User reviews

If I could rate the two seasons separately, I would rate the first one 7-8 stars and the second twenty billion. The second season is when all the actors really settle into their characters, and the writers seem to get a feeling of exactly what a drama show is. And believe me when I tell you, there is plenty of it. The last few episodes were especially excellent with the tragedy I will not mention,but the writers and the actors portray it perfectly which is what really convinced me how amazing this show is. The dancing is amazing, too, and you can easily tell that the actors know how to dance and weren't just taught the basics a few months before shooting. The writers also really understand how teenagers act and talk and feel and what they do in their free time. Basically, don't quit with the first season. The second one is where you really get addicted.

When I first watched Dance Academy I was on a Dance movies extravaganza on Netflix. At first I was torn because it seemed like a teen drama series and those who's dating who plot lines always repel me. But I was fascinated by the fact that the whole cast could dance! Quite an achievement and set in Australia, double bonus. It also has quite a range of problems that the characters go through, professional choices, life choices, and so on. But I also love the down moments when the characters are just getting to know each other and character building. The actors make the characters believable and will raise anyone's adrenaline when you feel they are on the verge of making wrong decisions. I am extremely fond of the actor who plays Ben Tickle in the second series; he has quite a future ahead of him, charismatic and entertaining to watch.

I came across "Dance Academy" years too late. I'm already in my thirties but I know that I would have loved every single episode of this Australian dance series when I was a teenager. There's everything in it you need: authentic characters, lots of dancing, lots of romance, a bit of drama, a bit of tragedy... the perfect mixture! Tara and her friends are highly professional dancers but they are teenagers coming of age at the same time. And none of them is a cliché. I don't like children or teenage movies that don't take children or teenagers seriously. "Dance Academy" does. It's been some time but I still remember what it felt like back than and the series feels just the same! It's so sad it ended after season three and the last season is even much shorter than the other two. I read that there might be a spin-off movie, I do so much hope there will be one!!

And by descriptions I mean "teen drama" or "children's show".

I am a 27-year-old living in the US. When NetFlix kept suggesting this show to me, I kept writing it off because most teen/children's show are bland, poorly acted, and often talk down to their audience. Being a glutton for anything concerning dance, I thought I'd give it a shot, and I am so glad that I did. There is an emotional depth to the storytelling and acting that greatly surpasses other shows of the genre. There is something magical, and frankly addicting, about "Dance Academy" that reminds me of some of the shows that I loved to watch during my formative years.

I could sit here all day and extol the virtues of this show, but I'll leave it at this: If you've been thinking of checking out the show, or have written it off, I implore you to put aside any preconceived notions and experience it for yourself. You won't be disappointed.

" Genius" Is the word I use to describe this show.From the writing to the production,casting,acting,drama and dancing is the formula to an epic legacy.I'm a mother of 2 girls ( 13 & 10 ).My girls and I, have enjoyed watching every episode.It is so refreshing to see that writers can create a story line with real life issues, but still keeping its innocence.The acting was superb, I felt their emotions in every episode.Their Chemistry had us glued to the TV. Credit where credit is due.I usually don't write reviews or blogs.Lets be honest nobody really cares what you have to say".But in this case, I felt why not express the impact that Dance Academy had on us. We felled in love with every character.We wish the cast of Dance Academy the Best in future projects and in their personal life as well!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Another reviewer said she liked this even though she was 27. Well I am 72 and I loved this series and the follow up movie. I am so tired of the oversexualization of teenager in films but this series doesn't do that. Great balance between the actual dancing episodes and storyline. Tara was the only fail in an otherwise brilliant cast.

I really enjoy the show, but I find Tara to be extremely annoying. I wish they had made Kat or someone else the main character.

I really liked this series and I hope there's more to come. My daughter does a mean tap, is on point, and loves lyrical and modern. I thought it was cool seeing the intense training and the true competitive nature of it all. Seeing Tara's struggles and Abigail's different struggles were interesting to me. Also watch Kat vie for her mother's real support was something I paid attention to as a mother. I'm no ballerina, so I have no shadow over my daughter. I just love seeing her performances during recitals and seeing how much she just taps outside of her class without even being aware of it. She also uses our railing for her stretching and will work her toe shoes frequently as well.

So even though there was some sort of closure for Tara's character at the end of season 2, so many new things popped up at the end that I would be very disappointed to find that there is no more to the show.

The first season has been hard to rewatch but still a cute show

I don't know who rated this show on IMDb so far but the current 8.2 is not well-deserved. It's a mediocre show at best, which is a pity because I was looking forward to watching a nice ballet series. The actors cannot really act, dialogues are cliché and forced, fight scenes are laughable and overall there is very little drama. Lead actress really needs to get some serious training before she attempts at starring at another show. If the dancers were really good, I could still bear watching this and give a higher rate but their technique is horrible and I wonder if it was too difficult to hire better body doubles for the dance scenes. It looks like the sub par dance school of your neighbourhood, not the most prestigious academy of the country. Far from actually believable, and tolerable if you're in a very good mood. If you need background noise for your lunch breaks, go for it but I wouldn't bother getting invested in it.

Dance Academy is a series about a girl named Tara Webster who wants to be a principal ballet dancer. To chase her dream she auditions to and gets accepted into the prestigious National Academy of Dance located in stunning Sydney, Australia.

The show is predominantly built around cute romantic story lines, though it never succumbs to fluff and is surprisingly complex at times for a show of its genre. And there's enough dancing (ballet primarily as well as some hip-hop) to satisfy the most hardcore dance fan.

Newcomer Xenia Goodwin perfectly embodies the innocence and wide-eyed wonder of Tara Webster. Tara is a girl who is a natural dancer but anything but natural when it comes to dealing with boys. Her dorkiness trying to come to terms with the opposite sex forms much of her story arc.

Alicia Banit plays Katrina "Kat" Karamakov, Tara's fun loving and rebellious BFF with some deep reservations about whether she wants to be in a ballet school. Katrina takes the Academy for granted as just another school to attend rather than a lifelong dream come true as Tara does.

Dena Kaplan portrays Abigail Armstrong, Tara and Kat's frenemy. Abigail is an overachieving ballet student who is obsessed with being a principal dancer and is willing to do anything including back stabbing and sabotage to become one.

Abigail's perfectionist personality forms much of the angst as well as the humor of her character. Kaplan expertly plays a girl who is a conniving bitch yet displays enough vulnerability and gentleness that she remains sympathetic to the audience.

Other characters include Samuel "Sammy" Lieberman; a boy who wants to dance despite objections from his father, Christian Reed; the bad boy of the Academy with a mysterious past and Ethan Karamakov; Kat's older brother and target of Tara's affection.

Finally Tara Morice is a pleasure to watch as the strict and unyielding ballet instructor of the Academy.

Dance Academy is a show that fuses teen romance with some very beautiful dancing in a very entertaining way.

Although I'm not a dancer myself I LOVE dance shows and movies. I found this show on Netflix streaming a couple months ago and quickly finished it (too quickly I'm afraid.) It's just a wonderful show! It took me all of two episodes to fall in love with all the characters and become totally invested in their lives. Although this seems to be advertised as a "kids show", as a 21 year old I never felt like this was too juvenile for my tastes. The issues the kids deal with range from cute (oh, the relationship dramas!) to heartwrenching. Even my dad became obsessed!

All the performances are good, with some better than others. The actress who plays "bitchy" Abigail is especially fantastic. There are cute boys galore (and yes, I did feel like a bit of a weirdo for squealing over Christian when the actor playing him is probably like 17, but oh well!) and lovable friendships and frenemy-ships. BEST of all, there is actual dancing -- and lots of it! The actors have all obviously had some kind of training in ballet. I suppose experts would be able to point out their technical failings, but to my untrained eye the dancing was so much fun to watch. A lovely connection is made throughout the show between the characters' need to dance and their lives in general.

The show takes place at a 3-year dance school in Sydney, Australia. Seasons 1 and 2 cover the first two years. So I'm praying that there will be a third season for the final year -- I heard they were planning one. Fingers crossed!!

Unbelievably good dance scenes mixed with a bucketful of teenaged passion over competition, friendship, love, and death. If you don't get totally wrapped up in the personal dramas of these dance students you have no heart. A 3-year series with 26 episodes per year and NEVER a dull moment.

I stumbled upon this gem of a show. If you love dance you will love this show. Great characters, great dancers, good story lines told in a very refreshing and more true to life way. One of my favorite dance movies is Center Stage and this reminds me of that only like an extended version.

The show revolves around a young girl named Tara who is accepted at the Ballet Academy in Sydney and her encounters with friends like Kat and Samuel, her frenemies like Abby and Grace and crushes like Christian and Ethan and there time spent at the Dance Academy.

They fall in and out of love and friendship through out the show but the dance is worth all of the drama. Christian (Jordan Rodrigues) would definitely have had my heart pitter pattering if I were a teenage girl. Totally worth the watch!

Looking at a lot of trashy shows such as Big Time Rush, H2O: Just add Water, you name it, this one really stands out.

The characters have stories and they develop, they are growing mature and there are to some extend conflicts which are rarely seen in shows for kids and teenagers -- for instance when characters are homosexual. The latter, which is another very good thing, is dealt with in an absolutely natural eat. No over dramatization.

I also like that, even though there is a leading part and kind of narrator, different episodes focus on different characters to a major extend.

What makes me not voting 10 stars is, that real life is often really disastrous and devastating -- something missing in the show.

dance academy is a very awful TV series the drama is SO kiddie it is so boring and it lacks drama for a drama series well it should be a drama series just a family series or a by your self series because i doubt your mum and dad would wanna sit through a horror movie. the acting is poor and i don't think there should be another season of dance academy. the show is just repetitive its all based around the school i know its because of its name but come on you get suspended for leaving the academy there not even good dancers they think they are but there not they are just a bunch of try hards. this show should not be targeted to teens but to 7-10 year old at least. i rather watch Dora the explorer DORA THE EXPLORER!!!.

I'm a late bloomer to this show though I don't think it's never too late than 'never' to start. Neither was I particularly familiar to with this show's quality or award winning acclaim that's pushed it to being a modern favorite among both kids and adults. I also can't say for the very least 'I' was the target audience for this show, though I actually ended up really enjoying it as the drama and the writing started to really grow on me as the character's developed throughout the show's three season run.

I am glad for one as a show that's produced right here in Australia has made such a reputation to be well known overseas, Yeah I know it happens quite a lot though this is a kids/teenage show that would've been usually broadcasted around 5 pm after school. For one, the quality of this series really does show, all the characters in the show have tremendous depth and dimension that make them so incredibly unique. I can't say for certain they're like people I would've known when I was in high school, mainly cause this is set in a Dance school where the student's work an talent is put on display throughout the entire series up close and personal, they push their limits and encounter many trials and tribulations along the way, and it isn't just in the drama. The show does a great job balancing such great dance choreography and superb drama to flesh out the lives of these teenagers.

The show isn't overly glamorous nor does it resort to the obvious 'teen' or 'coming of age' clichés a lot of the time (struggles with that within the first season). While there're plenty of trashy TV shows that can't take teenagers or young people seriously, Dance Academy is a show that does actually take teenagers seriously touching upon notions such as finding out more about themselves, defining their identity and what they're thinking of seriously doing when they're older. There were also plenty of times this show wasn't afraid to take risks when concerning the plotting and overall story of each character arc within each season. At times there were characters I didn't like or were mostly annoyed by though I eventually grew to like them as the series progressed. My personal favorite is Christian Reed, his backstory touched me the most and I grew to like his development until the very end. Least favorite was Grace, she was annoying, manipulative and such a show off acting like she was already a professional, great dancer though was a poor human being. I also commend each and every one of the performers on the show for their work on this show as they've made it work.

The main theme song 'My Chance', perfectly illustrates the metaphorical meaning for this show. It shows the young courageous minds of teenagers willing to show their potential to the rest of the world to see what they're made of. Lastly, you're only ever young once in your life, you may as well enjoy it while you can cause 'everyone' grows up so incredibly fast.

Be sure to catch this on Stan, Netflix or whatever other streaming service this show is available on. The cinematic 'film' continuation is coming this year and it's bound to be a big surprise given this show's reputation.

hey guys reeditandweep here with another review. dance academy is probably THE best show i've seen :) drama, romance, and you guessed it, dance. it has everything. if you have any reservations about starting this show, throw them out the window. i first found it on netflix and have been hooked ever since. the acting is phenomenal and i wanna move to Australia to become a dancer now :) if u have any question feel free to chat me on my prof, reeditandweep :) 10/10 fer sure. also, the guys are super cute ;) the clothes are really cute 2! wish i could dance hopefully they will come out with a new season asap sincerely and with love, reeditandweep

This show really inspired me! it shows how you can have both: a social life and practise your art