A new original TV format series for RTÉ entitled ‘Pump Up My Dance’ is to go into production at the end of next month.
Dublin-based Mind The Gap Films will produce the nine-part series which will see 20 dance contestants put through their paces by an expert group of dance masters before being whittled down to five.
The four-day shoot will get underway at the end of August with Mind The Gap founders Bill Hughes and Bernadine Carraher producing and Cathal Watters (At Home In India) directing. The format was developed by Hughes and Carraher.
The producers are currently in pre-production on the shoot and are currently recruiting potential contestants for the show with a deadline for applications officially set for tomorrow (July 18). However, the production company has indicated to IFTN that they will most likely accept applications until next Monday (July 23).
The nine episodes for RTÉ Two will be broadcast during the autumn schedule and will feature a diverse series of dance style including contemporary, ballet, jazz, tap, Irish, hip-hop, Latin, musical theatre and break dance. The final show will feature a live public performance at Dublin’s Smock Alley theatre, though this will not be broadcast live.
The dance choreographers who will take part in the series are Ian Banham, a Latin dance coach who has previously worked with pop star Cheryl Cole; Cork tap-dancing instructor Damien Delaney, whose West End credits include ‘Billy Elliot: The Musical’; Daryn Crosbie, who had directed and choreographed a series of Gaiety Theatre pantos; ballet instructor Andrew Wilson; contemporary dance teacher Samantha Lyons; hip-hop choreographer John Graham who has worked with Janet Jackson and Beyoncé; break dance coordinator Matthew Williamson; jazz dance teacher Bernadette O'Rourke and Irish dancer Dearbhla Lennon who was one of the principal dancers on ‘Riverdance’ and ‘Lord of the Dance’.
The RTÉ funded series will be shot using multiple cameras with post-production on the series to be carried out at Screen Scene. Debbie Kiernan will serve as the series dance consultant.
Those interested in participating in the show must do so by recording a video of themselves performing a choreographed dance on a camera or smartphone. Full details are available on the RTÉ ‘Pump Up My Dance’ website.
