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 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.

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’. 

Midway through the second season of the hit ballroom dancing show, politician Rodney Hide had won fans, lost weight, and weathered accusations that vote rigging had gone his way. More drama was to come: in this excerpt, Hide fails to catch dance partner Krystal Stuart at the end of their cha-cha, leading to the lowest score possible, and subsequent elimination. In 2018 Stuff rated the mishap as one of Dancing with the Stars' five most memorable moments. Hide regained some dignity in a series final guest appearance, when he and Stuart returned to execute the routine.

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.  

As the third season of hit show Dancing with the Stars began, broadcaster Paul Holmes was an underdog. His dance partner Rebecca Nicholson told Newstalk ZB that Holmes "dances like my dad". By mid-season Holmes knew that he needed to pull something out of the bag to stay in the running. The result: dancing the paso doble to Michael Jackson’s 'Thriller'. Judge Craig Revel Horwood called the routine "appallingly fabulous", as Holmes traded quips with the judges. In 2018 Stuff rated the homage to the King of Pop one of the show's most memorable moments. 

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. 

One of the most controversial political adverts to emerge from New Zealand, this 1975 spot only played twice on local television, but helped bring National a landslide win. National leader Rob Muldoon’s chief target was the Labour Government’s superannuation scheme, which the ad notoriously associated with communism, via a troupe of dancing Cossacks. Created by ad agency Colenso, the concept was animated by company Hanna-Barbera in Australia. After being elected, Muldoon brought in a replacement superannuation scheme.

Paul Callaghan (1947 - 2012) was an internationally celebrated scientist, and a passionate advocate for Aotearoa. He was a popular science communicator (including a radio show with Kim Hill), campaigned to make New Zealand “a place where talent wants to live”, and championed the idea of a predator-free New Zealand. Shirley Horrocks' documentary focuses on the field that Callaghan became a world expert in — magnetic resonance — and interviews Callaghan's family, colleagues, students and friends. The film was invited to play at the 2018 NZ International Film Festival. 

Future film producer Fiona Copland (The Price of Milk) is the reporter for this September 1984 piece on the New Zealand School of Dance in Wellington. Flashdance (1983) is in the air and Lionel Ritchie hit 'Running with the Night' is the soundtrack, as the wannabes aim to impress the likes of Limbs director Mary Jane O'Reilly. The students include Taiaroa Royal and Fenella Bathfield. Bathfield would shortly find local fame as host of after school programmes 3:45 LIVE! and The Bugs Bunny Show. The report screened on long-running arts programme Kaleidoscope.