Ballet dancer extraordinaire Misty Copeland, the first African-American principal ballerina in the history of American Ballet Theatre, will be a guest judge on the July 18 and July 25 episodes of NBC’s new high-rated competition series “World of Dance.” Copeland will be joining for round three of the competition, “The Cut,” where the competitors face the deepest and most intense cut of the season. More than half of the acts will be sent home, and only the top two acts from each division will move on to the Division Final.

“When judging the best of the best, we knew we needed an all-star guest judge with passion and credibility to mentor these incredible dancers,” said judge/executive producer Jennifer Lopez. “Misty Copeland is at the top of her game and we are so honored that she was able to lend her expertise and experience to the ‘World of Dance’ stage.”

In its first three weeks, “World of Dance” has averaged a 2.1 rating in adults 18-49 and 8.7 million viewers overall in “live plus same day” results from Nielsen Media Research, making it the #2 entertainment series of the summer to date in 18-49 and total viewers, behind only NBC’s “America’s Got Talent.” In 18-49, it’s the highest-rated first-year summer series through its first three weeks since 2013 and CBS’ “Under the Dome,” and in total viewers, it’s the most-watched first-year summer alternative series at this point in nine years. The May 30 “World of Dance” premiere grew to a 3.0 rating in “live plus three day” Nielsen’s, with the increase of 0.64 of a rating point being the biggest L+3 lift ever reported by Nielsen for an alternative series premiere.

ABOUT WORLD OF DANCE 

“World of Dance” gives dancers the platform to showcase their talents and compete for a life-altering grand prize of $1 million, led by a judging team of extraordinary dance superstars — Lopez, Derek Hough, NE-YO and host/mentor Jenna Dewan Tatum. In partnership with preeminent global dance brand World of Dance, the series brings the world’s elite dancers together to compete in epic battles of artistry, precision and athleticism. Solo dancers will compete against duos and crews in an unlimited range of dance, including hip-hop, popping, locking, tap, ballet, break dancing, ballroom, stomping and more.