My daughter is a dancer with 10 years of ballet and over five years of jazz and tap. She is familiar with Dance Academy series from Australia and has watched a few episodes in her high school dance class. She says the dancing is really good in the series, but the storyline and acting are a bit cheesy. Still, the series has been nominated twice for an Emmy, so it does have some merit. Now, there is a major motion picture based on the series with the same characters and original members of the series.

Directed by Jeffrey Walker, Dance Academy: The Comeback follows the same characters as they work hard to achieve their dreams in the world of competitive dance.  Like the series, if you love ballet or dance, you will love this movie. It is very similar to the series because it starts off 18 months later from where they left off in the series.

The story follows the dancers Tara, Ben, Christian, Kat, and Abigail as they support each other pursuing their dreams in New York City.  I found myself cheering for Tara while still stressing over her injury, hoping she doesn’t injure herself again.

The dancers are older, so the movie deals adult situations like fatal illness, romantic relationships, and dealing with a difficult career choice. If you haven’t seen the television series, the movie will still hold its own, but it helps to know the dancers’ background stories from the series.

The movie has the original dancers such as Xenia Goodwin, Thomas Lacey, Keiynan Lonsdale, Alicia Banit, Dena Kaplan, and Jordan Rodrigues – along with some new faces, including Miranda Otto and Nic Westaway.

The DVD offers special features including behind-the-scenes glimpses, as well as cast interviews about their characters. The extras include 3 Words, Filming the Stage, The Choreographers, Shooting in NYC, and Resilience & Mentors.