This collection shines a spotlight on all things dance-related. On pointe are ballet gems from the 1960s, 80s and the 90s, and ballroom dancing from Dancing with the Stars and Top Dance. Hip hop busts out some moves in The Palace, led by choreography sensation Parris Goebel. Also featured are contemporary dancers Douglas Wright (who turns up in multiple titles), Black Grace, Mary Jane O'Reilly, Taiaroa Royal and Michael Parmenter. And on the not so serious front, Suzanne Paul gets funky doing the 'Blue Monkey'. 

This 80s precursor to Dancing with the Stars put the competitive community spirit of Top Town onto the dancefloor, as ballroom dancers representing different regions twirled and dipped for supremacy. Created by Ron Pledger (a longtime TVNZ go-to person for major event TV — Top Town, This is Your Life, Anzac Day broadcasts), the concept was inspired by Pledger’s wife, a champion Latin American dancer who had connections in the ballroom dancing world. Top Dance ran for three seasons.

Dancing with the Stars was a ratings hit for TV One. The opening season was named Best Entertainment/ Reality Programme at the 2005 Qantas Awards, and viewers switched on in droves to watch Kiwi celebrities tackling the challenge of ballroom dancing — and sometimes failing. In this brief collection of season one bloopers, host Candy Lane intentionally bumbles over her lines after examining Bernice Mene's outfit, Tim Shadbolt falls over (three times), and actor Shane Cortese gets a kick where it hurts the most. The montage is set to Supergrass song ‘Alright’. 

This 80s precursor to Dancing with the Stars took the competitive community spirit of Top Town to the dance floor, with dancers twirling and dipping in sequinned spandex for the ‘Top Dance City’ trophy. Hosted by radio personality Lindsay Yeo, this 1982 final follows the foxtrot and samba at Wellington’s Majestic Cabaret. Beside regional bragging rights, winners take home a Pye Vidmatic 10 inch TV. The Northern Ballet Company (the one from Auckland, not the company from Leeds) interrupt proceedings for a Venusian space travel interlude that won't soon be forgotten.

In this excerpt from the final of the fourth season of Dancing with the Stars, two contestants remain: Silver Ferns netballer Temepara Bailey (then known as Temepara George), and Kiwis rugby league player Monty Betham. The clip recaps Bailey’s path to the final — including a netball injury scare — and showcases her foxtrot with dance partner Stefano Olivieri. Then it’s over to the judges to rate how the former World Netball Champion and Commonwealth Games gold medallist has performed on the dance floor. Bailey would go on to win the season. 

Dancing with the Stars puts celebrities through a series of ballroom dancing challenges. This excerpt from the final of the fifth series sees TV presenter (and future Labour MP) Tamati Coffey channel his inner matador. He and dance partner Samantha Hitchcock perform their second routine of the night: the paso doble. Coffey is "flying" after the judges' review, including unexpected praise from Craig Revel Horwood. Coffey ultimately went on to claim the final in a closely contested public vote, beating Olympic champion boardsailor Barbara Kendall.  

In the first season of New Zealand's version of Dancing with the Stars, ex All Black Norm Hewitt was pitted against actor Shane Cortese in the 2005 final. The live ballroom dance TV One competition paired professional dancers with celebrities like Invercargill mayor Tim Shadbolt, politician Georgina Beyer, and model Nicky Watson. In this excerpt, Cortese and Nerida Lister win over the judges with their rumba routine. The pair went on to marry and have three children. Nearly a million people tuned in to watch the finale, which Hewitt and Carol-Ann Hickmore won.

This 2006 documentary is a portrait of one of New Zealand politics' most contradictory figures: unionist Ken Douglas. At the time of filming Douglas occupied numerous board positions (eg Air New Zealand, the NZ Rugby Football Union), but early on he was a truckie and Marxist. Rob Muldoon branded him 'Red Ken'. For 15 years until 1999 he led the Council of Trade Unions. Directed by Monique Oomen for Top Shelf Productions, the film is framed around interviews with Douglas and his colleagues, and asks whether he is a turncoat or a strategic realist moving with the times.

This 2015 edition in the Loading Docs series explores the past, present and future of Crystal Palace, a dilapidated but stately theatre on Auckland’s Mt Eden Road that has been drawing the curtains since the 1920s. Co-directed by Karl Sheridan and Robin Gee, who work under the Monster Valley moniker, the documentary canvasses the spilled Jaffas, dances, surf film screenings and local legends of the venue — and is also a plea to bring the ballroom and cinema back to life. In March 2016 Monster Valley answered their own call, and took over management of the theatre.

Fresh-up in the Deep End saw sportsmen turned TV larrikins Marc Ellis and Matthew Ridge facing challenges far outside their comfort zones. This episode has the pair taking on dancing, from ballroom and latin styles, through to cabaret, contemporary and Irish. En route they try some body percussion with Black Grace Dance Company, and do the can-can under the watchful eye of cabaret legend Debbie Dorday. Then they must put their new found skills to the test in full on competition. Ridge and Ellis' skills with a rugby ball in hand don't always translate onto the dancefloor.