Saturday, September 8, 2012

Dance Academy: Season One Completed

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Well, this took a while. Dance Academy actually returned to TeenNick a while ago, but I accidentally deleted the finale and it took forever for them to run it again. I'm not sure why the network didn't seem to do much to promote the second half of the first season, but I did like their syndicated attitude toward it, rather than just an episode or two each week. As we left off with this show quite a while ago, and it never really "perked up" in my opinion, I will just be doing highlights (and few remarks) of each episode in this final set. There has been no word as to whether or not the rest of the series will air in the United States, but if it does, expect only highlights for those episodes as well.
Photo: Werner Film Productions
Dance Academy "Turning Pointes" (S01E14):
- Tara can dance en pointe now. She thinks that the semester will be spectacular because of this.
- Abigail talks with a therapist but is "trying too hard" and isn't allowed to return to classes. She says that she does what she's told and eats what she's told, so she should get to dance. "I give it everything but I never get anything back."
- Kat returns with a boyfriend in tow.
- Tara begins her private lessons with Miss Raine, who continues to lecture Tara on her friends. 
- Tara moves in with Kat but it doesn't last because Tara feels bad for leaving Abigail alone.
- Sammy is teaching a senior citizen dance class, which Abigail refuses to help or even observe for the longest time.
- Kat wants Tara to go to a club to hear a band the night before classes begin. But Kat also brings her boyfriend, and only two are let in, leaving Tara outside. Kat has Tara's phone so our protagonist uses the bouncer's phone to call Ethan, though Christian shows up. [why did he send Christian?] Kat eventually comes out but Tara is gone. Christian asks Tara why she's dating Ethan, and she says that he's perfect in every way. Christian goes to kiss Tara but she turns away.

Dance Academy "My Life En Pointe" (S01E15):
- Kat skips classes and misses curfew, earning herself five Saturdays of community service teaching children. She plans to take them to a taping of a dance show, but she forgets and is fired from her punishment because she can't be trusted.
- Kat gets a new roommate, Petra, an exchange student from Germany, who likes to take photos of public displays of affection. Petra finds a dog, brings it back to her room, then meets Sammy, who begins having an allergic reaction. He, Kat, and Tara put up posters with Petra to help find the dog's owners. The dog sneaks into class, though, so Abigail gets involved in the cover-up. [surprisingly!] Christian does, too, and helps catch the dog when it runs away... but he also catches Tara and they kiss, caught on Petra's camera.
- Abigail is back in class but isn't able to participate in all activities, as she's still regaining her strength. [they treat their feet in the common areas??]
- Tara and Christian dance in a piece for Ethan.

Dance Academy "Free Falling" (S01E16):
- Kat asks her friends to throw cupcakes in her face. Sammy and Ethan miss, but Petra does it. Kat's mother is supposed to cook for everyone the following night, but when she bails, Kat is just given money and she decides to throw a party. Abigail has never really been to a party, so Sammy invites her.
- Tara is messing up partners' moves that she could do the week before because she's jumpy around Christian. (It's been a week since their kiss.)
- Ethan makes jello shots while Petra takes helium and acts like Kat's mother when other parents call. [why would Sammy's mother even call? He doesn't actually live with her.]
- Tara's private lesson runs late because she's not able to concentrate and pull off a move correctly. By the time she gets to the party, she sees Christian and Kat making out, which sends Tara running off. Soon enough, Kat is drunk and Lucas is pressing her to get physical. Christian barges in and saves her. 
- Petra asks Abigail to take a photo of her and Sammy, so Abigail takes the time to look through Petra's phone and sends out a picture of Tara and Christian kissing to everyone. [how do you get a rainbow tongue like that?] Petra ends up vomiting while Christian and Lucas get into a fight. Ethan breaks it up and the cops show up.
- all of the kids are called into the headmaster's office so they're all in detention, though Kat winds up on probation. [that we never really hear about again.]

Dance Academy "A Midsummer's Night's Dream" (S01E17):
- Tara had a lamb as a child. She made a mistake once and her lamb was killed by dogs. She learned that there are "forever consequences" sometimes.
- Abigail is failing English - she's had excuses for not turning in anything, and now Sammy must tutor her. She doesn't want his help, though, and turns in an essay that she copies mainly from the internet. Sammy calls her on it, which makes her question if he thinks that she is stupid. Abigail does another essay and Sammy reads it... and they kiss. [and we actually see the kids taking an academic class!]
- The kids are working on acrobatics in class.
- Ethan's with a girl who is back from being in Russia on exchange.
- Christian still calls Tara "training bra."
- The picture of Christian and Tara kissing keeps popping up everywhere - on Tara's bag, on a screen in class, in her locker, and even up and down the hallways.So, when everyone goes camping and works on the ballet in the woods, a fight escalates between Tara and Kat... until they find out Sean is the one who has been plastering the picture everywhere - possibly as an act of love toward Kat. The girls make up.
- Tara tells Christian that she only likes him as a friend, and he says that he's not going to put his heart out there again. [poor Christian.]

Dance Academy "Betty Bunhead" (S01E18):
- Petra is invited to stay at the Academy, but she's also invited to join a Berlin company... but she's desperate to be a teenager and have a boyfriend - Sammy. Tara's mother once wondered if Tara would miss being a regular teenager. [I think all elite athletes hear this speech. Brandon Walsh's parents decided they wanted a son and not a star on Beverly Hills, 90210, so they didn't even tell him he had professional hockey potential until years later!]
- one of the young girls trying out for the junior summer program is from the community center where Kat taught, so she and Christian take a special interest in helping her. It takes Miss Raine a long time to notice, but she finds out that the little girl stayed after being cut, though she allows her to stay at the callbacks. [If I was a ten-year-old girl, I totally would have told on the other girl before then!]
- Abigail volunteers to help with the junior trials, but the instructor tells her to include Petra as well. Well, Abigail decides to get Petra and Tara to sign-up to help the following day, but then switches the sheets after they take off to enjoy the afternoon, making her look like she saved the day while the others look like they blew off the event.
- Tara sets it up so Sammy and Petra get some alone time, but Sammy is skittish and stops anything romantic from happening. Now that he knows Petra likes him, he wants to go public with Abigail, but she still hesitates, even though Christian now knows, too.
- Petra confronts Abigail about switching the sheets, and Petra is convinced to go back to Berlin to take the opportunity. She kisses Sammy before she leaves, having Kat snap a photo. Abigail is aware, but it doesn't bother her, and they return to making out in a closet. 

Dance Academy "Fairest & Best" (S01E19):
- the Instructor tells Tara that she and Abigail will be taking yet another evening class for a week. Tara isn't happy about it until Abigail tells her that only favorites get that kind of attention, so she must have a lot of potential. Because Abigail thinks that things are coming together, she no longer wants to have a boyfriend, so she can focus solely on ballet. In their private lesson, the Instructor gives Tara more feedback than Abigail, whose hips are turned in. Tara walks out of a lesson when she objects to Miss Raine barking orders while they dance. [Tara looks a little heavier in this episode.]
- Tara talks about how all of the boys in her hometown played football, and they sucked. People would drive 500km to watch them lose. This is relevant because a bunch of guys from a nearby school are at the Academy to work on agility and balance.
- the football guys start making fun of the dancers, so they're going to switch places - the footballers have to do a dance and the dancers have to score a goal against the footballers in a touch-football game. Kat helps the footballers a little, but Ethan gets pissed when he finds out. The footballers don't have technique or rhythm, but they memorize the choreography and know the steps. On the field, the dancers have a rough time, but once they work together as a team, they manage to get their goal. [they seem more like rugby players, actually.]
- Abigail tells Sammy that kisses are just kisses by planting one on a footballer she doesn't even know. But, when the guy comes up to her the next day, Sammy says that it proves a kiss isn't just a kiss. Later, she talks to him again and they talk about how hard it is to compete with "the naturals."
- after the rugby game, Sammy kisses Abigail in front of everyone... and she kisses back.

Dance Academy "Ballet Fever" (S01E20):
- Natasha shows up because it's time for annual performances and board meetings. 
- Sammy is starting to do really well in hip-hop. He's also an understudy who is worried about not knowing the routine for the solo in case he has to go on. Abigail tells him not to bother, as he won't be getting lead roles.
- The morning of the performances for the board, Miss Raine takes Sammy out of a number when he bumps into the lead boy. Everyone is unfocused that the rehearsal is cancelled. Hours later, they find that hip-hop and jazz have been removed from the showcase, as the board has been meeting about removing them from the curriculum. Kat and Sammy are upset, and Kat rushes into her mother's dressing room to ask about the meetings, but Natasha won't give her the time of day.
- Meanwhile, because Tara has been taking ballet so seriously, Kat and Sammy force her to take the afternoon off, so she takes the ferry and runs into Christian, and they hang out with some others on the beach, playing cricket. A girl hits on Christian, and Tara is jealous... soon, they're kissing on the beach and riding the ferry back in one another's arms. They're late and run back to the Academy, but Tara takes a tumble down some stairs, requiring Christian to carry her back to the school and straight into the showcase, where Abigail and Sammy are performing in their place.
- During the cocktail hour before the showcase, Kat grabs a mic and talks about how the hip-hop students still want to demonstrate the work that they've done. Natasha promptly steals away Kat when it's over, telling her that she supports a broad dance education, but what she did was irresponsible. [where's Ethan?]

Dance Academy "Fear of Missing Out" (S01E21):
- Tara is in a leg cast and can't dance so she's planning a formal social event, "Winter Wonderland." She admits to Ethan that she likes not dancing - she has a life and isn't being yelled at all the time. 
- Sammy and Abigail are finally showing some chemistry in their dancing together. He asks about moving to "the next level" in their relationship. Sammy asks Christian for advice, and he says not to rush and don't do it if it feels wrong.
- Ethan has been offered a position in the company because of Damian's injury (shot ligaments). This worries Tara, making her afraid that she won't be able to heal.
- Christian can't dance without Tara, so she asks him to skip with her. [no recourse?]
- Tara gets her cast removed (but she's still on crutches), and the initial MRI looks good, but Miss Raine isn't sure Tara is up to the work rehab will require. She suggests that Tara's potential won't carry her through, so Tara needs to realize that she can't have everything.
- Ethan and Kat go to the dance together. Christian surprises Tara with some artificial snow (she's never seen the real thing), but she isn't able to enjoy it with him because she talked about how Ethan "gets her" and he doesn't.
- After the dance, Abigail goes back to Sammy's room, where he lights candles but is worried that it's not "special" enough. Abigail claims that it's perfect, but when Sammy says that it doesn't feel right, he stops.

Dance Academy "Flight or Fight Response" (S01E22):
- Ethan helps Tara with her rehab. He's also taking his time signing his contact with the Company.
- Christian's court date is coming up and the only way to stay out of juvi is having Aaron take the blame for the robbery. Christian also needs to get a character reference from the school, but the headmaster isn't thrilled that Christian is late to class so often.
- Kat still wants to bring back hip-hop and jazz, and decides to teach it on the down-low with Sammy.
- Christian asks Tara to talk, but she heads off to more rehab, though she's overly cautious. 
- Abigail asks Sammy to a picnic, but he's busy. Abigail decides to be nice to Kat, for Sammy's sake, even taking a solo in the hip-hop "class." Sammy isn't there, though, as he's out helping Christian. When he admits that he forgot completely about Abigail, she wants to call off their relationship.
- Christian tries to find Aaron, and after an instructor threatens expulsion, Sammy goes looking for Christian. Sammy gets in the loop and wants to help, but Christian convinces him that life is short and they should take risks, like jumping off a cliff into some water. Finally, Sammy convinces Christian that it would be worth trying to right things.
- Ethan sets it up so Tara can fly on stage, then he plays a piano piece, and realizes that his dream is no longer a Company contract - he wants to create his own work.

Dance Academy "Best Friends Forever" (S01E23):
- Aaron is convinced he'll be going to jail - he's 18 and brought the knife to the robbery. Christian doesn't want that, so he doesn't want to act like the good kid who was influenced by a bad kid. Sammy goes to Aaron and asks him to tell the truth, but Aaron gives him a line about friends ("mates") covering for one another. Sammy has both Tara and one of Christian's "street friends" talk to him, but neither make progress. Sammy, Tara, Kat, Abigail, and Ethan all show up to see Christian before he goes into court, and Christian thanks Sammy in particular for trying so hard. Aaron wants to tell the truth so it's not on his conscience, receiving six months of containment. Christian has a "suspended sentence."
- Ethan needs dancers for a project so that he can get a job as a choreographer in Spain. 
- Kat wants Ethan to stay, so Abigail suggests that she use Tara to keep Ethan. Tara and Abigail plot to get the two back together, but they soon figure it out. Kat tells Abigail that her whole family is leaving her. Abigail points out that she stopped being her friend, not the other way around, so not everyone leaves her. [ouch!]

Dance Academy "Heatwave" (S01E24): [interesting to have Sammy give the opening overview monologue instead of Tara.]
- Sammy and Christian are out running and working on some gymnastics in the park, then play video games and talk of starting a band - they've made a brotherhood pact to stay away from the girls. Soon, Sammy asks Christian to stay with him and his family over the summer, and Kat causes Sammy to wonder if he has real feelings for Christian.
- The a/c is broken in the studio, and after someone slips in a pile of sweat, they work in the pool. [ewww and omg at the same time!]
- Kat and Ethan's father is the director of the year-end piece, The Nutcracker. He's not happy with Ethan's decision to try his hand at choreography at such a young age, but does offer him some work on the show.
- Abigail has to watch her sister, Paige, for the afternoon, and she learns that he parents are splitting up. Paige asks Abigail to talk to them, but she only wants to rehearse, as usual. After being awarded the Snowflake solo (and understudy to Clara), she decides to talk to her mother about the situation.
- Abigail is also up to her old tricks - turning off Tara's alarm so that she's late for the auditions. During her try-out, he knee does something funky, but she's fine and goes on. Kat, on the other hand, decides to walk out of her chance, then tells her dad that she's unhappy at the Academy. 
- Christian gets Mouse King, Sammy gets ensemble, and Tara will be dancing Clara, the lead, even though first year students weren't even really getting solos. [if first-years weren't getting solos, how do three of the ones we know get them??]

Dance Academy "The Deep End" (S01E25):
- Kat will be Costume Mistress, even though this might end up severing her relationship with the Academy. Miles shows up and kisses her, then invites her to go around the world with him.
- Christian has to get Sammy's parents to sign some paperwork in order for him to stay with him, but Sammy is avoiding Christian. Christian thinks it's because Sammy's parents won't sign the forms, when it's really because he isn't sure what to do about his man-crush. Kat tells him to be honest, but the jig is already up when Christian finds the signed paperwork in their room. After kissing Abigail, Sammy comes clean to Christian, who just walks away. Kat and Sammy talk about his feelings for Christian in code, using "mouses," "muffins," and "Labradors."
- Abigail talks to her therapist about her parents separating. [Abigail's crying is pathetic.]
- Ethan's dad tells him not to help Tara too much. Abigail then makes fun of Tara to others, saying she doesn't know the moves and that she only got the role because Ethan's "wrapped around her little finger."

Dance Academy "Learning to Fly, Part 2" (S01E26): [I found it odd that the season finale is named as if it were the second part to the season premiere. perhaps that's normal in Australia?]
- Sammy excels in his exams but his father still wants to withdraw his financial support. Christian reads his report card to his mother's grave and leaves her flowers, thanking her for making him audition.
- Christian considers staying with Tara for the summer instead of Sammy, but he doesn't want things to get weird. But, then Ethan asks Tara to stay in Sydney for the break, and she accepts. Kat, on the other hand, is planning on a road trip for the summer but not telling anyone until she's at the airport (though Christian finds out early). [road trip that starts with a flight? I dunno.]
- Tara and Abigail both have partial scholarships for the next year.
- Tara isn't consistent and it's worrying the choreographer. But, once she puts on a dress worn by several famous ballerinas, it "transforms" her into a better dancer. [for some reason, Tara is now wearing braided pigtails constantly.] Of course, when the time comes, Abigail sabotages Tara by sending her costume to storage, even though Tara helped out her nemesis by arranging their mothers to sit together at the performance so that Abigail's parents both attend.
- Tara calls Kat, crying, about the costume mishap. Kat returns to see the performance, knowing that it's soon the end for her anyway - she didn't get accepted into the second year at the Academy. Between Kat's support and Abigail admitting that Tara is better than she is, Tara is willing to go on in a backup costume
Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Email This Pin This

No comments: