Dance Academy's Second Season, Part 4 of 4

This is the final group of recaps for second season of Dance Academy. I don't want to spoil the end, but you should be aware that one of the main characters dies unexpectedly a few episodes before the finale. It's a shame, as when the third season airs, I would have loved to find out what all of the characters do after graduation, and we'll now have no future for this dancer. But, the way some others are changing their paths, who knows where they'll be in an academic year!

danceacademy.wikia.com

S02E21: It's time for the national round of the Prix, and the students don't do fabulously in the first round. [though everyone claiming bias was annoying.] Sammy's father and brother come to see him perform, and they want to meet his significant other. Sammy asks Abigail to act as his girlfriend for a lunch, but his father later sees him holding Ollie's hand. [wonder how this will play out...] Later, a kid messes with the sound system during Sammy's number, but Christian and Ben lock him in a closet. [there was NOBODY official backstage??] Sammy's father invites Ollie to join Sam on a trip home anytime. [awww!] Christian thinks that Ben is trying to psych him out by flirting with Tara, but Tara enjoys the attention... right up until she thinks Ben's timing might really be to mess with Christian. And, Abigail's mother thinks they should move to New York, so she's shocked when Abigail chooses the fringe show instead of the Prix. [as am I!] Tara, Grace, Sammy, and the cheater make it to the international round.

S02E22: Grace's father is supposed to come to see the international round of the Prix, but he cancels because of business. Christian takes motorcycle lessons but tries to showboat and winds up laying down the bike, hurting his arm. [of course.] There's a rumor going around that fewer third-years are going on tour, so more will be snagging the Peter Pan parts, making auditions fierce. Grace thinks that Zach is pretty much handing her Tinkerbell, so she makes a move on him. He tells her that she's putting more into the situation than is there, so she Grace spins it the other way when she tells Tara that Zach tried to kiss her, asking Tara to tell Miss Raine. [I think I might hate Grace more than Abigail.] Grace is sent back to London.

S02E23: Peter Pan has been cast, with Abigail getting Wendy, Kat getting Tinkerbell, Christian getting Peter Pan, and Ben getting John. Abigail feels she's unsuited for the role, afraid that she's been typecast. She wants to drop the part, but Miss Raine tells her she needs to focus. [no Prix and no spring piece? what would she do with herself, LoL?] She has other things on her mind, though, when she pretends she likes fish when she's asked on a date. She and Sammy skip class so he can teach her about marine stuff.

Meanwhile, Ben is still after Tara, but he starts taking it too far when he wears her bra and makes fun of her. He then throws an ice-skating party for her, though she's starting to think about moving to Russia - the Prix winners will be able to do their final year of training elsewhere.

S02E24: Grace shows up to represent Great Britain in the Prix, planning to do Tara's preferred solo. [hate Grace!] Tara goes to one of the judges and explains that Grace might have taken someone's place on the United Kingdom team by injuring a teammate, but nothing malicious is uncovered. Sammy wants to change his solo to a group piece, but Abigail calls it a gimmick. [it WAS weird.] Shortly before the Prix, however, Sammy is killed in a car accident. [WHAAAT??!?] Christian breaks the news to Tara, who runs to console Kat and Abigail, who kissed her ex-boyfriend the night before. [awww.]

S02E25: The Prix is postponed, Peter Pan is canceled, and classes are optional for the second-years. [it was quite moving to see the kids in mourning dress performing warm-ups.] Abigail auditions with some third-years for a six-week tour, but freaks out because she misses Sammy, her original partner. [I didn't see that coming.] The group of friends talk about Sammy, read his bucket list, and play his favorite songs. We also see flashbacks to Sammy trying to talk his way into the Academy after not making the finals in auditions, and Sammy meeting Kat, then Abigail, then Christian. [I just found these awkward.]

S02E26: Tara has nightmares about the Prix, and asks Miss Raine to remove her from the competition. [I thought this was a major reaction!] Ben is selected as the alternate to compete in Sammy's place, which Abigail supports but Tara rejects. Grace manages to psych out Tara a bit in the contemporary round, but Abigail helps Tara train a different dance for "The Red Shoes," the solo that is Tara's unicorn of sorts. [like that Gone in 60 Seconds reference?] Ben does the piece Sammy would have done, with video of his friends dancing in the background, who then join on-stage. The choreography wasn't approved in advance, so he's disqualified. [how do the kids keep jumping from the audience to backstage to sidestage? all-access passes??]

Though Tara had more heart, Grace wins the Prix and decides to return to the Academy, Abigail goes to Spain with Ethan for the summer, Kat passes her finals and is accepted into second-year (and decides to go to the farm with Tara for the summer), and Christian (now 18!) rides his motorcycle off alongside his father.

Dance Academy's Second Season, Part 3 of 4

We're back with our third installment of Dance Academy's second season. (part 1 here and part 2 here.) Here, Abigail begins to explore other interests, Kat begins to find her place at the Academy again, and Christian begins a relationship with his father.

danceacademy.wikia.com

S02E14: Tara heads home and ignores the calls of her friends, though she learns that she made it past the preliminaries, behind Abigail. She goes to Sydney for a back check-up and runs into Ben, who volunteers to put on plays with kids at the hospital. It turns out, Ben is a leukemia survivor. [he really is a whiz kid... didn't start dancing until later and is ahead of his national peers?] Back at the Academy, Kat is not getting along with her classmates in the first-year curricula, even after acting more dedicated to her studies. Abigail eventually orders the first-years to treat Kat better. [I'm sick of Abigail.]

S02E15: Ethan struggles to find employment and manages to get a job choreographing a fringe musical. He decides he can do more, however, and goes to Barcelona to try for something bigger. [I've seen a lot of dance movies and Spain is never a place anybody goes... someone want to clue me in?] At school, Tara decides to appeal her expulsion, stating that Saskia broke Tara's vertebrae, which led her to see an outside doctor. Tara is allowed to return, and Saskia eventually decides to go home to Perth. [at least Tara is healed!] 

S02E16: Sammy wants to compete in the Prix but because he missed the prelims, he must travel to compete in the region where he was born. Christian goes along and sees his father, who builds surfboards. The man recognizes his son, however, so Christian questions why he left the family. He gives no response, so Christian tells his father about his mother dying, and his father gives him a board. [really? going to try buying his love at this late date?] Back at school, the kids work on solos based on defining life moments, and Tara convinces Ben to do his about his health history, but that causes everyone to start treating him differently. [should've seen that coming, guys.]

S02E17: The first-years and the second-years are at war, though Kat remains impartial for a while. [why is there no question about what side Ben is on?] Sammy, however, is interested in a third-year, and kisses him. Meanwhile, Grace tries to get Tara to be less serious and have more fun, but after Miss Raine catches the probation student drunk, she realizes that she has to get her act together. [why doesn't she get into more trouble?] 

S02E18: Christian's dad shows up at school, gives him a motorcycle, and they spend a day together. [whoa.] But, then he heads home unexpectedly. [aww.] Sammy has a rougher time, though, when Ollie goes public with their relationship. Sammy can't handle it and breaks it off. 

S02E19: Abigail is recruited to star in the musical, but not before working as a tutor instead. [I really am intrigued by Abigail's interest in non-ballet hobbies.] Tara wants a new crush, so Grace starts trying to figure out who would be a good candidate for the position, though Ben begs for the opportunity. [weird.] 

S02E20: Abigail gets in trouble for missing school to attend fringe rehearsals, and when her mother comes to town, her cover is blown. Her family has fallen apart, and Paige now lives with their father. [yep, big change!] Abigail decides to quit the show, even if it was making her happy. [boo!] She also spreads the word about what the teachers thought of the students' chances at the Prix. In non-Abigail news, Ben is worried that his cancer has returned, but it turns out to just be a cold. [phew.]

Dance Academy's Second Season, Part 2 of 4

Continuing on with the second season of Australian teen series Dance Academy (part 1 here), this batch of episodes really has a lot of non-romantic drama, which is a nice change. Kat decides to re-dedicate herself to dancing, Abigail begins to trust originality, and Tara starts breaking rules when she could lose out on opportunities if she doesn't. Sammy goes back to the bottom of the barrel in his classes, but, as a squirrely guy, gets right back on the horse again. Read on...

danceacademy.wikia.com

S02E08: Sammy is allowed to lock up at the diner, but he forgets to do it and the cash register is robbed. [that super-sucks.]

Christian tries to ditch an exam, leaving Abigail hanging. Sammy dances with Abigail but has been hyped up on caffeine and winds up dropping her in a moment of weakness. Ben and Tara also struggle with their new partnership. Meanwhile, Kat takes Christian along on a gig where they entertain children at a party. [I would have liked to see more of Kat's random gigs.]

S02E09: The students take their final examinations, and Sammy has failed all of his classes. [ouch!] To celebrate the end of the semester, however, the girls head to a hip-hop concert, getting in through Kat's agent. The guys are unable to get tickets, so they decide to get tattoos. [SO not the same level!] Only Sammy is super-serious about going through with it (as an act of rebellion), but Christian tells the artist Sammy's age at the last minute. [I'm surprised they wouldn't check IDs for something like that!] Grace gets the guys into the concert, though she uses Kat's phone to text Christian. By the end of the night, Kat and Christian lock lips, but the next day, he wants to break up. [awww.]

S02E10: Sammy's grandfather suddenly passes away, forcing Sammy to go home for the first time in seven months. [that's quite a while for someone who lives across town!] He wants to become an "independent student" so that he can get a government allowance to cover his tuition, but his father sees that as he wants to be out of the family. [yeah, I could see my mother making the same argument.] Sammy decides that he can't ask to leave his family, but his father secretly decides to pay another semester's tuition anyway.

Grace breaks a bunch of toe shoes, but not Abigail's, so it looks like she did it. Miss Raine wants Abigail back in therapy, and Tara moves in with Grace to avoid Abigail. [that Grace is just rotten!] Saskia assigns Tara a solo instead of allowing her to choose her own piece. It's Kat who gets the good news, however, going from dancing promotional chicken to auditioning for Moulin Rouge. [again, are you not required to be 18 to do anything in Australia? LoL.]

S02E11: Sammy gets a tutor to catch up, but the guy is not really interested in helping Sammy. Meanwhile, Tara secretly tapes Saskia telling her that she'll never make it as a professional dancer. Tara only wants Miss Raine to see it, but Grace wants to put it online. [can we get rid of this girl yet??!?] And, although Kat's dancing is good enough for Moulin Rouge, she's too unprofessional and is dropped before the move to Paris. [I would have liked to hear what her disapproving mother had to say about this!]

S02E12: Kat wants to audition to return to the Academy, and once Miss Raine agrees, Ethan gets Abigail to train his sister. Kat also admits that she's been crushing on Christian since they started at the Academy. [I don't remember if I noticed that or not, but I'm guessing not. going off of Christian's first and second appearances...]

Saskia puts Tara's hip into a painful position, which Ben witnesses. When the pain doesn't stop, Tara decides to see a doctor outside of the Academy in order to get pain relief without being forced to sit out of classes. It turns out, an MRI shows that she has broken a vertebrae and isn't allowed to dance for six weeks. [that's a long time, and a broken vertebrae is a big deal. wonder how this will play out...]

S02E13: Abigail finds out that Tara is seeing an outside doctor, to whom the injured dancer returns for an anesthetic. Tara ignores warnings to stop dancing and injures herself further, causing her expulsion for breaking the rules. Fortunately, she's the only one who has a bad dance experience this episode - Kat has her audition and Sammy has the re-do for his exams.

Saskia asks Abigail to perform "The Red Shoes" at the last minute so that at least one student she coaches makes it past the preliminary round, but Abigail sticks with the original piece Ethan choreographed, and even kisses him before performing. [whaaa???!?]

Dance Academy's Second Season, Part 1 of 4

Were you a fan of this Australian teen drama when it aired on TeenNick? We covered the initial season (or series, as that's the term in Australia) as it ran, but my DVR completely missed the airing of the second season. Fortunately, Netflix has it available for streaming (this round of episodes aired in Australia during the spring of 2012), so I thought I'd share some thoughts on the events, as a third season will debut later this year (though a US airdate has not yet been determined). As with the final sections of the first season, I'll be doing minimal recap and thoughts to marathon through it.

danceacademy.wikia.com

You'll notice in the above cast photo that there are a couple of new faces. Between Ethan and Tara is Ben, a first-year who is very advanced. Between Christian and Kat is Grace, Miss Raine's goddaughter from England who transfers to the Academy as a second-year student. Now, onward we go!

S02E01: Sammy is a dishwasher and boarding house adviser to afford tuition without his parents' help. [that's gotta be rough.] He's also flirting and kissing many first-year girls. [odd, no?] Everyone else returns from their summers, including Kat, who will be off to boarding school soon. She pierces her tongue to stand out, though her mother decides to let Kat live at home and just attend day school. [interesting change.] There's also a new girl in the bunch, Grace, Miss Raine's Londoner goddaughter. She's an excellent dancer and is given a solo after Tara walks out on choreographer Ethan when he tells her she's out of shape. [anyone surprised that there's tension between Ethan and Tara?] Abigail and Tara share the same room again, and they will be fierce competitors all year, as the Prix de Fonteyn will be held in Sydney.

S02E02: Miss Raine, now the principal, tells Sammy that he cannot have side jobs during the school year. [I see her more as an administrator anyway.] Sammy distracts himself from this problem by starting a hip-hop after-hours club with Christian, who is at the bottom of every class. On the other end of the spectrum, Grace is at the top of all her classes, so Tara befriends her, only making poor Kat (who is turned away by a clique and is eating lunch in the bathroom) jealous. 

Some first-years idolize Abigail for putting ballet above all else, and she puts them to work researching how to beat Grace. They interview Grace, but Abigail wants them to be sneakier, friend her old friends, hack her old records, etc. [Abigail is so hardcore, LoL.] It doesn't take long until Abigail discovers that Grace got expelled from her old Academy for giving another girl a nervous breakdown. Meanwhile, Tara is trying to become more dedicated, creating a weekly schedule for herself and Christian to maximize time management, but he's more interested in hip-hop than ballet. [I think scheduling is one of those things that you shouldn't do for someone if you're not sure how they'll take it!] She's not too crushed, however, as she meets Saskia, the youngest principal dancer in the history of the Company, who invites her to watch a performance from side stage.

S02E03: Kat still isn't fitting in at school, and pretends she can't dance when there's a movement piece assigned. However, she's caught when she recognizes a famous choreographer, so she not only tells the truth but takes her team to the Academy to practice with Sam, Tara, and Christian. [I don't know if being caught in a lie is really going to help her make friends, though.] Abigail and Grace are also having trouble being friends when Grace's idea of fun is mooching off of anyone in sight. [troubling!] There's also a new guy in class, Ben, who is rude enough that nobody attends his party. [awww.]

S02E04: To earn more money, Sammy tries waiting tables instead of washing dishes but it doesn't work. Miss Raine learns that Sammy is still working and offers extra tutoring so he might be able to get a scholarship next semester. [pretty generous.]

Saskia has been injured and is teaching repertoire class for a while, and finds Tara's choice (a piece Saskia is known for) to be a mess. Meanwhile, Ethan asks Abigail to be a dancer in his new piece. His budding independence just keeps growing, however, and he moves out of his parents' house.

S02E05: Kat's parents are invited to Berlin for a special project, which could send Kat back to boarding school. Natasha considers "retiring" from dance but Kat convinces her that she must go to Berlin because performing is such a rush. Natasha decides to let Kat stay with Ethan. [wow... what kind of trouble do you think she'll get into?]

Tara struggles to tell Christian that she loves him, but when he says it first, she manages to reciprocate. [I don't know that I really believe either of them, though.] Christian continues with his hip-hop, which causes Ethan to want to "update" his new choreography piece, but when Abigail nearly quits on him, he goes back to the original.

S02E06: Sammy's brother shows up at the Academy and Abigail plays video games with him when Sammy goes to work. Sammy learns that his father has been pushing his brother toward academics and away from athletics. [no surprise.]

Tara begins to get jealous of Grace, especially how thin she is. Tara works out at the gym and uses self-tanner to appear thinner. She overdoes it, though, and has an orange appearance the next day. [I thought maybe she was following in Abigail's footsteps, but it's too short-lived here.]

Kat calls an agent who showed interest in her at the showcase, and she gets an audition with a rugby cheerleading squad. She makes the call-back, but doesn't get it. [wouldn't that be awkward? and wouldn't she have had to graduate from high school first?]

S02E07: Miss Raine tells Tara and Christian that they need to be more serious about their studies, so Tara decides to pause things for a month, until after assessments. [I can't decide how I feel about this - part of me agrees, the other part doesn't know that they were behaving appropriately in the first place.] He doesn't take that well so she takes it back and decides that maybe Christian needs to know his father. [left field, anyone?] She searches for the guy online, but Christian already knows what his father is up to - he just chooses to have nothing to do with him. He breaks up with her. Elsewhere, Ben wants Kat's attention, so he decides to stage a flash mob. And, Grace tells Abigail that she thinks Ethan is into her, so she shies away from finishing a project with him. Abigail begins to be into Ethan, but Grace kisses him to be rude. [Grace is SO annoying.]

Stay tuned for three more posts about the second season of this show! 

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

Dance Academy: Semester End

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

So, we learned that Tara understands how blisters are formed. I'm glad, since the only academic classes these kids seem to take are anatomy and physiology. We also learned that her father is a proud man and that Tara cares an awful lot about her parents. Without being forced, how many kids do you know who would leave a NATIONAL ACADEMY for studying what they love to go home and save their parents money? Certainly not teenage me, that's for sure! I was also taken aback by how much time Ethan seemed to spend around Tara's parents... they haven't even actually been on a date yet. The most inconsiderate thing, however, would be Kat and Sammy pulling Tara away for HOURS right when she was supposed to leave for the drive home. Yes, they had planned something because they thought they'd never see her again... but why spring it like that?? My mom would've killed me, LoL. Plus, what did her parents do all that time? Talk to Ethan and Christian?? Anyway, here are the main points in this week's episodes... 

Dance Academy "Pressure" (S01E11):
 - Dance and academic exams are the same week. If Kat does well, her mother will let her choose where they go on vacation. [that's a nice reward!]

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 - Tara ignores Ethan's flirting to focus on exams, but she's really just afraid that she'll be a bad kisser. So, Sammy is her practice dummy and Kat is her tutor. [I'm not even kidding. check the pic.] Ethan witnesses it, so Tara has to come clean (thanks to Christian's advice: "when you're kissing the right person, it's always simple") and kisses him. [Christian is an odd one to give that advice. Of course, I also found it odd that Ethan would share his kissing Tara with Christian...]
 - Abigail is partnered with Sammy for a final, and she overdoes rehearsing. Of course, she's also denying herself any food or water because she doesn't dance as "naturally" as some of the others and she wants a competitive scholarship. Soon, Abigail begins to have bouts of dizziness, and Sammy encourages her to see a doctor. She promises to eat something if he'll stay quiet until after exams, but, of course, she trashes the food he gives her and she winds up passing out during the exam. [and, thanks to the previews and the lead-up Abigail storylines, we all should have seen this coming.]

Dance Academy "Family" (S01E12):
 - Parents get to watch classes for a couple days, but Kat and Sammy's fathers don't attend. Tara's country-mouse parents brought their lunch, her dad has a broken tooth, and their car is leaking oil. [they're poor. we got it.] 
 - Tara blows off dinner with her parents, which doesn't seem to really bother her mother. [how did she get in Tara's room, by the way?] Her mother does confide that they can't afford to keep her at the Academy. So, the next night over pizza, Tara says she's homesick and wants to return to dancing part-time. She tells her teacher (who returns her toeshoes) and friends that she won't be returning, and, lo and behold, Tara is given a full scholarship to continue her studies. [Tara, who is nowhere near the best student in class. we don't know the outline of the requirements, though, so "most improved" might have helped her?]
 - Natasha and Kat do a mother-daughter photo shoot and interview, and because Kat is upset that her mother has booked an engagement for the time period where they're supposed to take a vacation, she tells the reporters about a time that Natasha forgot her in a hotel and left the country. [not very nice to share, but, given the circumstances and Kat's general behavior, I believe it.]
 - Sammy has been trying to reach Abigail by phone, but her mother won't allow it. Finally, he goes to her home and climbs up a tree so he can watch a video with her.
 - The school is on a three-week holiday. 

Dance Academy: Abigail Steals & her Sister Visits

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

So, at this point, Dance Academy is kind of "just there" for me. It's not interesting enough to keep covering, it doesn't make me laugh, you kind of see where some things are going, and they really can't focus on more than one character (besides Tara) per episode. Just in case it turns around, we'll continue posting about it, but we're moving to a bullet-point format... it's a waste to give it the same treatment as other series. We still reserve the right to cut the show should the quality decline further.

Here's something interesting, though... the kids apparently take non-dance courses. This makes sense, given that they haven't graduated or anything, but it's mostly skirted on the program. To get out of Christian's room, Kat, Sammy, and Tara say they have to do anatomy homework. But, in the eleven episodes we've seen now, we've never seen them do any academic work - just dancing. You'd think that someone would have academic troubles or be working on a paper at some point... but not yet. The closest we came was Sammy showing his parents a report card, but the subjects aren't mentioned.

Dance Academy "Through the Looking Glass" (S01E10):
- Tara and Christian work better together than Abigail and Sam do. [Christian and Sam don't make bad partners, either.]
- Abigail thinks she's too heavy and breaks an heirloom mirror of Tara's when she doesn't like her reflection. [how self-centered are you to break someone else's mirror?]

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- Abigail and Tara go to an antiques shoppe to look for another mirror, but Abigail is caught shoplifting and the storekeeper thinks Tara was acting as a distraction. Abigail admits to Tara that she likes getting away with things - it gives her a rush of power. The girls are banned from the store, but no criminal charges are pressed.
- Speaking of stealing things, Christian's friend, Aaron, visits overnight when he's kicked out of his living situation. The kid tells the gang stories of Christian robbing service stations. He wants to head to Indonesia and is shocked that Christian would rather stay and dance. [people change...]

Dance Academy "One Perfect Day" (S01E11):
- Sammy sends off his toe shoes for a water burial. [I guess he graduated then?]
- Abigail's sister, Paige, visits for the weekend but would rather hang out with Kat. She feels that Abigail puts too much stress on ballet, and it affected a lot of their family's homelife.  [I figured it would've, but the examples are pretty extreme!]
- Paige, Sammy, Kat, and Abigail go to an amusement park, though Abigail would prefer to practice dancing and tour the opera house. Eventually, Abigail gets on Paige's nerves and she runs off, heading back to Academy to hang with Christian. Paige apologizes and points out that Abigail is never nice to anyone. [but, will this actually change anything?]
- Ethan wants to impress an older girl so he asks Tara to be the dancer for a route he's choreographing. [yeah, okay, she looked good doing rhythmic gymnastics, but why not pick a different dancer if your goal is to impress someone?] When Ethan hits on his mentor, she leaves. Tara stays to do the piece, and after it goes well, she and Ethan kiss. [...this should definitely shake up a few things!]

Dance Academy: Rumors & Music Videos

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Yeah, so last I've been thinking about whether TeenNick is either trying to burn off the episodes faster or build an audience for Dance Academy by moving the show to twice a week, and making it Wednesday and Thursday instead of Friday, alongside the new Degrassi episodes. At this point I'm leaning toward the former, as I've seen a significant drop (like 90%) in views for the three most recent Dance Academy recaps, in comparison with the first few. So, we'll take a look at how this post does, but if it's not picking up, we're going to cut our losses. The show doesn't thrill me that much anyway. The two episodes this week have Abigail hating her body, Christian taking the high road, Kat trying something different, Tara letting a rumor fly, Ethan trying out for a new part, and Sammy buying his first protective undergarment. Nothing too exciting, but it makes sense that we're seeing some body image issues at a dance school, and it was really only a matter of time before Tara came up with a new way to try and lure Ethan.  

Dance Academy "Growing Pains" (S01E08): Tara walks around the school and practices what she'll say to Ethan when she "stumbles upon him." [does she really think that she's fooling him? Ethan hasn't really shown any signs of being an idiot, so I'm not sure why she thinks he'll buy yet another one of her stupid lines.] She invites him to see a traveling show and he tells her that she's his sister's best friend, so it's not a good idea. [at least he's trying to let her down gently at this point.] Tara meets a company member whose mother knows hers. A rumor soon starts spreading that Tara is dating Damian, which she doesn't deny. [yeah, I tried to let a rumor like that go when I was in seventh grade. and then again in eighth grade. Neither really worked out to my advantage.] Tara is told to wear less makeup in class (she's trying to cover a pimple), then she's called to the administration, where she's confronted about the rumor - company members aren't allowed to date students. [double whammy for Tara... girl can't catch a break sometimes.] Tara apologizes, then finds Damian to explain that she only wanted Ethan to see her differently. [why does Tara smile when she apologizes? this is really getting old]

Sammy is told that he needs to wear a dance belt for support from now on, and Christian goes with him to buy one. The salesgirl likes Christian so Sammy tries to help him out, only Christian isn't that interested. [why are we setting up that Christian doesn't like girls? Are they really trying to push the fact that he doesn't like to share things about himself that hard?]

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Abigail is ashamed of her developing chest and doesn't want to remove her sweater during class. [...but how is hiding it going to help anything?] Instead, she goes to the nurse, claiming she's coming down with something. She also tries to steal a chocolate bar, but that's glossed over pretty quickly. [perhaps we're to believe that she's craving chocolate as some do during a certain time of the month?] Kat tries to help Abigail, but Abigail just talks about how principal dancers have flat chests, and this will be the end of her career. [Nice of Kat to do something more than just walk away. And I've heard more than one former ballet student say this, so I imagine it has a certain degree of accuracy... much like with gymnasts...]

Dance Academy "Heartbeat" (S01E09): Ethan and Christian work out together. [well, Ethan follows Christian around and then tries to show him up. They really write Ethan to be a jerk sometimes.] We learn that Christian has to stay at the Academy during school vacations as part of his parole. Ethan and some others (including Christian) audition for a side project. Abigail doesn't make it, but Christian and Ethan are interviewed after their dances go well. Christian is offered the position, but doesn't take it because he has to share his ambitions. [wow. you lose out on something like this because you don't want to open up... shame.] Ethan is given the slot and rubs Christian's nose in it, not knowing that he was the second choice. [but, since the viewers all know, we can laugh at Ethan's ego.]

Kat posts an online music video of herself dancing, which lands her in trouble with the administration. Luckily, it also gets her a chance to dance in a real music video. [wow, that's cool. And, although I know that she and Ethan aren't close, I was expecting her to tell him about it...] Kat brings Tara and Sammy to the shoot, but Kat just isn't impresses, calling the costumes and moves cheesy. The singer agrees and decides to change things. [wow... normally you'd just throw out someone who wasn't a team player...] He then takes Kat to dinner, invites her on tour (to which she declines), and even dedicates the premiere of the music video to her. [they act like they shot it and it's airing the next day... there's so much post-production on things like that... at least in the US!]

Dance Academy: Pressure from Parents

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Dance Academy is now running two episodes per week, so we'll likely include both in a single post as we continue to cover this old-but-new-to-the-US series. The first episode focused mainly on Kat & Ethan's mother coming to town, though Ethan is hardly seen. The dynamic of Tara ignoring her mother's calls to fawn over Kat's mother was quite realistic, though Tara dying her hair and changing the style in emulation was a bit much. What really stands out, however, was Tara and Sammy both asking Kat's advice on their outfits when she's dressed like she's going to an 80s flashdance party under blacklights. The second episode split its focus on Christian's talent vs. personality and the fact that Sammy is now crushing on Abigail. While I think that all of the choices that Christian made fit his character, I don't really know what the writers are hoping the audience gets from fleshing him out in this way. I hadn't seen the possibility of Sammy falling for Abigail, not only because of their early conflicts, but also because I hadn't really noticed him paying her any extra attention. This last part really intrigues me - have you observed Sammy to be crushing on Abigail prior to wanting to take her to the ballet in "Perfection" ?? Oh, and the part of this episode that most stood out for me? Kat taking pictures of her feet and keeping them in an album... as a tribute to the pain she goes through as a dancer. Creepy.

Dance Academy "Perfection" (S0106): We learn that, after the three years at the Academy, only two girls can hope for contracts with the company. A guest teacher has come for a week, and it turns out that she's Tara's idol... and Ethan & Kat's mom. [while I thought that Tara not knowing about the relation was possible, Kat never questioning Tara's locker pictures struck me as odd.] Tara attends the premiere backstage with Kat and brings flowers for Natasha. After the space is empty, Tara goes onstage and spins a few times, then practices bowing. [I'm surprised that Ethan didn't tease her.] Kat and Tara go to Natasha's dressing room and Natasha invites them to the matinee the next day, though Kat would prefer to go shopping. [aka use mommy's credit card.] Tara dyes her hair and puts it up like Natasha, and Abigail wastes no time making jokes. [did Tara not think that anyone would comment? It was blatantly obvious.] Kat doesn't want to go with Tara to see the matinee, so Tara goes alone, and visits Natasha's dressing room before the performance. [why? wouldn't that be incredibly awkward?] She's asked to leave and thinks little of it, but when she later overhears Natasha saying negative things about her, she leaves to call her own mother. [you know, because they have to make Tara look like a goody-goody in the end.] When we next see Tara, she has dyed her hair green over the black, and she apologizes to Kat. [while I was curious to see how long she'd have weirdo hair, it doesn't last and it's back to normal by the start of the next episode.]

Mia is back from studying in Israel and comes to the Academy to see Sammy. [...and I had completely forgotten that he had a far-off girlfriend.] Kat gives Sammy and Mia some matinee tickets, but Sammy decides to take Abigail, telling Mia that the tickets fell through. Sammy lies to Abigail and tells her that Mia can't make it because she's sick... but Mia shows up and realizes what happened. [that sucks. but what else would you expect when you're meeting in the common area. Also, is there no security at the Academy? how is Mia just coming and going as she pleases?]

Dance Academy "Crush Test Dummies" (S0107): Christian leads in hip-hop class. Tara makes Ethan a mix CD, then tells Kat that she just can't stop thinking about Ethan. [we're back to this again? Tara, you told yourself that you need to take away distractions but it seems like you are creating even more of them!] Ethan invites Christian to dance in his hip-hop choreography project, but Christian doesn't want to do more than what is required. [completely expected.] Ethan blackmails him, so between that and the opportunity to blow off classes to rehearse & perform, Christian goes. He doesn't find Ethan's story realistic and doesn't care for the choreography, so he takes Ethan to see some real hip-hop and  breakdancing. Ethan tries to get some help from a girl dancer, but when one of the guys there gives Ethan a look, Christian decides it's time to go. [tho I don't know why Christian didn't explain the situation to Ethan...] Ethan thanks Tara for the CD - he's using one of the tracks for his project. [they are just the most awkward couple of kids EVER. but maybe teenagers just act very differently in 2010 Australia than they did in the 90s in America...]  Abigail insults Christian, then Ethan tells him how important the project is - which causes him to head to the beach and go surfing, blowing off Christian. [as much as it fits in with Christian's character, it's still pretty disappointing. And that "all the rehearsals" thing? If Christian was only cast the day before, exactly how many rehearsals could they have had??] Ethan takes off to find the hip-hop girl and ask her to be in the project. Christian returns and is filled in by his project partner, then high-tails it to the park, where the guys are robbing Ethan. Ethan loses his jacket and bag and gets into a fight, but Christian goes back with him and dances the part. [which I suppose is impressive? Not sure.]

While all of this is going on, Tara and Sammy are dealing with crushes. Kat doesn't believe that falling for someone can affect you so deeply, but both claim it happens. Samuel begins to tell Kat about his lust for Abigail, but it comes off to Kat as if he likes her, so that has to get squashed. Then, Kat thinks that Sammy likes Tara, but when Tara confronts Sammy, he tells her it's someone else. [why did he ever bring it up if he's going to try to keep it a secret now?] Well, the girls are determined to find out who the object of Samuel's affection is, so they decide to tickle him until he reveals the girl... Abigail. [and I just sit here shaking my head...]

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Dance Academy: Samuel's Dad

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

This show is beginning to wear on me. Maybe the switch to two episodes a week will be better, as more will happen in a smaller period of time? Oh yeah, if you didn't know, rather than Friday nights, the show is moving to Wednesdays AND Thursdays... so they're either trying to burn it off faster, or possibly build an audience. Guesses? And, while we're at it, let's make some predictions... we haven't seen the list of best-to-worst in a while, so I bet that'll pop up again. I think Christian is going to give us more about his background soon, and I'm betting it's very-special-episode-style. Ethan and Tara are eventually going to get together. Kat is bound to put the moves on somebody soon... I didn't think it would be Christian, but now it seems that she has taken an interest in him. Abigail is likely going to be the one plagues by an eating disorder, as she has no friends and takes every bit of criticism seriously, plus she's a perfectionist in most things already. I'm not sure what we'll see for Samuel... maybe a sexuality-questioning storyline? Do they have those on teen shows in Australia?

Dance Academy "Real Men Don't Dance" (S01E05): Tara needs to focus, so she gets rid of a photo that has Ethan in it. [are we really supposed to believe she has actual photos in this day and age?] Sam gets a B+ and thinks his parents will kill him, as he promised straight As and that he'd go to synagogue every Saturday in order to be allowed to study at the Academy. [a family with an ancestry of becoming doctors doesn't bode well for a dancer...] At Shabbat, his father tells him that he needs to take both his religious observances and his studies more seriously. As if this wasn't enough to frustrate Sammy, Christian also gets upset at how messy his roommate is. [cake crumbs in someone else's bed IS gross, though!] Luckily, Christian is all talk for once. [good. I can't stand this kid doing any more fighting! it was sad, however, that he was kicked out of the cemetery.]

Samuel struggles through his Saturday morning dance class and gets sick before it's over as an excuse to leave early and head to Temple. Tara tries to cover for him, but the instructor sees through it - so she tells the truth. [these kids and their flimsy excuses these days! GET BETTER AT LYING!] As Christian also had a rough time in class, Kat asks him what's going on, learning that he doesn't like people touching him, even if it's for position correction. Kat touches him and diagnoses him as "peoplephobic." [so are we about to learn that Christian was abused? because that's where I see this going...]

Samuel is called to the administration office, where he learns that his father has pulled him from the Academy. [awwww. bummer. but we know it won't last... Sammy is in the cast pic for the season...] Tara tells him to fight for what he wants, but he's afraid to. [it's hard for kids that young! I gave more than a few pep talks to my college students about majoring in what they want, rather than what mommy and

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daddy want.]  As he moves some of his things to the dumpster, he pauses to practice, and his father sees his ambition. While the guy doesn't understand, he does allow Samuel to stay. When helping Samuel look for his toe shoes in the trash, she sees the photo that she had earlier trashed, and takes it back. [we know her lust for Ethan isn't over, the promos keep showing the two of them with locked lips...]

Dance Academy: Tara & Christian

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

This show is going nowhere pretty fast... maybe because it's a drama that's only half an hour. Maybe because I am finally too old to relate to teenagers. Maybe because the characters aren't all that interesting. I'm not sure, but I hope it picks up soon. I also feel as if we've seen more material than would fit in the amount of episodes that have aired, so that only makes things seem worse. Give Kat a storyline of her own! Make something happen to Sam so that he actually has a problem! Let's see some instructor interaction more often! I mean, really, this show is so formulaic it makes me sick! But, I'm pretty sure that I'm not their target demographic, so let's just get past that...

Dance Academy "Minefield" (S01E04): Lots of things happen regarding classes this episode - Tara is allowed to do more advanced moves in class now, and she takes her first pas de deux class, as boys don't take ballet much where she's from. [she never even took workshops at some larger cities nearby or anything?] This leads to a day-long trust exercise, where Sam and Abigail will be tied together for 24 hours, Christian and Tara can ask 20 questions of one another over 24 hours and must answer truthfully, and Kat must take turns being blind with her partner. [I found it weird that these things were all done on the kids' own time - why wouldn't they lie and say that they did them when nobody's watching?] Tara asks Christian about his family and his hometown while Christian asks about how far Tara has gone with a guy, which embarrasses her. [so she probably has never been kissed... is that where we're going here?]

Plenty of kids have been teasing Tara about the pro/con list, so when she's invited to play ball at the beach, she jumps at the chance. But, when they go swimming, she goes to get food. When she returns, everyone is gone and the bus doesn't come. [while I believe that the group left her, I have trouble believing that there was NOBODY else at the beach or skate park.] She doesn't have much money on her, so she walks around a bit. Some guys bother her so she throws fries in their

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faces, but, luckily, Christian pops out of nowhere to save her. [so this kid is a complete loner. got it.] Christian assumes Tara is rich, and shares some information about his life, both true and false. Tara's final question asks why Christian told everyone about her accidentally being in the boys' changing room - and he just points out that he wasn't the only one there. So, Tara asks Ethan about the changing room gossip, but he doesn't have much to say. [of course.] Luckily, because Tara apologized to Kat, Kat is there to comfort her when Ethan, once again, acts like an @$$. [I don't really believe that Tara would confront Ethan like that, so this whole chunk of the episode seems unlikely to me.]

Dance Academy: Warring Roommates

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

I'm so glad that I'm not in high school anymore. When I was in the seventh grade, one of my best friends told a boy that I was crushing on him. I was so angry with her we never spoke again. And the whole school didn't even find out about it... just a few of his friends, I'm sure. So, I totally feel for Tara... Abigail is a meanie. Though, I couldn't imagine locking someone in a room so they would miss a class, either! Speaking of the room, what was with having a window that looks into the hallway? Creepy!! I did like how we got some background on Christian (he's in the "cast photos" like the one below), as I wasn't sure what his deal was. His story wasn't really the main plot, though, so the punny episode title didn't fit all that well. And, while I'd love for Tara and Kat to be happy and rooming together, I can see Abigail's side to it, too. She doesn't seem to have many friends at all, so why should she want to make someone else happy? I imagine this will change eventually, but we'll have to wait and see. Additionally, I'm not thrilled with the lack of organized dance... we saw plenty of Tara practicing this episode, but just a scene or two in-class, and no feedback regarding how students are progressing (or not).

Photo: Werner Film Productions

Dance Academy "Behind Barres" (S01E03): Three boys are arrested, one of whom is Christian, the boy who made fun of Tara during auditions. Because his mother is dead and his father is "non-applicable," he's told to call his older brother (who has a wife and child) or be stuck in juvenile detention. Well, he winds up back at the National Academy anyway, and must remain there to avoid sentencing. [why does he act like it's a prison to be there? He certainly had to try in order to be accepted in the first place!] It's just as well, however, since it turns out that Christian's brother isn't willing to take in the little hoodlum. [can you blame him?] Ethan is assigned to show Christian the ropes, but Christian steals Ethan's wallet almost immediately... it takes a while, but Ethan eventually realizes what happened and a fight nearly breaks out. Christian admits to the theft and returns the wallet, sans cash. [this kid is just up to no good... also, is he Samuel's new roommate?]

Kat has a new roommate, but it's not an ideal situation, so Tara asks Abigail if she'd consider switching rooms. Not only does Abigail have no interest in doing so, it becomes apparent that she's not even going to think about doing something that would please Kat. [b!tch.] So, Sam and Kat help Tara come up with ways to annoy Abigail, figuring that would make her swap. Tara redecorates, uses some of Abigail's stuff, and even has Kat and Sam over to sing karaoke when Abigail is trying to sleep. [acting like this never solves anything. And where's the RA? Abigail seems like a total tattler...] Kat and Tara even lock Abigail in her room hoping to force her into signing a switch agreement by threatening to cause her to be absent from class. Two can play at this game, however, as Abigail not only uses some of Tara's stuff, but also uses Tara's computer to email the entire student body Tara's pro/con list abut Ethan (who is suddenly single). Tara winds up letting out Abigail so she doesn't miss class, but it's too late... everyone already read the message. Kat is the most upset, as she knows her brother is a heartbreaker and she's sick of her friends fawning over him. [I had a friend in HS in a similar situation... she didn't lose any close friends over it, though it did impact a few of the relationships she had with girls in our grade. Also, interesting swimsuit on Kat.]

Dance Academy: Having a Strange Roommate

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

I feel like this show wants to be an hour long. I also think the show wants to have some substance behind it. Neither are happening. I'm also not in love with Tara as a protagonist, Kat as a sidekick, Ethan as a love interest, or Abigail as an enemy. I like Samuel's character, so hopefully that'll help... otherwise, I'm not sure how I'm going to do with this show over an entire season. Maybe I'm too old for it. Maybe I'm not connected enough with the world of dance. Maybe it has to do with the fact that the show is Australian. Regardless, I'm hoping it gets better... anyone wants to try and point out the positive things about the show?

Dance Academy "Week Zero" (S01E02): The episode begins at Tara's home, in a small town of 300 people who all know one another. Tara sets free a joey, then her father drives her to the dance academy. [do parents not help their kids with their bags when they move to boarding school/college in Australia?] She was hoping to room with Kat, but Abigail put in a request to snag Tara, while Kat is left with a guy, Samual. [and nobody seems to be in a hurry to fix this error... is this sort of thing not a big deal in that part of the world?] Abigail tells Tara that Kat is "anthrax" to her reputation, a sentiment which is later mirrored by one of Tara's instructors. Still, Tara joins Kat in going off-campus to meet with some older girls. They're dared to jump from a tower of sorts into the water, which they do with only slight hesitation. [what's the point? are they in some "club" now or something?] It's nice to know, though, that Tara has Kat and Samuel, if nobody else!

Photo: Steve Brack/
Dance Academy Productions

The students will train in ballet, jazz, contemporary, character, and hip-hop six days a week, and grades (placements) will be posted weekly. [I personally don't what what constitutes "contemporary" as a class, but I guess I'll figure it out.] Immediately, Tara is taken off pointe, which humiliates her, as she had been in toe shoes for several years already. [I had one friend who took ballet after elementary school, and she didn't start on-pointe until she was about fourteen... maybe that's late?] She'll also be put in a remedial class. [that's gotta suck.] Similarly, Samuel is told to be put on-pointe, as he has weak ankles. [...how would that help?] Tara asks Abigail how she might impress the instructor, but Abigail tells her to do the on-pointe class, only for the instructor to kick her out again. [this Abigail is not impressing me!] Abigail then reminds her that not everyone "makes it." To make matters worse, Tara overhears Abigail bad-mouthing her, so she confronts her. Abigail says even worse things, so Tara slaps her face with a pointe shoe. [whoa. she's got spunk!] Then, Tara apologizes to her teacher and hands over her pointe shoes. [getting rid of the evidence... nice!]

Tara runs into Ethan (who is actually Kat's brother), who has no memory of meeting her during audition week. [strange... is the kid pay that little attention to people?] When the first round of grades are posted, Tara is dead-last on all of them except Hip-Hop, where Abigail (who normally is at the top of the list) is below her. [so... little Miss Perfect has a big weakness...] Tara then confronts Abigail about the sabotage during audition week, but Abigail just leaves the room.[b!tch.]

NEW SHOW: Dance Academy

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

So this show is only new to the US. It came out in Australia back in 2010, and they're going to start their second series (season) next month. I found a few Australian sources that covered the show, but I'm going to give it a go anyway, for three reasons. First, I know we have some teenage readers (over a dozen entries for a VicTORious CD taught me that!), second, I love dancers and thought that the first episode was decent, and third, I figure that there will be quite a few people who won't find those Australian websites easily and hopefully this will give them better access to the show.

On the surface, Dance Academy looks like most teenage dance movies... a girl from a small town wants to be a prima ballerina and she's faced with a mean girl along the way. I imagine we'll be in for some eating disorders, backstabbing, last-minute injuries, rule-breaking, and maybe even some concerns about sexual orientation. The first episode introduced us to Tara, who lives in a rural area of Australia. She's a bit technically behind in her skills, but she has great instincts and is accepted to the National Academy, where she'll live, eat, and sleep ballet.

Dance Academy "Learning to Fly, Part 1" (S01E01): Three weeks ago, Tara auditioned for the National Academy, and now she practices in a field, waiting to hear back from them. The bulk of the episode is told through flashback, and we see that she struggled throughout the week-long audition phase. She accidentally changes in the men's room, which leads to some teasing and embarrassment. [poor girl. how mortifying!] She gets along well with her roommate, Abigail, who even lends her a leotard. We're given the impression that Tara's family doesn't have a ton of money (or her mother is a seamstress), as her own leotard is homemade. Tara quickly learns that she's behind, but her great physical potential, flexibility, and intuition help her out.

Photo: Steve Brack/Dance Academy Productions

Tara meets more people at a party, but she's teased some more and ends up leaving after a drink is spilled on her. [oooh, so underground parties and drinking might also come into play on this show.] Abigail helps out Tara on a few moves, but after a teacher tells Abigail to take a note from how Tara does things, her attitude changes. On their final night there, Tara leaves the building after curfew to listen to a voicemail from her father, then to dance at a gazebo. [tsk tsk!] It's implied that Abigail rats her out, so she's brought in for questioning... being guilty will disqualify her. Luckily, Katrina (Kat) bursts in to say that Tara bunked with her because Abigail was snoring. The faculty believes this story. [I would've checked with Kat's roommate to corroborate, personally.]

The episode ends with Tara reading her acceptance letter.