Dance Academy: Season 1, Volume 1

The Australian TV series Dance Academy doesn't follow the Glee formula of trying to dazzle viewers with breakout music-and-dance sequences; instead, the emphasis here is on creating an unsentimental, well-acted, quality YA drama. The primary heroine in the ensemble is Tara (Xenia Goodwin), a teen from an Outback farm who is accepted into the National Dance Academy in Sydney, where she boards with a number of incipient ballet BFFs and frenemies, including former juvenile delinquent Christian, tightly wound and fragile perfectionist Abigail, blonde and upbeat Kat, and Kat's cocky brother, handsome Ethan. Under the hawkish stares and borderline-cruel training of their instructors, the boys and girls navigate youthful crushes, petty crime, tuition woes, body obsession/eating disorders, and angst over career avenues (and boyfriends) not taken. Compiling the first 13 episodes from the 2010 debut season, extras include a cast photo gallery. Recommended. [Note: Dance Academy: Season 1, Volume 2; Dance Academy: Season 2, Volume 1; and Dance Academy: Season 2, Volume 2 are also newly available.] (C. Cassady)