Leading dance event MOVE IT is partnering with Fawkes Digital to produce an original competition format – MOVE IT: The Dance Off. The new three-part dance series will launch this September on the official MOVE IT YouTube channel.
In what is described as a “high-energy, YouTube-first competition”, dance mentors Kumari Suraj and Damien Anyasi will search for the next big dance star, fresh from the floors of MOVE IT 2025. Across three episodes, they will each champion untapped talent before pitting their dancers against each other in battle rounds and a grand finale. Six talents – Taio Burke, Nalini Finnendal, Gary Clarke, Nola Nyembo, Hashna Siva, and Regan Garcia – will compete for an all-expenses-paid trip to New York, including top-tier studio training, a professional photoshoot, and Broadway tickets.
There will also be a spin-off podcast, in which host Fee Mak will catch up with Suraj and Anyasi. Fresh from The Dance Off, they will share insider stories from scouting talent, coaching live battles, and guiding dancers to a show-stopping finale—plus the challenges, tips, and unforgettable moments that weren’t seen on stage.
The series, which is supported by Hamilton’s Theatrical, will launch on September 5. In addition to growing the Dance Off format into an even more ambitious second series, the long-term goal is to kickstart the transformation of MOVE IT’s digital portfolio into a dance entertainment destination, appealing to both dance fans and a mainstream audience looking for entertainment and inspiration.
Lucy Smith, founder of Fawkes Digital and executive producer of MOVE IT: The Dance Off said: “As entertainment format specialists we’re pumped to help transform the MOVE IT brand from world’s biggest dance event to world’s biggest dance entertainment platform, with a slate of original IP that delivers broadcast quality programming to a global digital audience.”
