Trinity sophomore and HerCampusTrin writer Rachael Burke appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon last Saturday night after she and her roommate (Kristina Smithy ’14) were selected as the winners of his 2011 Dance Competition. The contest’s guidelines were simple enough: contestants were asked to choreograph a dance move to a short music clip. Rachael and Kristina’s “nug dance” proved to be “late night” worthy (and I’m not talking about the moves we bust out at the frats on the weekend) and landed them a once-in-a-lifetime chance to appear on national television! Luckily, I was able to spend a little time with this highly sought after campus celeb and learned that her fifteen minutes of fame may be just the beginning of a lifetime of celebrity for this HerCampusTrin writer…
What made you decide to enter your video to Jimmy Fallon?
I am a huge fan of the show, and tune in to watch all the time. I heard about the contest on one episode and knew instantly that I had to give it a shot, but I never thought that I would be chosen!
How long have you been “nuggin” for?
I have been nuggin since high school.
Did you ever think your video would get picked?
I never thought that my video would get picked. We actually submitted it and did not even watch it! But apparently Jimmy picked it himself out of all of the other dance challenge videos, so I was very flattered by that.
What was the experience like?
The experience was incredible. We were treated like celebrities — like we were important guests on the show. We were picked up by an NBC driver in front of our dorm and driven to 30 Rockefeller Plaza. We had our own dressing room, got our makeup done, etc. We met a lot of the writers, stage managers, and other behind-the-scenes people, and everyone was so welcoming and friendly. We had rehearsal with Jimmy and the Roots, who were all very kind, friendly, and excited to nug it out. We also spent time with Taylor Lautner and Florence Henderson back stage, both of whom learned and praised the nug dance.
You seemed very composed, were you nervous?
I was not very nervous because Jimmy, the Roots, and the LNJF team made us feel so comfortable on set.
What was the best reaction you got to your performance?
One of the people from the office of development at Trinity told Kristina and I that he had received at least 40 emails from alums who were impressed by the video. That was very flattering, and it was nice to hear that the nug dance is spreading and affecting so many people.
After this experience, is late night television in your future?
I definitely am leaning toward comedy writing in the future, so hopefully this unbelievable experience is just the beginning.