By Travis Johnson
How did you find returning to Dance Academy, not only after a three year break, but transitioning from the small to the big screen?
Thomas Lacey: I guess I was pretty lucky in a sense that it was a continuation from the TV show that was such a big part of my life. And to be able to transition with the same cast, and we had director Jeffrey Walker, who did the first series of Dance Academy – he did the film for us. I guess I felt pretty comfortable, which made me pretty happy.
Alicia Banit: I felt pretty amazing. It was a bit of a whirlwind where we thought it was probably not gonna happen and the next second it’s happening. I guess at the end of the series Sam and Jo, [Samantha Strauss and Joanna Werner] the writer and the producer, said “we’re gonna do a movie one day.” And we were like “Absolutely! Yeah, we are!” and then a little while later a whole bunch of the cast were in LA doing pilot season and Sam and Jo were there as well and we ended up having a big dinner and they said, “Oh, we’re actually thinking about writing this movie, we’ve got these ideas for it.” And we were like, “Amazing! That’d be great!” And then about a year after that we got a phone call going, “If we did this movie, would you be interested in doing it?” And we all went “Oh, yes! Yes! Absolutely!” And a couple months after that it was all happening.
Dena Kaplan: The challenging part was the gap in between. I was working on films and TV shows but none of them were dance based. I had to come back after three years and get back into ballerina shape and put the point shoes back on. It didn’t feel challenging to step back into Abigail’s shoes because as a character she’s definitely always been with me and I love playing her, but we had six weeks to all of a sudden be professional dancers again. We worked really, really hard – that was the hardest part, for sure.
TL: I learned so much on set. I learned so much from the other actors as well. Being my first TV show back when I was 17, I was still growing up as well. To be able to learn so much on set from the other actors, learn life skills as well, I’m always going to hold that with Dance Academy. When the characters progressed, so did I. To look back on it now and know there’s a film coming out of the show is incredible to think.
AB: I think there were a couple of thoughts that went through my head. It’s scary that I’m gonna see my face on a massive screen rather than the television screen, but on top of that the biggest difference was probably just the amount of time we got to spend on scenes – it was just longer. We had the ability to spend a longer amount of time with different shots and set-ups. Overall I think it’s going to end up looking even more beautiful than the series did because we had the time to make it so.
Where do we find you characters when we meet them again?
AB: I’m pretty stoked with it. I don’t know if it’s life imitating art or art imitating life, but she’s ended up being pretty much me. I used to dance a lot more than I used to act and now I act a lot more than I dance, and that’s sort of what’s going on with Kat. I’m really happy with it – I think it’s really exciting to put parts of me into her, and obviously there’s parts of Kat that are in me. I’m happy and I’m excited for the audience to see where she’s gone.
TL: It’s basically like a direct continuation from the end of Season Three, where I was in Texas at the Austin Ballet, and it’s where we first see him when the movie starts. There are some big bombshells and some big revelations which happen after the movie starts, which is true to Dance Academy, I guess. There’s so many things that happened through all three seasons of the show – it goes through sexuality, it goes through life, it goes through death. I guess for teenagers growing up with it, it’s really nice for them to have a movie.
The fans certainly aren’t shy in their adoration, and the show is huge all around the world. Why do you think that is?
DK: I think it took people by surprise. It was a children’s series about dancers but it had these strong, almost adult themes and really raw, really real characters going through real life stuff, and there was no glitz and glamour attached to it. So I think these teenagers really latched onto it because it related to them and they connected to these characters.
TL: To me personally I think it’s one of the only shows on Australian TV that really goes into details about sexuality, about death, about real life things that not many other teen shows go into. It’s amazing to see how many places the show has gone into – I think it’s in 160 territories around the world, which is beyond belief. The broad reach is due to the writing of [creator] Sam Strauss, the rich characters, and the journey they go through, because so many people can relate to it.
AB: It’s relatable – it’s extremely relatable. We have so many different characters who have different struggles in life. When it comes down to it, the stories that we have happen to people in real life. We have big issues that happen throughout the series, friendships, relationships and stuff like that. Those things are relatable. Over social media and when we meet fans in person they always tell us. With the bulimia story that happened to my character in the series, I had people say to me, “you helped me get over my own eating disorder”. That’s incredible, that a TV show can have an effect on someone like that.
DK: And also, the dance elements are really truthful and realistic to the industry, so dancers had a real connection to it. Then we’ve got the mums and the dads who watch it with the kids. I just think the writing’s impeccable and beautiful, and I work with a cast of crazy talented people who can act incredibly well and then amazing dancers. I guess there’s just an intrigue about it.
How accurate is the show’s depiction of the world of dance, and how did your own dance background inform your work?
DK: It’s pretty accurate – I mean it’s spot on. I don’t know how many people know but our creator and producer were both dancers. In fact Sam, her story is very much like our lead character Tara’s story – she was a dancer and she broke her back, and she went on to write Dance Academy. They had those experiences so they’re writing from their truth and then they cast all these dancers who grew up in dance schools and performing arts schools, so we reference everything that we grew up with. I know when I was playing Abigail I was constantly thinking about the girls I went to dance school with and the people I knew and the competitiveness and the heartbreak. I think it’s spot on in terms of accuracy.
TL: I started dancing when I was two and I did my first pro music show when I was seven, so I was always kind of in the game. I did eight pro shows as a child and I did Dance Academy when I was doing year 12, so I was always a part of it and I was always acting ever since I was seven. I guess putting myself in front of a camera was new.
How did you like shooting in New York?
DK: Ending up in New York City was a pretty nice surprise (laughs). A bit of a surreal experience, standing in the middle of Times Square, shooting our little film.
TL: That was amazing! That was one of the best four days of my life. To be able to even say that I’ve shot in New York is pretty cool. Shooting in places like Times Square and Central Park and things like that, you just can’t even dream about these things, but I guess with Dance Academy, that’s what dreams are about. To be able to go there and do that was incredible.
AB: It was pretty crazy to film over there. I’d never been to New York before. And same for Xenia [Goodwin]. We did all our scenes together over there and it was just insane to be able to go to all the touristy spots and film there. I’m pretty lucky.
DK: I just remember being really little thinking “If I ever film a movie in New York City, that’ll be it. That’ll be every dream come true.” Such a “pinch me” moment to see that we managed to make this movie and take it to New York City, which is the city of dreams for all dancers. It was really cool.
And finally, is this the final chapter of the Dance Academy saga, or will we see more in the future?
TL: Dance Academy is always going to be part of my life, because it was my first TV show and feature film. Of course I’d like for something else to happen, but who knows? I guess it’s kind of left on a bit of a cliffhanger at the end, like it could go further, but honestly I haven’t heard anything about it. I guess time will tell.
AB: I think all the stories were left open ended because it’s just like real life – you never really know what’s gonna happen and things can change in an instant. I think with all of us it’s all left open – there’s definitely potential for another film or a spin-off series.
DK: We’re all very hopeful. None of us every want it to end – we all love being a part of it and we would never say no – well, I wouldn’t say no. Abigail’s an incredible role and character to play. I think if the opportunity ever came about, I would love to. I guess it will be based on how well the film does – hopefully there’ll be more.
Dance Academy is in Australian cinemas from April 4, 2017. Read our review here and check out our exclusive red carpet premiere interviews here.
