50 Fun Facts About The Next Step

In The Next Step, how are first dance captain Emily and her A-Troupe teammate Riley related to each other?

Sisters Emily and Riley fall out badly in season 1. When Riley backs Michelle for captain, Emily tells her they are "no longer sisters" before the pair slowly make up.

The Next Step's studio scenes and downtown street shots, including Yonge Street, are filmed in which Canadian city?

Toronto doubles as the home of the studio, with filming starting there in July 2012. The building shown from outside as The Next Step stands on Colborne Street.

The Next Step's dancers confide straight to camera, a mock-documentary style borrowed from which kind of TV?

Reality shows gave the drama its look: scripted scenes are cut with confessional interviews, as if a crew were following a real studio. Its scripted spin-offs kept the same format.

In season 3 of The Next Step, A-Troupe flies to which Florida city to compete at internationals?

Miami hosts the contest, and the trip is eventful before a step is danced. Riley is left with a big restaurant bill, and three of the boys get stranded on a broken-down Everglades airboat.

Alfie, who joins The Next Step's A-Troupe in season 4, turns out to be a prince of which European country?

Switzerland sends its ambassador to fetch "Prince Alfred" home, and she even offers Riley money to let him go. Riley refuses and shows her Alfie rehearsing instead.

Which animal is Riley terrified of in The Next Step, a fear James exploits by jumping out in costume?

Chickens scare Riley so much that the boys use them to win a ghost-story contest. West claims the studio was once a chicken factory, then James appears dressed as one.

In The Next Step, James says Eldon must be able to do 30 of which dance move before he can date?

Pirouettes become Eldon's obsession for much of season 3. He turns down a concert date because he is nowhere near 30, then out-spins seven rivals at internationals.

James is nearly pulled out of The Next Step in season 1 because he is failing which school subject?

Math almost ends James's dancing, so Riley makes him a deal: score 70% or higher on the exam and she will go on a date with him. He passes with a B+.

Which BBC service airs The Next Step in Britain and ran the talent show Taking the Next Step?

CBBC held auditions on Taking the Next Step, a talent show that ran for two seasons from 2016. Its young winners earned guest roles on the Canadian drama itself.

Which rival studio, coached by Lucien, loses the season 1 regionals final to The Next Step and later merges with it?

Elite arrives at the season 1 regionals as reigning champion and performs an airplane-themed routine in the final. By season 4, Lucien has shut the studio down.

Which Canadian network premiered The Next Step in March 2013, setting its record for an original series debut?

Family Channel drew at least 574,000 viewers for the first episode, its highest-rated original series premiere. It aired the first six seasons before the drama moved to streaming.

Which actor, who went on to Disney's Zombies films, plays original A-Troupe dancer James in The Next Step?

Trevor Tordjman had to pull out of the UK leg of the cast's 2017 live tour because he was filming Zombies. He plays James as a main character for the first four seasons.

Michelle arrives in the first episode of The Next Step having just moved from Madison in which US state?

Wisconsin is where Michelle was dance captain and Miss National Soloist at her old studio. Her mother moves back to Madison in season 3 when her parents divorce.

Which hip-hop move does James finally land during his nationals duet with Riley in season 2 of The Next Step?

The B-Twist was the move a guest choreographer told James he was not ready for, so he left it out of the boys' group routine. Riley tells him to go for it just before their duet.

Which love story is the theme of The Next Step's winning routine in the season 1 regionals final?

Romeo and Juliet puts Eldon and Michelle centre stage as the lovers, just after Eldon admits to Emily that he wants to be with Michelle. Emily still dances, then snatches the trophy.

Knocked out in round three of the season 1 regionals, how does The Next Step still reach the semifinals?

As the wild-card pick, chosen from three eliminated troupes, The Next Step gets a second life. The slip that cost them came when Riley's glove caught on a feather in her hairbow.

What does James organise at the mall in season 2 of The Next Step to persuade Michelle to rejoin the studio?

A flash mob of hundreds of people wins Michelle back after she quits dance for the debate club. It is the last task on the list Riley sets James to prove himself.

Which dancer from Madison arrives in season 2 of The Next Step believing Michelle is still his girlfriend?

Hunter is Michelle's childhood friend, and he schemes with Emily to split her from Eldon. The plan backfires when Emily and Hunter fall for each other instead.

Which rival dance captain joins The Next Step in season 2 while secretly plotting to keep the team from nationals?

Amanda frames Emily for stealing the nationals money, but a five-dollar bill a child had drawn on exposes her. She still saves the team in the final as a registered alternate.

How does The Next Step's A-Troupe earn free nationals uniforms from designer Zoltan in season 2?

Modelling in his show replaces the catwalk models stuck in Milan, so Zoltan waives a bill of $78,325.19. The team's car wash had raised just $27.

Emily lands badly at the end of The Next Step's season 2 nationals semifinal, injuring which part of her body?

Knee trouble keeps Emily out of the final and off the dance floor for at least eight months. It also costs her a place on the season 3 internationals team.

What is the name of James's band in The Next Step, which also titles a spin-off series about young musicians?

Lost & Found plays at Aunt Kathy's wedding in season 3, with James stepping in as best man. He leaves A-Troupe after internationals to play with the band full-time.

Which country does The Next Step beat in a tie-breaking duet to win the season 3 internationals title?

Sweden started the final with a five-point head start, earned when its male soloist beat Eldon. That turned The Next Step's 97 to 92 win into a tie, settled by Riley and James.

Which exchange dancer from England befriends Riley, then steals her entire solo at internationals in The Next Step?

Ella admits she will do whatever it takes for her team, and she still takes the Miss International Soloist title. Riley gets her revenge when A-Troupe beats England in the semifinal.

Which ballet does Chloe leave The Next Step to perform in season 3 after winning a place with a touring company?

The Nutcracker offer comes after Chloe auditions only to keep untrained West company. He is cut, she gets in, and she returns in season 6 as a ballet choreographer.

Which rule do organisers add to a group round at internationals in season 3 of The Next Step, making Noah vital?

Dancing blindfolded suits Noah, who can catch things without looking, so Michelle gives up her place in the routine for him. England gets round the rule by entering only two dancers.

Which Canadian pop singer plays a concert for the dancers at nationals in season 2 of The Next Step?

Shawn Desman is Emily's idol, so she joins a scavenger hunt to win concert passes. West gets the final photo with him by posing as a celebrity called "Compass" to skip the queue.

Which actress plays Michelle, the newcomer who becomes dance captain in season 1 of The Next Step?

Victoria Baldesarra stayed in the main cast for the first six seasons and came back for the tenth and last. She also joined the 2026 Legacy world tour as Michelle.

Which actor went from playing hip-hop dancer West in The Next Step to Henry in HBO's The Last of Us?

Lamar Johnson earned an Emmy nomination for the guest role and won a Canadian Screen Award for his lead performance in the film Brother.

Which The Next Step star won So You Think You Can Dance Canada before playing the flexible Giselle?

Jordan Clark won the contest's fourth season before the drama began. She first wanted to be a gymnast, and her mother enrolled her in dance only so she could learn acro.

Why does Miss Kate hand The Next Step studio over to Riley early in season 4?

To judge a TV show about dance in Britain, Kate asks Riley to run the studio, which means giving up her A-Troupe place. Riley insists the dancers never call her "Miss Riley".

In which city do James, West and Eldon enter the Bangers and Mash-Ups hip-hop contest in season 4 of The Next Step?

London is where the trio beat Spain's Fuego Fuego in the final, with James winning the deciding rounds after Riley turns up to cheer. Earlier, Eldon washes in a bidet without knowing what it is.

Which newcomer studio scores 97 at a season 4 qualifier and later beats The Next Step in the regionals final?

Gemini is fronted by boy-and-girl twins who visit The Next Step to "window shop" for a dancer to steal. In the final their routine uses several sets of twins.

Which dancer is named captain in season 4 of The Next Step and wins a tiebreak solo to send A-Troupe to regionals?

Skylar steps on stage unasked while James and Alfie argue over who should dance the tiebreak. Emily had picked her as captain after a series of tests and gave her the captain's diary.

Why is TNS East's win over TNS West thrown out in The Next Step's fifth season?

A member was a paid pro: Elliot had performed on Broadway and been dropped from six productions, which made him ineligible. Miss Kate then bars both troupes from regionals.

Which familiar face returns in season 5 of The Next Step as Emily's demanding new choreographer?

Daniel helps Emily cut every auditioning dancer who is not classically trained. He had walked out of the studio in season 2 when Kate refused to give him the nationals solo.

Which untrained dancer does West discover online and bring into TNS West in season 5 of The Next Step?

Kingston knows none of the usual dance terms and calls himself a "visual learner", so he films the choreography instead. Michelle cuts him, then keeps him on as a provisional member.

What does TNS West stage in season 5 of The Next Step to raise scholarship money for dancers like Heather?

A dance-a-thon keeps the dancers moving for 12 hours, and anyone who stops is out. Only Heather and Henry last the distance, after original A-Troupers drop in at the eight-hour mark.

Which condition does Richelle hide in season 5 of The Next Step before a pointe solo puts her in hospital?

Snapping hip syndrome makes her hip crack audibly, a secret she shares only with Lola. Lola even breaks her pointe shoe to stop her dancing, but Richelle tapes it up and performs anyway.

Which sport did Josh play before auditioning for A-Troupe in season 5 of The Next Step?

Hockey runs through his story: his brother Adam makes a AAA team, which nearly forces Josh to move away with his parents. Emily picks Josh for her troupe once Michelle quits.

How is favoured dancer Lily related to Miss Angela, the new studio head who takes over The Next Step in season 6?

Her daughter Lily is treated as the favourite while Piper is branded the weakest link. At regionals it is Lily who finally exposes her mother.

What forces The Next Step to choose between a tougher regionals division and dropping captain Noah in season 6?

His eighteenth birthday means the team must enter the senior advanced division or lose him. The vote to keep him has to be unanimous, and Piper's lone "No" nearly ends his run before she reverses it.

Which former A-Troupe dancer rents space at The Next Step in season 6 for her rival studio, AcroNation?

Thalia first says AcroNation will skip regionals, then enters after all with Eldon as her choreographer. Kate ends the rental once the two studios become direct rivals.

Which prop for The Next Step's season 6 regionals final arrives 35 inches long instead of 35 feet?

Ropes ordered for the dancers to hang from turn up far too short because of a clerical error, and Emily has to fix it. Piper lands her aerial in the finished routine.

What is the studio hangout called in season 5 of The Next Step, where barista Heather turns out to be a dancer?

Neutral Grounds is the café's fifth name in five seasons, after Squeezed, Culture Shock, Hidalgo's and Java Junction. Heather had quit dance because her parents could not afford it.

Which event does Amy stage at The Next Step in season 6 because Henry missed his own for a video shoot?

A prom gives the season its love tangle: Henry rehearses a four-person "promposal" for Amy, only to find she has already said yes to Ty. Henry and Summer end up crowned king and queen.

What do Emily and Michelle turn the studio café into so A-Troupe must work together in season 6 of The Next Step?

An escape room traps the dancers until they solve clues about one another, ending with each dancing like a teammate. The same night, Kate announces she is selling the studio.

Which actress, who plays Richelle in The Next Step, later competed on NBC's World of Dance?

Briar Nolet finished fifth in the third season, and Jennifer Lopez then invited her to perform on the It's My Party Tour. She joined the drama as a recurring junior dancer.

Which little girl from Chloe's baby ballet class is hinted to be an angel in season 3 of The Next Step?

Margie dances with Chloe one last time, waves goodbye and vanishes in a glimmer of lights. She first appeared in season 1 as the child who goes missing at dance camp.

Which guest star teaches a tutting workshop at The Next Step's dance convention in season 6, thrilling Henry?

Dytto is the name Emily uses to land the convention, fibbing that the star will be there before booking her for real. Henry later gets caught sneaking a selfie with the guest.