According to Alan Musa, VP and GM, Pan Middle East and Africa for TBS, “Our goal in creating this show is to give South African viewers a stake in the channel and to ensure that the programming on Cartoon Network appeals to as broad a market in this region as possible.
“The production combines South African and UK expertise and forms part of a key TBS strategy to invest in South Africa and her people. We want young viewers to participate with our television products and not simply consume them.”
The show encourages children to take part in the action by learning the moves and then performing the choreography along with the dancers on screen. Led by Lorcia Cooper, an award-winning dancer and dance teacher best known for her roles in Back Stage and Scandal, the viewers are shown a dance of the week and then led, step by step, through the various components of the dance. Cooper is also accompanied by up-and-coming young dancers chosen from a variety of primary schools in South Africa, all dressed in funky, contemporary wear sponsored by Guess Kids.
The show is a mixture of animation and live human action. Cooper and her dancers will interact, fall in love and potentially come to loggerheads with various Cartoon Network characters. Regular onset visitors will include Ben Tennyson, The Power Puff Girls and Chowder the Chef.
“Guess Kids was very excited to be a part of the production, as the children, who range from age 10 to 13, lend the show an undeniably youthful flavour and ease,” comments Tamsyn Egnos, Guess SA marketing manager. “The show is world-class, produced by and for South Africans and we're certain audiences here will enjoy it immensely.”
“We're looking to groom young and active minds and bodies and are certain that Dance Club will provide the kind of fare that get audiences off their couches and moving along to the music,” concludes Musa.
