Un paso adelante: 6 things to know about the famous Spanish TV show

10/04/2023

The TV show Un paso adelante has made its comeback in the form of a revival that will start airing on May 7. It had marked a whole generation of viewers in the 2000s. How about knowing more about it? Here are six fun facts you probably didn’t know about the legendary Spanish show.

The episodes are not the same length in the original version
The episodes are not the same length in the original version

The series Un paso adelante has a different format in the original version. The length of an episode is about 80 minutes, or 1 hour and 20 minutes, while in the French version it is 50 minutes. And, for good reason, when it arrived on M6 in 2004, the series was “reformatted” so as to find its place in the middle of the afternoon in the channel's program schedule. Some scenes were left out when the episodes were re-cut, like a kiss between Roberto and Beni in episode 1. As a result, the French version of Un paso adelante counts 130 episodes while the original version has a total of 84 episodes.

Miguel Ángel Muñoz did not know how to dance before playing in the TV show
Miguel Ángel Muñoz did not know how to dance before playing in the TV show

If one could believe that the actors of Un paso adelante are experienced dancers, considering the impressive choreographies that the series offers us episode after episode, it is not the case at all. Miguel Ángel Muñoz, who plays the emblematic Roberto Arenales, lied during his audition about his dancing skills and thus did everything to delay the tests. He finally confessed the truth to the casting directors and took intensive classes in order to be ready for the shooting. Mission accomplished!

Silvia's (Mónica Cruz) miscarriage was not originally planned
Silvia's (Mónica Cruz) miscarriage was not originally planned

In season 2 of Un paso adelante, Silvia becomes pregnant by her boyfriend Roberto. Hiding it from everyone except Lola who discovers the truth, she miscarries during a dance contest. Actually, this storyline was supposed to have a completely different outcome. As actress Beatriz Luengo told the Spanish program La Resistencia, it was planned that the show would deal with abortion: “They cut a storyline involving the abortion of the character of Mónica Cruz because they thought it was too big. She had to stop her dancing career and think about whether she wanted to keep her child or not.” But the writers thought that was "too tricky" so they opted for a miscarriage instead.

The departure of Natalia Millán (Adela) was a problem for the creators of the show
The departure of Natalia Millán (Adela) was a problem for the creators of the show

Fan-favorite character of the show, Adela Ramos leaves Un paso adelante in the middle of season 4 to give dance lessons in a school in New York. However, as Jesús del Cerro - one of the creators of Un paso adelante - explained to the Toute La Télé website, this was absolutely not planned in the script. “This is the only case where we had a problem. Natalia Millán left the series to play in the theater. We had to find a way out and the character of Adela disappeared during the season,” he said. But good news for lovers of the series: the actress will resume her role in the sequel entitled UPA Next.

The series hired extras for the changing room scenes
The series hired extras for the changing room scenes

Many scenes in the show Un paso adelante take place in the changing rooms of the Carmen Arranz school, where the students change between classes. In fact, the producers used extras to appear undressed on screen during these sequences. Beatriz Luengo revealed this fun fact in the Spanish program La Resistencia. “They hired naked people for the changing rooms scenes” recalls the actress playing Lola Fernández. “We had to recite our text, you could cry for a while and play a difficult scene that was intense to prepare ... And, suddenly, they cut because the breast of an extra was not in the shot”.

A season 7 of Un paso adelante was supposed to be filmed
A season 7 of Un paso adelante was supposed to be filmed

The TV show Un paso adelante came to an end on April 24, 2005 on the Spanish television channel Antena 3, after six seasons... and several unanswered questions. This is explained by the fact that a seventh season was initially planned and therefore the last episode of season 6 had not been scripted as a series finale. But, since the TV ratings had dropped, Antena 3 decided not to renew Un paso adelante. The fans hope to get answers to the questions they have been wondering about for more than 15 years in the revival of the show.

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