''Step It Up and Dance'' is an American

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early ...

competition series where contestants are supposed to "learn what it takes to make it big in the cutthroat dance industry". Actress and dancer

Elizabeth Berkley Elizabeth Berkley (born July 28, 1974) is an American actress. She played Jessie Spano in the television series ''Saved by the Bell'' and Nomi Malone/Polly Ann Costello in the 1995 Paul Verhoeven film ''Showgirls''. She voiced the title role o ...

serves as host, and director and choreographer

Jerry Mitchell Jerry Mitchell is an American theatre director and choreographer. Early life and education Born in Paw Paw, Michigan, Mitchell later moved to St. Louis where he pursued his acting, dancing and directing career in theatre. Although he did not ...

mentors the 12 dancers chosen from around the country as they learn a variety of dance styles. Director and choreographer

Vincent Paterson Vincent Paterson (born May 4, 1950) is an American director and choreographer who has had an expansive career in many parts of the entertainment industry including film, Broadway, concert tours, opera, music videos, television and commercials. He ...

and choreographer Nancy O'Meara serve as judges for the competition. The show premiered on April 3, 2008 on Bravo.

Contestants

(''in order of elimination'') *Nicole Berrong, 29, from Farmington Hills, MI - ''Withdrew'' *Adriana Falcon, 25, from

Shrewsbury, MA Shrewsbury (/ˈʃruzberi/ ''SHROOZ-bury'') is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Shrewsbury, unlike the surrounding towns of Grafton, Massachusetts, Grafton, Millbury, Massachusetts, Millbury, Westborough, Massachusetts, ...

*James Alsop, 23, from Charlotte, NC *Jessica Feltman, 22, from

San Luis Obispo, CA San Luis Obispo (; Spanish for " St. Louis the Bishop", ; Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, in the U.S. state of California. Located on the Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly halfwa ...

- ''Withdrew'' *Tovah Collins, 21, from Chicago, IL *Michael Silas, 24, from

Houston, TX Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...

*Oscar Campisi, 31 from

Bologna, Italy Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...

*Janelle Ginestra, 18, from

Modesto, CA Modesto () is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,464 at the 2020 census, it is the 19th largest city in the state of California and forms part of the Sacramento-Stockton ...

*Miguel Zarate, 24, from

Delano, CA Delano ( ) is a city in Kern County, California, Kern County, California, United States. Delano is located north-northwest of Bakersfield, California, Bakersfield at an elevation of . The population was 51,428 in 2020, down from 53,041 in 2010. ...

*Nick Drago, 26, from

*Michelle "Mochi" Camaya, 30, from

San Diego, CA San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

*Cody Green, 27, from

Surrey, Canada Surrey is a city in British Columbia, Canada. It is located south of the Fraser River on the Canada–United States border. It is a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver regional district and metropolitan area. Mainly a suburban city, Surre ...

- ''Winner''

Eliminations

*: The judges told Jessica that she would have been going home due to her performance had she had not been in the winning group. *: The judges told Janelle that she would have been going home due to her performance had she not won

immunity Immunity may refer to: Medicine * Immunity (medical), resistance of an organism to infection or disease * ''Immunity'' (journal), a scientific journal published by Cell Press Biology * Immune system Engineering * Radiofrequence immunity desc ...

from the prior challenge. *: The judges told Oscar that he would have been going home due to his performance had he not won

from the prior challenge. *: For this challenge, Oscar won the right to return to the competition. Also, the judges found it unfair to eliminate someone else after bringing back Oscar. Therefore, no one else was eliminated. *: Jessica and the other eliminated dancers were brought back for a shot to come back in this challenge. However, she dropped out due to an inner ear infection, which meant Miguel danced as a solo. *: Michelle's win is referred to the first performance to Fergie's song. : Blue background and WIN means the dancer won that challenge. : Red background and OUT means the dancer lost and was out of the competition. : Light blue background and HIGH means the dancer had one of the highest ratings for that challenge. : Pink background and LOW means the dancer had one of the lowest ratings and was in the bottom three for that challenge. : Orange background and LOW means the dancer was in the bottom two for that challenge. : Yellow background and WD means the dancer withdrew from the competition.

Episodes

Episode 1: A Scary Surprise

The dancers arrive in Los Angeles and unknowingly begin the competition by dancing in a nightclub. Based on their performance in the nightclub, the dancers are divided into a winning group and losing group. Both groups perform in front of the judges, with one member of the winning group winning

for the next week and one member of the losing team going home. Both teams performed to the Spice Girls song, "

Spice Up Your Life "Spice Up Your Life" is a song by English girl group the Spice Girls from their second studio album, '' Spiceworld'' (1997). The song was co-written by the group with Matt Rowe and Richard Stannard, at the same time as the group was shooting ...

". Notable events include Jessica running off the stage during the winning group's performance, Adriana getting eliminated, and Nicole leaving the show due to an injury. Jessica was told that if she weren't on the winning team, she would be immediately eliminated. *PARTNERS: **Adriana and Cody **Janelle and James **Jessica and Michael **Michelle and Miguel **Nicole and Nick **Tovah and Oscar *Judges:

, Nancy O'Meara *Guest Judges: Jamie King & Mel B *WINNER: Janelle *OUT: Adriana *WITHDRAWN: Nicole (due to an injury) *First aired April 3, 2008

Episode 2: Baring It All

The dancers perform the French Apache. To separate the dancers into winning and losing groups, they had to demonstrate their skills with a partner while displaying the drama and character the dance requires. Notable highlights include Jessica redeeming herself, Janelle being told that immunity was the only thing that saved her elimination, and Michael is unanimously voted as the weakest link of the losing team but he still manages to make it through to the next challenge. At this point, Michelle is the only dancer to have been in the winning group both times. *PARTNERS: **Janelle and James **Michelle and Miguel **Janelle and Michael **Michelle and Oscar **Tovah and Nick **Jessica and Cody *Judges:

, Nancy O'Meara *Guest Judges: Cati Jean, Carolina Cerisola *WINNER: Oscar *OUT: James *First aired April 10, 2008

Episode 3: Battle Zone

The dancers are taught hip-hop techniques. After performing, guest judge Dave Scott selected three crew leaders based on their performance. After learning a routine, each team faced off against each other. After the face-offs, Red Everest was voted as the winning group, while Breakin Blues and BT Slam were the elimination groups. *PARTNERS: **Red Everest: Janelle, Michael, Tovah **Breakin Blues: Cody, Michelle, Jessica **BT Slam: Miguel, Nick, Oscar *Judges:

, Nancy O'Meara *Guest Judges: Dave Scott & Robert Hoffman *WINNER: Janelle *OUT: Jessica *First aired April 17, 2008

Episode 4: Gotta Have Rhythm

The dancers learned stomp techniques from Luke Cresswell. The winning team performed a stomp routine with trash cans and the elimination team performed a stomp routine with brooms. *Judges:

, Nancy O'Meara *Guest Judges: Luke Cresswell *WINNER: Miguel *OUT: Tovah *First aired April 24, 2008

Episode 5: Major League Broadway

*PARTNERS: **Janelle and Michael **Michelle and Miguel **Nick and Cody *Judges:

, Nancy O'Meara *Guest Judges: Jason Alexander, Lee Martino *WINNER: Cody *OUT: Oscar *First aired May 1, 2008

Episode 6: Modern Meltdown

Winning teams and elimination teams are no more as everyone is eligible for the win and the elimination. In the audition, two teams of three were formed. The first team consisted of Cody, Michelle, and Nick. The second team consisted of Janelle, Michael, and Miguel. For the callback performance, the two teams had to create their own dance to Gwen Stefani's "

The Sweet Escape ''The Sweet Escape'' is the second studio album by American singer Gwen Stefani. It was released on December 1, 2006, by Interscope Records. Having originally intended to return to No Doubt after her debut solo album, '' Love. Angel. Music. Baby. ...

". *Judges:

, Nancy O'Meara *Guest Judges: Jacques Heim *WINNER: Cody *OUT: Michael *First aired May 8, 2008 * Cody is the First person to win 2 challenges in a row.

Episode 7: Perfect Partners

The eliminated competitors return to compete with those remaining in a Latin-themed dance. As an added challenge, the judges inform the contestants that one of the eliminated dancers will have a chance to return to the show, potentially knocking someone else out of the competition. Notable highlights include Oscar returning and no one being eliminated. *Judges:

, Nancy O'Meara *Guest Judges:

Jordi Caballero Jordi Caballero (born February 5, 1965) is a Spanish actor, dancer, pianist, reality show personality, choreographer, writer, and producer for stage, film, and television. He is a member of the Producers Guild of America, SAG-AFTRA, Actors' Equity ...

*WINNER: Michelle *First aired May 15, 2008

Episode 8: Dancing in the Rain

The dancers have a lesson in

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

choreography under the watchful eye of guest judge

Tina Landon Tina Landon (born January 6, 1963) is an American choreographer based in Los Angeles who has worked with Prince, Anastacia, Mýa, Pink, Jay-Z, Marc Anthony, Kristi Yamaguchi, Aerosmith, Jennifer Lopez, Christina Aguilera, Ricky Martin, Janet Jack ...

. In the audition, contestants have to learn Landon's choreography for Rihanna's song "

Umbrella An umbrella or parasol is a folding canopy supported by wooden or metal ribs that is usually mounted on a wooden, metal, or plastic pole. It is designed to protect a person against rain or sunlight. The term ''umbrella'' is traditionally use ...

". For the callback performance, two teams (under the leadership of audition winners Nick and Cody) have to choreograph their own dance segments to coordinate with the dance they learned earlier. *Judges:

, Nancy O'Meara *Guest Judges: Tina Landon *WINNER: Nick *OUT: Oscar (again) *First aired May 22, 2008

Episode 9: Finale, Part 1

The dancers are challenged to choreograph

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

's "

Man in the Mirror "Man in the Mirror" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson. It was written by Glen Ballard and Siedah Garrett and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. It was released on February 6, 1988, as the fourth single from Jackson ...

". *Judges:

, Nancy O'Meara *Guest Judges: *WINNER: Nick *OUT: Janelle *First aired 2008-05-29 * Nick is the 2nd person to win 2 challenges in a row behind Cody also from season 1.

Episode 10: Finale, Part 2

The dancers take part in a final challenge and perform their solos for the judges. ;Challenge *Judges:

, Nancy O'Meara *Guest Judge: Akon *WINNER: Michelle Group Song: "Labels Or Love" by Fergie ;Finale *Judges:

, Nancy O'Meara *OVERALL WINNER: Cody Solo Song: "It's Over" by TJ Moss *First aired 2008-06-05

Reception

The series premiere was Bravo's highest-rated in the 10PM time slot ever, with 826,000 viewers, among whom 574,000 were aged 18 to 49. The show continued to perform well throughout its run, averaging 756,000 viewers each week - of whom 522,000 were aged 18 to 49 - and helped contribute to Bravo's highest-rated April ever.Breaking News - BRAVO MARKS HIGHEST RATED APRIL EVER AND IS FASTEST GROWING CABLER 18-49 , TheFutonCritic.com
/ref> There has been no talk of a second season of the show - despite it performing well in the ratings - and its page has been removed from Bravo's website. The series was officially canceled on April 14.

Footnotes

External links

Official website
* {{IMDb title, 1103806, Step It Up and Dance 2000s American reality television series 2008 American television series debuts 2008 American television series endings Television shows set in Los Angeles Bravo (American TV network) original programming English-language television shows