TEENNICK DEBUTS BRAND-NEW DRAMA SERIES, "DANCE ACADEMY," MONDAY, FEB. 20, AT 9:30 P.M. (ET)

Dance Academy Follows Elite Ballet Dancers on Their Journey to Become the Nation's Best; New 26-Episode Series to Air Friday Nights Immediately Following Degrassi

NEW YORK, Feb. 7, 2012 - TeenNick raises the curtain on Dance Academy, a new half-hour drama that follows small town girl Tara Webster (Xenia Goodwin) as she pursues her dream of becoming a professional ballet dancer at the fictitious National Academy of Dance. The new 26-episode Australian series premieres Monday, Feb. 20, at 9:30 p.m. (ET) with "Learning to Fly (Pt. 1)," followed by "Week Zero" on Friday, Feb. 24 at 9:30 p.m. (ET). Dance Academy will premiere regularly Fridays at 9:30 p.m. (ET), following all-new episodes of Degrassi at 9:00 p.m. (ET) on TeenNick. Dance Academy is produced by Werner Film Productions.

"The elements of music, dance and competition, combined with the ups and downs of teen life, make Dance Academy a fresh and relevant addition to TeenNick's lineup," says Keith Dawkins, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Nicktoons and TeenNick. "Viewers who love Degrassi will relate to the teen-centric situations and storylines in this program as well."

Beginning Monday, Feb 20, viewers can go to www.teennick.com/danceacademy for an extended, digital experience where they get VIP access to explore the Academy, check out the dancers' dorm rooms and catch up on all the hot gossip. Each week new videos, photos, texts and messages from the characters will roll out, revealing the inside story about what's going on in the lives of the dancers. Additionally, episodes will be available on TeenNick VOD beginning March 12.

Dance Academy follows Tara and a group of ordinary teenagers as they push themselves to achieve extraordinary things in the competitive world of dance. Relationships will grow and change as they live side by side in the Boarding House and each will discover their own path as they navigate the minefield of elite dance training and the universal challenge of being a teenager. The stakes are high as the teens can't forget that at the end of the year some dance hopefuls will get cut.

After 15-year-old Tara spins her way into the National Academy of Dance, the best school in the country, she is positive her life will be spectacular. She's lucky to have been born with athleticism almost perfectly suited for ballet; however, she's far behind in her training. In addition to intense training schedules and her troubles on the dance floor, Tara quickly realizes there's a lot more to survive than just dancing at this school - a spiteful roommate, first-time heartbreak and homesickness blend together to make this dream more difficult to achieve than she thought.

Fortunately, Tara's not alone in her expedition. She's joined by carefree Kat Karamakov (Alicia Banit), the daughter of dance world superstars. Kat couldn't care less about ballet, and if she's stuck at boarding school, she's going to cause as much mischief as possible. Then, there's Kat's older brother, Ethan Karamakov (Tim Pocock), who is gorgeous, talented, in his third year at the Academy and Tara's first crush. Also among Tara's peers: rebellious adrenaline junkie, Christian Reed (Jordan Rodrigues), who likes skateboards more than ballet shoes; loveable Sammy Lieberman (Tom Green), whose parents want their clever son to be a doctor, not a dancer; and Abigail Armstrong (Dena Kaplan) who is the best in the class and not afraid to let everyone know.

In "Learning to Fly (Pt. 1)," Tara auditions for the top ballet school in the country, the National Academy of Dance where she is confident that all her dreams are about to come true. But, what Tara doesn't realize is that there's more to enduring life at the Academy than just dancing. Within a week Tara has found an unlikely ally in Kat, a sophisticated enemy in Abigail, been spotted undressed in the boys' dressing room by bad boy Christian and developed a crush on the school's golden boy, Ethan. Suddenly her world is a much bigger, scarier place.

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