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LOS ANGELES, July 26 (UPI) -- Dancer and choreographer Robin Antin said reality series Playground, premiering all episodes Friday on Hulu, features her Los Angeles dance studio's most volatile instructors and performers. "The ones that are in the show are definitely wild cards, all of them," Antin, 63, told UPI in a recent Zoom interview. "It's not like they're fighting, but there are dramas."
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The show brings cameras into the Playground dance studio to show dancers training in classes, auditioning for music videos and concert tours, and the behind the scenes drama between dancers.
In the first episode, Deana proves to be a controversial pick to teach a dance class at the studio. Antin's partner, Kenny Wormwald, is against it and Deana is feuding with dancer Alexis.
"Deana is a character, let me tell you," Antin said. "That girl is wild. I've got to tame her all the time."
Antin said she feels maternal toward Deana and helps her navigate the dance community. She said she mentors Deana privately about building a brand and reassures her that she's not as vilified as she might believe.
"Deana might think everyone hates her," she said. "I'm like, 'But why do you think that? Where did that come from? I don't even understand. You're a dancer. You're an amazing dancer."
Sometimes, one dancer keeps another waiting for studio space. Antin said, hypothetically, Dexter could keep Alexis waiting to begin her class and cause another feud.
"What am I going to do, walk into the studio and say, 'Class is over?'" she asked rhetorically. "So we have to let him do his thing."
Antin said that is just one example. She assured viewers that most Playground classes start and end on time, but she lets the dancers work it out among themselves when they don't.
"Every day is a different day at Playground," she said. "You literally never know who's going to have an issue with whom."
What makes it worthwhile, Antin said, is that Playground has become the premiere studio for artists to recruit dancers for music videos and tours. Megan Thee Stallion executive produced Playground and appears in episodes auditioning dancers.
Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus and Paris Hilton also have auditioned Playground dancers. The series captures the intensity of those auditions, too.
"It's exciting for these young dancers because they hardly get a chance to ever audition in front of these celebrities, in front of these rock stars," she said.
Antin has been a professional dancer and choreographer since the '80s. In 1995, she founded The Pussycat Dolls, which evolved from a dance troupe to a pop group with songs like "Don't Cha'" and "Buttons."
She also recruited Gwen Stefani to perform with The Pussycat Dolls when they met at The Viper Room in West Hollywood, Calif.. Antin recalled that Stefani felt she could not learn Pussycat Dolls choreography, so Antin tailored it to her abilities.
"That's what choreographers do," she said. "Choreographers work with the artist and whatever the artist is really good at. Then you give them a little bit more."
With Wormwald, Antin founded Playground in 2017 and credits Wormwald with the idea of posting Playground dance videos on Instagram, which alerted artists to the studio's talent pool. Antin said she also enjoys keeping up with the Playground dancers for her practice.
"I love dancing next to the kids," she said. "Obviously, I'm not 20 years old, but I've kept myself in such good shape because of dance."
In addition to Playground, Antin is also working on a musical adaptation of the film, Burlesque, with her brother, Steven, who wrote and directed the 2010 movie. Burlesque star Christina Aguilera is an executive producer.
Though running Playground, co-executive producing the show and developing the musical takes up more time Antin has ever devoted to projects before, she said she welcomes the productivity.
"I've never been so overwhelmed and busy in my life," Antin said with pride. "I get to do all the things I wanted to do for so long."
