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“Our focus is on casting women and couples from the New York area who have something in their life that they can turn to dance for to help them through,” says Potestivo, 33. “Whether it’s surprising friends at the upcoming homecoming or a wedding anniversary or reunion of some sort, we want to help them with a special moment of their life that they want to acknowledge and make memorable.”

“Potomac Fever” has found a home at the E! network. Rob Lowe, a former star of “The West Wing,” will produce it, along with Los Angeles- based 44 Blue Productions. Vinnie Potestivo, a veteran of hit reality shows who previously ran MTV’s East Coast talent development department, is the casting director.

“We’re trying to tell the story of America,” says Vinnie Potestivo, whose New York City-based agency bearing his name is about three weeks into casting sessions for the show.

I’m a reality casting director. It’s my job to find fascinating individuals, who have amazing life stories and get to tell their stories to millions of viewers worldwide. From raging seniors (“Sunset Daze”) to single millionaires (“The Millionaire Matchmaker”), my job never gets old. I don’t just create icons… I create the shows that distract people from their day-to-day lives and also create a common social thread.” — Vinnie Potestivo

Part of the success of “Sunset Daze’’ has to do with casting. The characters we meet in the first two episodes are more than the flat types we too often see on reality TV — you know, The Jock, The Wallflower, The Drunk.

Why is Vinnie the guy for Bravo’s producers on the East Coast? With nearly a decade of casting experience for MTV, and thorough knowledge of reality TV production and brand development, the Tottenville High and Wagner College grad is far from a newcomer to the scene. But his new company, Vinnie Potestivo Entertainment, has gone from 2 to 15 employees in less than two years, proving with numbers that he is a rising talent in what he does.

Vinnie Potestivo knows a thing or two about casting reality-TV shows. He got his
start at the Tom Green show on MTV, and went on to cast all the MTV VJ’s, as
well as Fashionably Loud and the Road Rules shows. He now runs his own
company, Vinnie Potestivo Entertainment, which cast and produced Sunset Daze,
the new Real World-for-senior-citizens show on WEtv.

Who is Vinnie looking to tap as the next on-camera star at MTV? He shared the secret with me for your information. “Here at MTV, for entertainment reporters or news correspondents or news anchors, we look for someone with music or pop culture knowledge. Yet, at the same time, someone who can articulate what’s going on within our demographic.

When he’s not hiring reality star contestants and VJ’s at MTV (which racked up 28.6 million dollars in revenue last year alone), Potestivo is a highly regarded consultant in the TV development industry.