Dance Academy facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Dance Academy |
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| Genre | Teen drama |
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| Opening theme | "My Chance" by The White Rhinos |
| Composer(s) | Bryony Marks |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 65 (list of episodes) |
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| Executive producer(s) |
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| Producer(s) | Joanna Werner |
| Cinematography | Martin McGrath |
| Camera setup | Multiple-camera setup |
| Running time | 24–25 minutes |
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| Picture format | HDTV |
| Original release | 31 May 2010 – 30 September 2013 |
Dance Academy is an Australian teen-oriented television drama produced by Werner Film Productions in association with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and ZDF. Series one premiered on 31 May 2010, and series two began airing on 12 March 2012. Series three premiered on ABC3 on 8 July 2013 in Australia.
The television drama lasted 3 seasons with 65 episodes. A film sequel to the television series, Dance Academy: The Movie, was released by StudioCanal in Australian cinemas on 6 April 2017.
Plot
Dance Academy is narrated mainly from the perspective of Tara Webster (Xenia Goodwin), a newly-accepted first year student at the National Academy of Dance in Sydney, which also doubles as a Year 10–12 high school for the dancers. Throughout the series, she learns to better her ballet technique, as well as learn contemporary ballet and hip-hop dance, while creating lifelong friendships and experiencing many hardships. In the first series, Tara soon befriends fellow students Kat (Alicia Banit) and Ethan Karamakov (Tim Pocock), Sammy Lieberman (Tom Green), Abigail Armstrong (Dena Kaplan) and Christian Reed (Jordan Rodrigues), as well as eventually getting to know her teacher Ms. Raine (Tara Morice).
Series Two sees Tara return to the Academy for her second year with the hope of representing Australia in an international ballet competition, the Prix de Fonteyn. This series introduces new students Grace Whitney (Isabel Durant), Ben Tickle (Thomas Lacey), Ollie Lloyd (Keiynan Lonsdale), as well as teacher Saskia Duncan (Brooke Harman), and sees the characters react to an unexpected death.
Series Three follows the characters in their final year at the Academy as they compete for a contract in the dance company. Grace and Tara obtain temporary spots in the corps de ballet, Kat stars in a dance film, Abigail and Ollie explore commercial dancing and singing, and the third years go on tour for Romeo and Juliet throughout regional Australia.
Episodes
List of Dance Academy episodes
Cast
| Actor | Character | Series | Film | ||
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| 1 | 2 | 3 | |||
| Xenia Goodwin | Tara Webster | Main | Starring | ||
| Alicia Banit | Kat Karamakov | Main | Starring | ||
| Dena Kaplan | Abigail Armstrong | Main | Starring | ||
| Thom Green | Sammy Lieberman | Main | |||
| Jordan Rodrigues | Christian Reed | Main | Starring | ||
| Tim Pocock | Ethan Karamakov | Main | |||
| Tara Morice | Mrs. Lucinda Raine | Recurring | Starring | ||
| Thomas Lacey | Ben Tickle | Main | Starring | ||
| Isabel Durant | Grace Whitney | Main | |||
| Keiynan Lonsdale | Ollie Lloyd | Recurring | Main | Starring | |
Awards
| Ceremony | Award | Nominee | Result |
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| 2010 AWGIE Awards | Children's Television: C Classification | "Growing Pains" by Sarah Lambert | Nominated |
| 2010 AWGIE Awards | Children's Television: C Classification | "Turning Pointes" by Greg Waters | Nominated |
| 2010 Australian Directors Guild Awards | Best Direction in a Television Children's Program | "Behind Barres" by Jeffrey Walker | Won |
| 2010 AFI Awards | Best Direction in Television | Jeffrey Walker for "Week Zero" | Nominated |
| 2010 AFI Awards | Best Children's Television Drama | Dance Academy | Nominated |
| 2011 Kidscreen Awards | Best Companion Website | Dance Academy | Won |
| 2011 TV Week Logie Awards | Most Outstanding Children's Program | Dance Academy | Won |
| 2011 Seoul International Drama Awards | Best TV Drama | Dance Academy | Nominated |
| 2011 International Emmy Awards | Children and Young People | Dance Academy | Nominated |
| 2011 Asian Television Awards | Best Children's Programme | "Learning to Fly, Part 2" by Samantha Strauss | Nominated |
| 2011 Hugo Television Awards | Children's Series | Dance Academy, Series 2 | Won |
| 2011 Banff World Media Festival | Youth Programs (13+) - Fiction | "Week Zero" by Samantha Strauss | Nominated |
| 2012 AACTA Awards | Best Children's Television Series | Dance Academy Series 2 | Nominated |
| 2013 TV Week Logie Awards | Most Outstanding Children's Program | Dance Academy | Won |
| 2014 TV Week Logie Awards | Most Outstanding Children's Program | Dance Academy | Nominated |
Books
ABC Books has released seven 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.
Film: Dance Academy: The Movie
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| Directed by | Jeffrey Walker |
| Written by | Samantha Strauss |
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| Music by | David Hirschfelder |
| Cinematography | Martin McGrath |
| Editing by | Geoff Lamb |
| Studio | Screen Australia Film Victoria |
| Distributed by | StudioCanal |
| Release date(s) | 6 April 2017 |
| Running time | 101 minutes |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
On 22 April 2015, a feature film adaption of Dance Academy was announced along with other feature film projects to have received funding from Screen Australia. The film is a sequel to the television series, set 18 months after the events of series three, and follows Tara's journey as she pursues her dream to become a ballerina star. Pre-production for the film, then titled Dance Academy: The Comeback, began on 17 April 2016. Shooting for the film began on 29 May 2016, and wrapped on 22 July. The official trailer for the film was released on 25 December 2016. The film, retitled Dance Academy: The Movie, was released by StudioCanal to Australian cinemas on 6 April 2017. It was released internationally on Netflix under the title Dance Academy: The Comeback.
See also
In Spanish: Dance Academy para niños
