Dance Academy to Get Movie Treatment

MAINZ: ZDF and ZDF Enterprises are teaming up with Australia’s Werner Film Productions to co-produce a feature film based on the live-action teen series Dance Academy.

Shooting on Dance Academy: The Comeback will begin this spring and is scheduled to wrap in December. The 90-minute feature film will be shot in Sydney and New York. The Australian drama series on which the movie is based has aired in 160-plus countries, including in Germany on ZDF, in the U.S. on TeenNick and Netflix, and in the U.K. on Nickelodeon.

The film tells the story of top ballet student Tara Webster after she has recovered from a broken back and now finds it difficult to perform in front of an audience. Her dreams are on the line as she must decide whether to give dancing one last shot or simply walk away. The film will have a theatrical run in more than 50 theaters in Australia and a full-fledged marketing campaign encompassing premiere events and more.

Nicole Keeb, the head of international co-productions and acquisitions for children and youth at ZDF, said, “It will be very exciting to accompany our beloved heroes again. This time we will follow their search for their way into real life after academy. A crucial point for many teens after school or college and therefore definitely very interesting for our audiences at ZDF and KiKA. After the last season, many fans asked how Tara and Co. were doing and what was happening to them. In this movie they will find the answers!”

Arne Lohmann, the VP of ZDFE.junior, commented, “ZDF Enterprises was amazed by the huge global success of Dance Academy, the series. With this feature film, we are taking the excitement to the next level and will introduce our popular characters to a new generation of audiences.”

Joanna Werner, producer and founder of Werner Film Productions, added, “I am so delighted to again be working with ZDF and ZDF Enterprises to bring Dance Academy to the big screen. Since we finished filming the television series in 2013 we have been inundated with letters from fans around the world asking us ‘what comes next?’ for our characters. This film is our chance to answer that question and more.”