I cannot put into words how much Dance Academy meant to me as a child growing up and how much it still does. I am forever grateful for the show, but especially for Xenia (as Tara and as her own) She just gave me so much power and I learned a lot from her. I’m so happy she did that interview and I can’t wait on what projects she will work on/ in general what the future has to offer :)
same. I've never connected to characters in a show the way i connected to the characters in dance academy. I feel like someone wrote the show for me. It's honestly amazing
What did you learn from her? And would you still watch and enjoy the show today? I really didn't expect all these positive remarks about that show. I always thought it's a cheesy, unrealistic, cliche show for teens who love ballet and teenage romance drama. And I had expected people to be like "omg. Don't remind me of that show. It was such an embarrassing/cringy phase of my life" or something like that. I think you know what I mean. I've seen people making fun of the show and making parodies of it. But I haven't seen so many people speaking so highly about it! That's why I'm genuinely curious. But I always love to see people who still think fondly of what they loved as kids/teens. That's always nice to see. :)
@@jollyquinn430 obviously I'm not the person who wrote that comment. but I think she means that the character tara explored so many things like navigating teen hood and that awkwardness , life challenges, love and so much more. I think tara was such a flawed character that even me when watching I cringe sometimes. but I think that's what makes it such a good show is that, life isn't perfect. I think once you look past the cringe you can appreciate it more. its such a good show to show the evolvement of friendships, character development, coping with grief, body dysmorphia being a dancer and eating disorders. but yes I agree that also some of my fondness for it is rooted from nostalgia.
It's so good to see she's doing better now. I'm glad she recovered from her accident. Dance Academy meant so much to me as a kid who was also a dancer. They covered so many serious topics on the show and to this day its one of my fav comfort shows.
Dance Academy shaped me so much. Taught me to talk about how i was feeling in a mature way (like Tara). Excellent show. Character development, everything
I remember that a lot of fans loved the show but they disliked Tara the most. Because she was so arrogant, immature and annoying and often pouty. Could you please explain what do you mean with her talking so maturely? I'm genuinely curious. I'm really surprised by all the comments here who are talking so highly about the show.
In what way was it impactful? Or special or different than other shows? I always thought it's a cheesy, unrealistic, cliche dance show for teens who love ballet and romance drama. And people who watched it when they were younger would nowadays be a bit embarrassed about loving it once. So I'm really surprised by all the positive comments here! I'm genuinely curious now. But I love when people still think fondly about what they loved as kids! That's always nice to see. I just didn't expect people to be like that when it comes to this show.
@@jollyquinn430 personally I watched the show as a kid and I still watch it now every once in a while (I'm 20 now). I think, like Xenia said in the interview, the show deals with a lot of things, that are usually shied away from in childrens tv. The show taught you about grieving the loss of a loved one, about parental pressure, about lgbtq+ themes and how to deal with (internalized) homophobia, about friendship, about living with a terminal illness and severe injuries, about working for your dreams, even if that means disappointing people, about mental health issues, about finding family outside of your own blood..I could go on and on honestly. I think what makes it special is that not only are all those topics very universal and therefore relatable to everyone, the show also has a way of dealing with heavy issues, while still staying light hearted, comforting and fun. That's what it is for me at least.
@@jollyquinn430 You're generalizing a lot when you say people who loved it when they were young would be embarrassed now. Certainly not. And it was and still is impactful for me.
@@jollyquinn430 as someone who watched it for the first time as an adult: I think the friendships between the characters were done incredibly well, and to me that's what's at the core of the show. Ofc some of the storylines are not 100% realistic but the underlying connections and relationships are really authentic and organic. They also managed to address very serious issues like grieving a loved one, eating disorders and coming to terms with having to adjust your life dreams to reality in a way that does these things justice but is still appropriate for a young audience.
@@bluesideace i never watched the show so i cant attest to literally anything you said, but i do find it interesting how it dealt with internalised homophobia when one of the main cast did an interview recently about homophobic bullying he experienced in highschool. life often imitates art.
When I heard the car accident in 2019 left her a quadriplegic, I was beyond horrified. This is only 3 years later and she's moving around so well. It was so close to what happened in the show. I'm so glad she is doing amazing. It's seriously aged her, but I guess it would. I hope she continues to improve. I'm in my 60s, but I love this show.
In what kind of way? I'm seeing a few comments like yours. And I'm genuinely curious. I've seen quite a lot videos of people making fun of the show because it's so cheesy and cliche. And now I see people who are saying the show shaped them. That's why I'm curious.
She looks and sounds different. Like she suddenly got much wiser to me. The accodent probably made her work through all kinds of stuff. Hope to see her in more things very soon
Xenia is so good to see you. I hope i'll get to see you in more shows/movie and i'm glad to see you've recovered well. Wishing you all the best since you have done so much for me.
As a ballet dancer I loved watching Dance Academy and still to this day I rewatch it because it helps me when we are in our off season at the ballet studio or when I'm in summer intensive. When the episode of Sammy's death came on I literally cried my eyes out. He was such an iconic character and it was sad to see him gone. This show will forever be a comfort show to me when I'm feeling down because it lets me know that ballet will always be there to pick me back up.
Watching Dance Academy was like crack when I was kid 😂 it was so good. Im rewatching it again for the first time in ages and it’s so frickin nostalgic. The theme song, the characters, the drama they get into….ahhhhh
@mahadewiiii It started in 2010, so we were both too grown up for it then. The only reason I watched it was because I knew a lot of the adults in the cast from my ballet days in the 90s.
Watched the whole series as a 10 year old in 2013 and just finished watching it again plus the movie as 19 year old I just love thi show😂 I want more 😩 can we please get another spinoff the movie wasn’t enough! This show should be long lasting like greys Anatomy 😂
I loved Dance Academy so much! It was the last straw to getting me very much into ballet and training at home alongside of the episodes :D I had to stop at some point because of an injury, but now I have my own dance cover channel (not ballet though), which is a dream come true :)
This show tackled real topics and I truly enjoyed watching all of the characters. As a teen watching Teen Nick in the U.S. I loved this show. This show will always have a special place in my heart. ❤️
So happy to see her again! I love Dance Academy and it honestly shaped me in so many ways- it's a shame it's not more popuar because everyone I know who watches it loves it to bits! ❤
I’m pretty sure the whole cast was actually the ages of their characters in this show, it’s cool, unlike other teen dramas that have all 20year olds playing teenagers. They actually LOOK like teens in dance academy
Well she was in a horrible car accident where she broke her legs and she had to wear a neck brace so I think she hurt her spine or something like that similar to Tara’s injury in dance academy
Wow. I'm surprised by her opinion about the show and I'm also surprised by all these comments. The show was such a cheesy, unrealistic, cliche show for teens who love ballet and cheesy romance drama. I thought people who watched the show back then would be nowadays like:"Omg, don't remind me or that show. I was obsessed with it as a child. But it would be embarrassing if people would know that about me. I wouldn't watch it today. It's so cringe" Or something like that. And most actors who played in such a teenager drama show are grateful because it helped them with their acting career but they didn't really like it (like Robert Pattinson with Twilight for example). So I'm really surprised to see her and all the people in the comment section speaking so highly about the show.
Also have you ever actually watched the show? Sure, Tara is often cringe and embarassing and it is very much a Teen show but only rewatching it in my late teens/ early twenties jas made me realize how well it covered even more dark topics like eds, trauma and grief for a pretty young audience (I was around 9 when I watched it for the first time).
How was it unrealistic? Its closer to life than stuff like Euphoria these days. These people looked actually like teenagers and its still a good show and people still watch it for good reason
One of the great things about the kind of media-saturated world we live in today (which, don’t get me wrong, has plenty of problems) is that many people, especially young people, are less hung up on the kind of hierarchical taste cultures that make them ashamed of liking what they like, or pretending that they don’t like it in order to seem cool or sophisticated or whatever. Hopefully we’re moving past the era of “guilty pleasures” and into the age of “don’t yuck on someone else’s yum”, and I think we are healthier and happier for it. Who cares if Dance Academy or anime or Lego or Bluey or the Sharknado films or S Club 7 or whatever doesn’t meet your standards of entertainment? Life is hard enough that any scrap of joy, comfort, or meaning we can find is valuable.
