Dance Academy

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.

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!!

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.

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.