STEPPING UP
Spotlight on Calgary teen in new season of Family Channel dance drama, writes Eric Volmers
Since she’s been obsessed with the competitive dance world since the age of four, Milaina Robinson is more than qualified to judge the accuracy of the Family Channel’s mockumentary dance series, The Next Step.
The show, now entering its fifth season, focuses on the ultracompetitive young dancers who vie for a coveted spot on the elite A-Troupe.
“The dance world can definitely be competitive,” says Robinson, a Grade 11 student at Central Memorial High School and one of the newest cast members of the tween hit. “Of course, there’s different drama on the show than there is in real life.” Which is probably a good thing. As fans of the series know, there is just as much drama as dance at the Next Step Studios, where characters seem to spend as much time airing their grievances in catty, reality TV-style asides as they do showing off their impressive moves.
Robinson plays Zara on the series, a suitably competitive, Type-A teen who enters Season 5 with her sights set on making the A-Troupe.
Episode 1 airs Friday on Family Channel and finds the studio is in a state of turmoil. Having lost the regional competitions, they’re now in underdog territory. But before the dancers can worry about that, they must compete individually for a spot on the A-Troupe.
Former dance captain Emily’s (Alexandra Beaton) elevation to studio head doesn’t sit well with some of her former peers.
Nevertheless, she runs it with an iron fist, and when she begins eliminating beloved dancers from the A-Troupe, the studio splits into two warring factions.
On one side are the classically trained dancers led by Emily and on the other are the more selftrained hip-hop types led by veteran Michelle (Victoria Baldesarra).
Viewers will discover by the end of the first episode whether Zara makes the A-Troupe. But in real life, Robinson trained and competed for years at Calgary’s Absolute Dance Studio. She’s been watching The Next Step since it debuted in 2013.
“I’ve always wanted to be on the show,” she says. “I told my mom, ‘Mom, there’s a dance show on Family Channel. I want to be on that!’ So it was a great accomplishment even to audition for the show, let alone get the role.”
Robinson sent in a video audition before being flown to Toronto for a few in-person tryouts.
Season 5 was shot last summer, which means the 16-year-old has had to keep mum about plot details for more than a year. For now, she can offer some broad points about her character and a vague promise that things will get very interesting in Zara’s world.
“Zara is a very determined girl, I would say,” says Robinson. “She has to choose between academic commitments and dance throughout the season. She is very focused. She knows what she wants. She, of course, makes an enemy. It’s going to be a great season for Zara.”
While a relative newcomer to acting, Robinson says it’s always been a part of the plan. By the age of four she knew she wanted to be both an actor and a dancer.
But it’s been as a dancer that she has found early success, performing at events such as We Day and the Brier Cup and touring across the island of Greece.
This summer, she’ll join other cast members of The Next Step for its Big Ticket Concert in Toronto.
“Even at competitions, I always want to be on stage, I always want to share my passion with everyone,” Robinson says.
“I want to show people who I am and what I have. It feels like home when I’m on stage. With acting, it’s getting to play different versions of people.” And how close is Zara to Milaina? “I’d say we’re pretty similar,” she says. “We’re both very dedicated and have similar characteristics and common interests.
“I’d say we are almost one in the same,” she adds with a laugh.
Season 5 of The Next Step debuts Friday on Family Channel.
I always want to be on stage, I always want to share my passion with everyone. I want to show people who I am and what I have.