‘Let’s Dance!’: Kevin Bacon says he’ll attend prom at school where ‘Footloose’ was filmed

PAYSON, Utah — It’s been 40 years since Kevin Bacon yelled “Let’s Dance!”

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Four decades later, Bacon will be returning to Payson High School to once again attend prom, but this time it will be in real life.

Seniors at the Utah school had been trying for months to get Bacon to come back to the area to attend their prom. It all started with a “Footloose” pep rally earlier this year, and then the theater department put on a stage production of the film. Several other events, from taking photos with a cardboard cutout of Bacon to posting video clips recreating the iconic dances from the film, have been part of the push called #BaconToPayson, KSL reported.

On Friday morning, Bacon told students while appearing on the “Today” show, that he will be traveling to the community to attend the milestone dance.

“I have been so impressed with everything that’s been going on there with this crazy idea to get me to come back,” Bacon said via video call from Atlanta, where he’s filming a new show.

“It hasn’t gone unnoticed by me, not to mention the fact that you tied in SixDegrees.org, our foundation, and are trying to figure out ways to give back to your community. It’s really inspirational, so thank you. Thank you. And I’m gonna come. I gotta come,” he said.

Student Council Advisor Jenny Straheli told KSL last month that the prom will be held in the Payson school gym and it will be decorated “like an ‘80′s prom.”

The students are also helping out Bacon’s non-profit Six Degrees by making 5,000 resource kits helping the organization reach its goal of 40,000 kits.

This year’s prom is the last that will be held at Payson High School, which was built in 1967, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. The school, which has photos of Bacon plastered throughout and has even memorialized his character’s locker, will be torn down and rebuilt next spring.

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Through the years Portrait of American actor and musician Kevin Bacon, New York, 1980. (Photo by Jack Mitchell/Getty Images) (Jack Mitchell/Getty Images)

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