand ''. Interestingly enough, the show was also simulcast on MuchUSA during the show's run and also had a loyal following among American viewers, especially Dance Music fans who tuned in since it was the only place to see artists and videos from the genre, which usually gets shunned or avoided by MTV in the United States . The Dance Hall where people were invited to dance which the show used was within the CHUM-City Building in Toronto , but audiences sometimes spilled out onto Queen Street West . Most music played was pre-recorded but live acts also were invited on some shows, and in the 1990s guest Deejays were also featured. The show was hosted by Monika Deol until 1996 , then a rotation of various hosts took over. The show was an hour and a half, until 2001 , when it shortened to just an hour long. Like its American antecedents ''American Bandstand'' and ''Soul Train'', ''Electric Circus'' was known for its flashy dancers and many of these dancers became fan favorites in their own right. A couple of these dancers later graduated to host the show. The show's original producer, Joel Goldberg, went on to produce many music videos and even a few feature films (He is now Managing Director, Creative/Production Services for CourtTV, a CHUM property). His minimalist approach to the set was brilliant - using nothing more than a well run Vari-Light installation, some superb camera work from videographers including George Lagogianes and talented dancers & live performances Goldberg created a show that highlighted the music and the dancers while throwing cutaways to the music videos. After he moved on, the set became overcrowded with "glitz" to hide the fact that most of the dancers (whose costuming became coreographed) were nothing to watch and most of the performances were synched - with the exception of the DJs who mixed the breaks as well as a short feature each episode. In 1988 some of the original featured dancers included The WiZ, Tori G (also an editor for CITY TV), WARP-1, Brenda C, Kenrick and Tyra J. Many of the dancers were refulars at "The Club At Richard's" in Mississauga, as well as working professionally in the "Go-Go" circuit. The WiZ (incidentally the first one asked to be on the show) who was also a DJ & Producer, created the only theme the show ever had, "The EC Rap" as well as a short audio "stinger" for the breaks - both can be found on one of his websites along with some streaming mixes of music from that era The WiZ . PAST HOSTS
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