Media and entertainment powerhouse, Banijay, today announces Zeppelin, part of Banijay Iberia, is set to launch original talent show Baila Como Puedas (international W/T: Dance If You Can). Airing on La 1, the show, created by Zeppelin (Banijay Iberia) and produced in collaboration with RTVE, will be hosted by Anne Igartiburu, and promises to redefine entertainment, as dancers face the ultimate challenge of their careers.
Baila Como Puedas forms part of the Banijay @ BAFTA London TV Screenings event later this week. It follows sixteen accomplished professionals showcasing their skills as versatile dancers and choreographers. Forming couples, they will instruct eight celebrities without dance experience, in all types of dance disciplines, such as contemporary, house, jazz and more. For 10 weeks, the professional dancers will fully immerse themselves in the competition, living together at the Baila Como Puedas Academy.
The excitement kicks off in the first episode, where each celebrity (Álvaro Muñoz Escassi, Ana Guerra, Fabiola Martínez, Jaime Astrain, Lydia Lozano, Maestro Joao, Nicolás Vallejo-Nágera and Sabrina Salerno) selects a professional dancer to form a dynamic duo with. The dancers can accept the proposition or reject it and remain in the reserve waiting to be chosen by another celebrity. Professionals who were not matched in the initial round are then placed on reserve, eagerly awaiting their chance to shine.
The dancers will have to prepare choreography and teach the amateur celebrity to deliver a spectacular performance. As an additional challenge, celebrities and dancers will also be divided into teams and perform outdoors group choreography, with only 48 hours to prepare!
A panel of judges (Beatriz Luengo, Norma Duval, Rafa Méndez and Yolanda Ramos) will critique and evaluate each couple’s performance weekly, determining the fate of the professional dancers. After working together, the bond between celebrities and contestants is strong, taking them on an emotional journey, as the celebrities are responsible for their partners progress in the competition.
The twist? Eliminated dancers can switch celebrity partners and return stronger than ever thanks to a repechage. At the halfway point of the series, the couples will begin to be eliminated together, and only the finalists will perform in the grand finale, where the professional contestant of the winning couple will receive €50,000.
Miguel Martín, Managing Director of Zeppelin says: “Building on Zeppelin’s experience and success as creators of reality, competition and entertainment programmes like The Bridge and TimeZone, Baila Como Puedas is a fun and original series never seen before on television, that represents an authentic evolution in dance programmes. It is an entertainment blockbuster in which every week the contestants coexist and compete. We have turned the focus: those who take the risk, the real contestants, are the professional dancers, and subsequently, we will see celebrities like we have never seen them.”
James Townley, Chief Content Officer, Development at Banijay adds: “Zeppelin is renowned for genre-defining entertainment, and this latest format is no different. Bringing this new and original show to market demonstrates the continued strength of our IP pipeline and I’m looking forward to sharing the format with our teams around the world.”
Zeppelin is behind huge shows such as Big Brother Spain, Floor Filler, LOL: Last One Laughing or All Against One, and is also the creator of original formats like TimeZone and The Bridge (El Puente), which has now sold internationally to territories including the UK, Australia, and Brazil, where it was awarded an International Emmy.