Just a year after it was pitched at Cartoon Forum, 20 Dance Street (pictured) has been greenlit by a consortium of leading broadcasters in Europe.

Greenlit by Germany’s ZDF and France Télévisions, the CG-animated ballet toon (26 x 26 minutes) will head into production with a presale also secured from Belgian broadcaster RTBF. 

20 Dance Street originated at Parisian prodco Cottonwood Media—which has a strong track record for dance-centric tween shows, with Find Me in Paris and Spellbound under its belt—in partnership with the Opéra National de Paris. It tells the story of an 11-year-old would-be prima ballerina who moves from the Caribbean to begin her first year of dance classes at the prestigious Paris Opera Ballet School. Despite being far away from home, Maya is determined to navigate the challenges of her new life with resilience. 

The project is an adaptation of Elizabeth Barféty’s French-language children’s book series 20, allée de la Danse, which has churned out more than 20 titles in the European market since 2016.

Pre-production on the animated series is scheduled to start this fall, with Federation Kids & Family and ZDF Studios handling international sales. The plan is to use motion-capture tools to incorporate professional dancers into “ultra-realistic” ballet sequences in the series.