Disney Channel's "Shake It Up"

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Recently, the Disney Channel premiered a tween-female buddy comedy series set in the world of a Chicago area dance show called Shake It Up. A few familiar faces from LA's professional dance scene have appeared including BBoy Monster (Luis Rosado) and members of Quest Crew. While the show is a sitcom following the misadventures of its two female leads, we have to wonder what impact a show like this could have on a young generation of TV viewers. After all, in the past ten years, we haven't seen any high-profile narrative-driven storylines on primetime or cable networks. We've mostly been inundated with reality shows like Fox's So You Think You Can Dance and MTV's America's Best Dance Crew. Are we going to see more dance-driven narrative series on the horizon?
Shake It Up captured 6.2 million viewers with its premiere, according to Nielsen Media Research. That's the second highest premiere for the channel behind the 2006 premiere of Hannah Montana. With heavy promotions that included releasing the premiere episode on iTunes, Disney is clearly putting marketing muscle behind the show to give it some legs. It's a clever strategy since the channel relies on grooming future young stars that are triple threats in acting, singing, and dance. So for a generation of pre-teen and tweens out there, a show like Shake It Up can glamorize aspects of the dance lifestyle, making it more accessible to a mainstream audience.
We're not sure yet how Shake It Up will handle the cultural education of dance to the masses. For now, at least in its premiere episode, dance education isn't on its agenda. It's not that kind of show. Like another Disney Channel hit Sonny With A Chance, Shake It Up adopts the "show within a show" format that places its viewers in an aspirational environment. Some kids idolized Hannah Montana for her lifestyle of being a modern day pop princess. With Sonny With A Chance and Shake It Up, there's a subtle nudging towards creating a colorful, enticing vision of the entertainment industry. It makes Hollywood look kid-friendly.
Perhaps Shake It Up could become a vehicle for new viewers to get exposed to different dance styles. If a kid sees BBoy Monster for the first time on the show, will she be inspired to learn how to do a six-step? Let's hope that the casting folks on this show are keen to expose our young dance fans to some fresh talent. Like American Bandstand and Soul Train, this Disney Channel show might be one in a long line of TV gems that inspire kids to get up and dance.