Brand New

Season	Episode
1	18

Release dates

Air date

October 11, 2013

Air date

October 1, 2014

Credits

Writer(s)

Frank van Keeken, Chloe van Keeken

Director

Patrick Sisam

Chronology
Previous	Next
"Forget You"	"First Date"

“	You might as well put a dagger in my heart and twist it.	”
— Kate, about Emily and Stephanie going to Elite

Click here to see more quotes.

"Brand New" is the 18th episode in Season 1 of The Next Step and the 18th episode overall. It aired on October 11, 2013.

Synopsis[]

A-Troupe decides to hold auditions for two new dancers to replace Emily and Stephanie.

Plot[]

Tiffany riley michelle season 1 bn — Riley tells A-Troupe that Stephanie and Emily are leaving.

Riley races into Studio A and notifies A-Troupe that she overheard her parents talking about Emily and Stephanie and learned that they are planning on moving to Elite Dance Academy, shocking the dancers. Kate and Chris confess that leaving The Next Step for their long-term rivals is the worst thing they could do. Various members of A-Troupe express anger at what Emily and Stephanie have done; Michelle believes that they should talk to them, but Riley dismisses the idea. Michelle then warily suggests the idea of A-Troupe not going to Regionals; this idea is also shot down. Realizing that the team has worked too hard not to go to Regionals, Kate decides that they will hold auditions for the B-Troupers to find two new members; the team begrudgingly concurs, except for Eldon, who confesses that he thinks the team is giving up on Emily and Stephanie far too quickly considering they don't even know if they got into Elite yet.

Michelle welcomes the B-Troupers to the auditions. Kate confesses that while Michelle, as dance captain, is running the auditions, she and Chris will have the final say. As Michelle explains what will be taking place, Giselle confesses how happy she is to have a second chance to get onto A-Troupe, and how desperate she is to make it in. She also reveals that she thinks she has a pretty good chance, considering that she is the only B-Trouper who has been on A-Troupe before. The auditions start with freestyle solos, and before everyone performs their solo, Michelle asks them why they dance. Zach is up first, and replies that he dances because he likes entertaining people and being the center of attention. As the solo auditions continue, Michelle confesses that while the B-Troupers are not quite as good as the A-Troupers, the two spots need to be filled. Sarah says that she dances because she loves to move, and Charlie says that he dances because it makes people smile. As the solos continue, Giselle admits that she is nervous, but is itching to dance. Beth auditions next, and reveals that she dances because people tell her that she's "crazy" and she likes to express that through her dancing, but then admits she really wants to get into A-Troupe because she misses James, making Michelle, Kate, and Chris uncomfortable.

Riley and Chloe video-chat with James.

In Squeezed, Chloe and Riley are video-chatting with James, who is at school since his mom pulled him out of dance due to his poor math grades. Chloe confesses that the A-Troupers have been taking shifts to help James with his math and that it is their turn. Chloe and Riley alternate between giving James math problems off cue cards. James confesses that it is important that he passes math so that he can return to dance - and go on a date with Riley. James reveals to the girls that he is stressed, especially since he doesn't know the dance for Regionals; after thinking about it, Riley realises that as long as James's mom doesn't know about it, she could technically come to his school and teach him the dance, as he would not be at the studio.

Stephanie and Emily are in Elite's B Studio, and are in awe at the size and extravagance of the building. Lucien, the studio head, and Amanda, the dance captain then enter, and after they hear that Stephanie and Emily used to attend The Next Step, Lucien claims that they have never heard of it and Amanda instantly bashes it. The two then leave to discuss whether Stephanie and Emily should be allowed to audition.

Riley waits for James at his school so that she can teach him the choreography. However, when James arrives, he is uncharacteristically stressed out and informs her that he can't learn the dance, as his teacher has rescheduled a math test for the following day; he confesses that he doesn't think he's ready for the test, and he has accepted that he won't be coming back to The Next Step. Riley is confident that James knows the material, and quizzes him with the cue cards; he answers all her questions correctly. Riley says that she thinks James needs to believe in himself.

Emily eldon season1 bn — Emily assures Eldon that, regardless of where they dance, they'll be together.

Eldon is waiting outside of Elite so that he can figure out what is going on between him and Emily. Emily joins Eldon, and he tells her that that the B-Troupers are auditioning to replace her and Stephanie. Emily says that she needs to go back inside, and Eldon finally asks her what will become of their relationship if she is at Elite. Emily tells him that no matter where she dances, they will still be together. Stephanie finds them and tells Emily that she needs to go back inside because Amanda and Lucien have made their decision. Emily hugs Eldon and goes back inside, and Eldon left feeling amazing. When Stephanie and Emily return, Lucien tells them that while he doesn't appreciate their tardiness, the two are permitted to audition.

Still at James's school, Riley convinces James that he knows the material. Riley tries to get a high-five from James, but James hugs her instead and thanks her. James confesses that Riley believes in him when nobody else does, and that it feels like anything is possible with her. Riley begins to perform the Regionals routine in front of the school, and soon enough, James follows suit.

Giselle season 1bn — Giselle explains why she dances.

Back in Studio A, it's finally Giselle's turn to audition. She tells Michelle that she dances because when she was a little kid she was really fidgety, and after her parents consulted some people, they decided to enrol her in dance classes, where she felt at home because the other kids were just like her. Giselle performs an exceptional audition; simultaneously, Emily and Stephanie audition for Elite, and back at James's school, Riley teaches James the choreography.

After the auditions, Kate converses with A-Troupe. As she is about to announce the two dancers who made it into A-Troupe, Stephanie walks in, clearly upset, and asks if there are still auditions for A-Troupe. It becomes clear that she did not make it into Elite, but Emily did, and Eldon comes to the realisation that Emily is not coming back. Kate tells Stephanie that she missed her chance to audition; Stephanie asks if they could make an exception for her.

Trivia[]

Emily and Eldon are officially a couple.
Emily is now a member of Elite Dance Academy.
Stephanie currently has nowhere to dance.

Errors[]

Lucien claims not to have heard of The Next Step, yet Amanda claims in "Fancy Footwork" that their victory against The Next Step at the previous Regionals made their victory "even sweeter" that year, meaning that Lucien definitely knows The Next Step. Additionally, in "Love Story", Ms Kate tells Michelle that Lucien called her about Michelle possibly transferring to Elite.
- Given this information, it is likely that Lucien merely claimed not to know The Next Step to intimidate Emily and Stephanie.
James incorrectly states that cosecant is the inverse of cosine. Cosecant is the inverse of sine. To make matters worse, both Chloe and Riley say that he is correct.

Production errors[]

The actors for the entirety of Elite Dance Academy's Regionals team are featured in the end credits of this episode, despite only Logan Fabbro and Allain Lupien actually appearing.
When Riley enters Studio A to notify A-Troupe of Emily and Stephanie's departure, her hair is in a ponytail, but merely moments later, her hair is down.
When reacting to Riley's news, Chloe is standing in front of Eldon, Chris, and Kate, but moments later, she is standing in a different location with nobody behind her.