Out Takes

13 Apr 2017

Queering Teenage Dance Films

Arts, TV & Film

Four years since they hung up their ballet shoes, the cast from the hugely popular and Emmy Award winning ABC TV series DANCE ACADEMY are back – this time on the big screen.

To celebrate, we dust off our tap shoes and tap-tap-tap into the world of teenage dance films: think CENTER STAGE, SAVE THE LAST DANCE, STEP UP and of course, DANCE ACADEMY. 

We’re joined by DANCE ACADEMY star Dena Kaplan to look at the new flick that has Australians dancing in their seats!

It’s hard to deny that films like DANCE ACADEMY have massive gay appeal. But what is it about teenage dance films that so appeal to gay audiences? To help us with this question, we work through the classics like FOOTLOOSE and STEP UP alongside some gay iterations of the teenage dance film genre like BORN TO DANCE and FIVE DANCES. We all agree that either way these films are a little bit camp and a lot of fun.

Recommended viewing: Center Stage (Dir Nicholas Hytner, 2000)

Hungry for more: Five Dances (Dir Alan Brown, 2013)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 26:59 — 14.7MB)

Subscribe or Follow Us: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Email | Deezer | RSS

24 Feb 2026

‘Jimpa’ with special guests Sophie Hyde and Aud Mason Hyde plus ‘Pillion’

TV & Film

For this Out Takes, we celebrated the release of two highly anticipated queer films for February that celebrate the diversity ...

19 Feb 2026

Out Takes Extra: Sophie Hyde and Aud Mason-Hyde for ‘Jimpa’

TV & Film

For this Out Takes Extra, we had the pleasure of speaking with Sophie Hyde and Aud Mason-Hyde at the JOY ...

17 Feb 2026

The Little Sister, Cashing Out and Wuthering Heights

TV & Film

For this Out Takes, we had a stack of reviews to cover some of the films on offer in cinemas ...