Disney Channel Premieres Dance-Driven Sitcom SHAKE IT UP 11/7

The buddy comedy "Shake It Up," television's first dance-driven sitcom, from veteran producers Chris Thompson ("Laverne & Shirley," "Bosom Buddies") and Rob Lotterstein ("The War at Home," "Ellen"), premieres SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 7 (8:30 p.m., ET/PT) on Disney Channel. The series stars 13-year-old Bella Thorne and 14-year-old Zendaya as best friends CeCe and Rocky, whose dreams of becoming professional dancers are realized when they land roles as background dancers on the most popular teen dance show, "Shake It Up, Chicago!"

While the best friends pop, lock and learn the challenging contemporary moves for each week's dance show, they revel in their newfound status, but also quickly learn they'll need more than fancy footwork to match wits with the show's other dancers, notably the highly competitive siblings, Gunther and Tinka. At the same time, with their best friend Deuce and Rocky's brother Ty, they also must quick step through the complex twists and turns of an average big city high school, as well as Windy City family life, including their obligation to babysit CeCe's mischievous younger brother, Flynn.

Throughout the series premiere day, the entire cast will take viewers behind the scenes on the set to introduce the characters and see the dance moves as they're choreographed.

The schedule is as follows:

Friday, October 15

· DisneyChannel.com debuts exciting new "Shake It Up" features, including a dance-themed game and a BFF quiz, with new features launching every subsequent Friday until the series premiere.

Sunday, October 31

· A full episode preview of "Shake It Up" available on Disney Channel SVOD.

Sunday, November 7

· "Shake It Up" series premiere on Disney Channel (8:30 p.m., ET/PT) with simulcasts on Sprint TV, MobiTV and Flo TV.

Monday, November 8

· Free download of premiere episode available on iTunes.

Starring are Bella Thorne as CeCe Jones; Zendaya as Raquel 'Rocky' Blue; Adam Irigoyen ("Wizards Of Waverly Place") as Deuce Martinez; Davis Cleveland ("Good Luck Charlie," "Desperate Housewives") as Flynn Jones; Kenton Duty ("Lost") as Gunther Hessenheffer, and Roshon Fegan ("Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam") as Ty Blue. Recurring cast includes Caroline Sunshine ("Marmaduke") as Tinka Hessenheffer and R. BranDon Johnson ("One Life to Live," "Hannah Montana") as Gary Wilde.

The series was created by Chris Thompson and is executive-produced by Thompson and Rob Lotterstein. Rosero McCoy ("Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam") is the choreographer and Jessica Replansky ("Sex and the City 2" and "Confessions of a Shopaholic") is the costume designer. "Shake It Up" is a production of It's a Laugh Productions, Inc.

Disney Channel is a 24-hour kid-driven, family inclusive television network that taps into the world of kids and families through original series and movies. Currently available on basic cable in over 99 million U.S. homes and to millions of other viewers on Disney Channels around the world, Disney Channel is part of the Disney/ABC Television Group.

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