Dance Academy

Dance Academy
Genre	Serial drama Teen drama
Format	Live action
Created by	Samantha Strauss Joanna Werner
Starring	Xenia Goodwin Alicia Banit Dena Kaplan Tom Green Jordan Rodrigues Tim Pocock Tara Morice
Opening theme	"My Chance" by The White Rhinos
Composer(s)	Bryony Marks
Country of origin	Australia
Language(s)	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	26 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Bernadette O'Mahony Joanna Werner
Producer(s)	Joanna Werner
Cinematography	Martin McGrath
Camera setup	Multiple-camera setup
Running time	24–25 minutes
Production company(s)	Werner Film Productions ZDF Enterprises ACTF
Broadcast
Original channel	ABC1, ABC3 (Australia) ZDF (Germany)
Picture format	HDTV
Original run	31 May 2010 (2010-05-31) – present
External links
Website
Production website

Dance Academy is an Australian teen-oriented television drama produced by Werner Film Productions in association with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and ZDF.^[1] Series one premiered on 31 May 2010, and series two is scheduled for 2012.^[2]

Plot

The events in the show are primarily seen from the perspective of Tara Webster, a new student at the National Academy of Dance. She, along with fellow students Katrina Karamakov, Ethan Karamakov, Samuel Lieberman, Abigail Armstrong and Christian Reed, will learn the ins and outs of ballet.^[3][4] Series two will see Tara return to the Academy for her second year and the hope of representing Australia in the international ballet competition "Prix de Fonteyn". This series will introduce characters Grace Whitney and Ben Tickle.^[5][6]

Production

Dance Academy is produced by Joanna Werner's film company Werner Films Productions in association with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Screen Australia, Film Victoria, Film New South Wales and ZDF for Germany.

Casting and filming

Casting for series one began in early 2009 in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. All cast members had to be skilled in drama and dancing and had to cope with Australia's best choreographers. Filming began on 13 July 2009 and wrapped in early November.^[7] Production of series two was officially green-lighted by ABC and ZDF on 2 July 2010.^[5] Casting calls were issued on 14 September 2010, and principal photography in Sydney is scheduled to take place between 31 January and 4 August 2011. Series two will be released to broadcasters in 2012.^[2][8]

Premiere

The series was originally announced to premiere in mid 2010 on ABC3, however, like Dead Gorgeous, the premiere was pushed to ABC1 on 31 May 2010 and ABC3 on 6 June 2010.^[9] The first series premiered on Germany's ZDF on 26 September 2010.

Main cast

The six main characters from series one

Actor	Character	Series
Xenia Goodwin	Tara Webster	1, 2
Alicia Banit	Kat Karamakov	1, 2[10]
Dena Kaplan	Abigail Armstrong	1, 2
Tom Green	Samuel Lieberman	1, 2
Jordan Rodrigues	Christian Reed	1, 2
Tim Pocock	Ethan Karamakov	1, 2
Tara Morice	Miss Raine	1, 2
Tom Lacey	Ben Tickle	2
Issi Durant	Grace Whitney	2

Episodes

Main article: List of Dance Academy episodes

Multimedia

DVD releases

The Australian Broadcasting Company has released the all 26 episodes from series one on DVD over four volumes and on The Complete First Series compilation.

Title	Region 4 release date	Episodes
Dance Academy - Learning to Fly	1 July 2010 (2010-07-01)[11]	1. "Learning to Fly, Part 1", 2. "Week Zero", 3. "Behind Barres", 4. "Minefield", 5. "Real Men Don't Dance"
Dance Academy - Growing Pains	2 September 2010 (2010-09-02)[12]	6. "Perfection", 7. "Crush Test Dummies", 8. "Growing Pains", 9. "Heartbeat", 10. "Through the Looking Glass", 11. One Perfect Day", 12. "Pressure"
Dance Academy - Turning Pointe	2 September 2010 (2010-09-02)[13]	13. "Family", 14. "Turning Pointes", 15. "My Life En Pointe", 16. "Free Falling", 17. "A Midsummer's Night's Dream", 18. "Betty Bunheads", 19. "Fairest and Best"
Dance Academy - Ballet Fever	7 October 2010 (2010-10-07)[14]	20. "Ballet Fever", 21. "FOMO: Fear of Missing Out", 22. "Flight or Fight Response", 23. "BFF: Best Friends Forever", 24. "Heatwave", 25. "The Deep End", 26. "Learning to Fly, Part 2"
Dance Academy - The Complete First Series	2 December 2010 (2010-12-02)[15]	All 26 episodes from series one.

Books

ABC Books has released five paperback novels, each based on a particular episode and from the perspective of a single character. The books are published by ABC Books and HarperCollins Australia.

• Dance Academy: Tara: Learning to Fly, by Meredith Costain, ISBN 9780733328947.^[16]
• Dance Academy: Sammy: Real Men Don't Dance, by Bruno Bouchet, ISBN 9780733328794.^[17]
• Dance Academy: Christian: Behind Barres, by Sebastian Scott, ISBN 9780733328978.^[18]
• Dance Academy: Kat: Anywhere but Here, by Bruno Bouchet, ISBN 9780733328954.^[19]
• Dance Academy: Abigail: Through the Looking Glass, by Rachel Elliot, ISBN 9780733328961.^[20]

Awards

Ceremony	Award	Nominee	Result
2010 AWGIE Awards	Children's Television: C Classification	"Growing Pains" by Sarah Lambert	Nominated[21]
2010 AWGIE Awards	Children's Television: C Classification	"Turning Pointes" by Greg Waters	Nominated[21]
2010 Australian Directors Guild Awards	Best Direction in a Television Children’s Program	"Behind Barres" by Jeffrey Walker	Won[22]
2011 TV Week Logie Awards	Most Outstanding Children's Program	Dance Academy	Won [23]

References

1. ^ "Dance Academy: World Premiere: starts 5:20pm Monday May 31, ABC1". ABC TV Blog. 21 May 2010. http://blogs.abc.net.au/abc_tv/2010/05/dance-academy-world-premiere-start-monday-may-31-abc1.html. Retrieved 31 May 2010. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Dance Academy Returns for a Second Series". Care for Kids (Australian Children's Television Foundation) (118). November 2010. http://www.actf.com.au/news/care_for_kids/backissues/CFK118.pdf. Retrieved 5 January 2011. 
3. ^ Knox, David (17 May 2010). "Dance Academy". TV Tonight. http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2010/05/dance-academy.html. Retrieved 18 June 2010. 
4. ^ Knox, David (13 July 2009). "Tara Morice heads up Dance Academy". TV Tonight. http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2009/07/tara-morice-heads-up-dance-academy.html. Retrieved 18 June 2010. 
5. ^ ^{a b} "Victoria ends financial year with a Slap". Encore Magazine. 2 July 2010. http://www.encoremagazine.com.au/victoria-ends-financial-year-with-a-slap-3445. Retrieved 5 July 2010. 
6. ^ "Cameras start rolling on Dance Academy, Series Two". ABC TV Blog. 31 January 2011. http://blogs.abc.net.au/abc_tv/2011/01/cameras-start-rolling-on-dance-academy-series-two.html. Retrieved 31 January 2011. 
7. ^ Dance Academy Kicks Off Today. . ABC.net.au (Australian Broadcasting Company). 13 July 2009. http://www.abc.net.au/corp/pubs/media/s2625286.htm. Retrieved 4 June 2010. 
8. ^ "Casting: Female 17 Plus Supports Dance Academy Series 2". Dare 2 Audition. 14 September 2010. http://www.dare2audition.com.au/modules.php?name=News&file=print&sid=2265. Retrieved 4 January 2011. 
9. ^ Knox, David (12 May 2010). "Airdate: Dance Academy". TV Tonight. http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2010/05/airdate-dance-academy.html. Retrieved 31 May 2010. 
10. ^ "Alicia Banit". Catherine Poulton Management. http://www.cpmgt.com.au/media/user_files/talent/9_bio.pdf. Retrieved 18 April 2011. 
11. ^ "Dance Academy – Learning To Fly". ABC.net.au. Australian Broadcasting Company. http://shop.abc.net.au/browse/product.asp?productid=758270. Retrieved 25 June 2010. 
12. ^ "Dance Academy – Growing Pains". ABC.net.au. Australian Broadcasting Company. http://shop.abc.net.au/browse/product.asp?productid=758454. Retrieved 25 June 2010. 
13. ^ "Dance Academy – Turning Pointe". ABC.net.au. Australian Broadcasting Company. http://shop.abc.net.au/browse/product.asp?productid=758462. Retrieved 25 June 2010. 
14. ^ "Dance Academy – Ballet Fever". ABC.net.au. Australian Broadcasting Company. http://shop.abc.net.au/browse/product.asp?productid=758470. Retrieved 25 June 2010. 
15. ^ "Dance Academy – The Complete 1st Series (4 Disc Set)". EzyDVD.com.au. http://www.ezydvd.com.au/item.zml/816431. Retrieved 13 October 2010. 
16. ^ "Dance Academy: Tara: Learning to Fly". ABC.net.au. Australian Broadcasting Company. http://shop.abc.net.au/browse/product.asp?productid=167517. Retrieved 23 June 2010. 
17. ^ "Dance Academy: Sammy: Real Men Don't Dance". ABC.net.au. Australian Broadcasting Company. http://shop.abc.net.au/browse/product.asp?productid=167509. Retrieved 23 June 2010. 
18. ^ "Dance Academy: Christian: Behind Barres". ABC.net.au. Australian Broadcasting Company. http://shop.abc.net.au/browse/product.asp?productid=167541. Retrieved 23 June 2010. 
19. ^ "Dance Academy: Kat: Anywhere but Here". ABC.net.au. Australian Broadcasting Company. http://shop.abc.net.au/browse/product.asp?productid=167525. Retrieved 23 June 2010. 
20. ^ "Dance Academy: Abigail: Through the Looking Glass". ABC.net.au. Australian Broadcasting Company. http://shop.abc.net.au/browse/product.asp?productid=167533. Retrieved 23 June 2010. 
21. ^ ^{a b} "2010 AWGIE Awards Nominations". AWG.com.au. Australian Writers' Guild. Archived from the original on 24 June 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5qirlRqAi. 
22. ^ Knox, David (24 September 2010). "SBS, ABC win at Director's Awards". TV Tonight. http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2010/09/sbs-abc-win-at-directors-awards.html. Retrieved 26 September 2010. 
23. ^ "Karl Stefanovic wins the Gold Logie". http://tvweek.ninemsn.com.au/blog.aspx?blogentryid=818463&showcomments=true. 

External links

• Official website
• Dance Academy at the Internet Movie Database