Paris – Federation Kids & Family, ZDF and ZDF Enterprises are pleased to announce the selection of the principal cast members and directors for its premium time-traveling-ballet series, FIND ME IN PARIS. Principal photography for the high-budget international co-pro kicked off in Paris this week with recently appointed directors, Matt Bloom and Randall Thorne.
Selected from an international pool of multi-talented actors – selected as much for their acting experience, as for their dancing abilities – leading roles have gone to mostly Canadian and English actors. The starring role of time-traveling ballerina Lena Grisky has been filled by dual Canadian/UK performer Jessica Lord. Jessica’s recent credits include Lola, a British dancer in the multi-award winning dance series from the Family Channel’s hit show The Next Step and Lego Friends, and SyFy’s Paranormal Witness. Playing the role of Jeff, Canadian Castle Rock brings a vast array of dance styles to the show, previously flaunted on Disney’s Descendants and Nickelodeon’s Make it Pop.
Other cast members include: Christy O’Donnel as Henri; Rory J. Saper as Max; Eubha Akilade (BBC#’3 Clique and CBBC’s Lily Watson) as Ines; Hiran Abeysekera, who brings his vast experience in theatre as well as TV to the role of Dash; and Hannah Dodd (face of Burberry model with Romeo Beckham in 2014) as Thea.
FIND ME IN PARIS’ talent pool also extends to the creative and production team: director Matt Bloom previously worked on the beloved series Hank Zipzerwhile director Randall Thorne’s previous credits include the iconic series Degrassi, Backstage and Make it Pop; creators and Executive Producers Jill Girling and Lori Mather-Welch are also the successful creators of Nickelodeon’s hit series RIDE; and finally, the show is produced by industry veterans David Michel, Zoé Carrera Allaix, Cecile Lauritano and Pascal Breton, along with Co-Executive Producer Leila Smith.
ZDF (Germany) is the leading broadcaster of the series which is being distributed by Cottonwood Media’s sister company Federation Kids & Family andZDF Enterprises. The show has also been pre-sold to HULU (USA), France Télévisions (France), Disney (France and Italy), ABC (Australia) and VRT (Belgium).
In a kids TV first, FIND ME IN PARIS will take place against the backdrop, and with the participation, of the world-renowned Garnier Opera House in Paris, which is also a co-producer on the show. Featuring mainly ballet as well as hip hop, the cast will work with both the choreographers from the Garnier, and a world-renowned hip hop collective, ensuring that the dance sequences – central to the heart of the show – will be both authentic and of extremely high standards. The multi-disciplined actors all come to the show with a solid background in dance to further ensure the outstanding artistic level of the show.
