Kevin Bacon returned triumphantly to the high school where Footloose was filmed.

THR reports that it was due to a petition from students who wanted the actor to come back to the iconic movie set 40 years after the film's release.

The outpouring of requests paid off as he went to Payson High School in Utah to their prom. The local ABC channel indicated that the film was shot on location there and at Lehi Roller Mills, which is a local flour mill.

It was the power of a social media campaign lured him back, along with Utah Gov. Spencer Cox that convinced him to visit.

The actor did more than visit. He gave a speech about his return and his gratitude for having him back.

“Go Lions!” he said. “Here we are on this beautiful, beautiful spot on this beautiful, beautiful day. It's been a long time — 40 years — that just blows my mind, you know. Things look a little different around here. I'd say the thing that looks the most different is me.”

He added, “When I first heard about this Bacon to Payson thing, I was like, ‘Wow, this is crazy.' But you were all just tireless. Unrelenting…You talked me into it. I think it's great to see that kind of commitment to anything. I also think that it's amazing the power that this movie has had to just kind of bring people together and connect on the basic ideas there are behind this movie — you know, standing up to authority sometimes, and to being forgiving people who are not exactly the same as you, and for standing up for your own freedoms and your right to express yourself, and for having compassion for other people.”

The star expressed his appreciation for the support of his SixDegrees.org foundation, which aims to create 40,000 resource kits for schools and youths. As a “thank you” for Bacon coming to the school, they pledged to get 5,000 kits.

“And that's what all of you have shown here, by turning what could be just a movie star coming back to get a pat on the back, into something really positive,” he said. “And that's what we're going to do today when we build these kits. Thank you so much for your commitment to giving back to your community and to the people you're sharing this planet with, and I'm thrilled we're going to be working here together today.”

About Footloose

The 1984 movie is about Ren McCormack (Bacon), who is surprised to find a small town in the Midwest that has made dancing and rock music illegal. He struggles to fit in. However, his new friends, Willard Hewitt (Christopher Penn) and Ariel Moore (Lori Singer), work hard to make this conservative town more lax. That said, they run into Shaw Moore (John Lithgow), a reverend who's not about to have changes come easily.

It was great to see Kevin Bacon return to his old stomping grounds, and we're happy to report that dancing and rock music are totally legal.