Dance, once an esoteric artform relegated to the glorious, high-brow venue of the stage, has been sweeping the country in a whirlwind of fave television shows.

NBC’s Superstars of Dance, Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance, ABC’s Dancing with the Stars and MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew - while all distinct – have introduced dance styles that wouldn’t otherwise receive mainstream exposure.

From krump and the Argentine tango to Bollywood and clogging, these shows are doing a superb job at painting various facets of global culture through the universal language of dance.

Furthermore, no sooner than America’s Best Dance Crew found its season’s winner in the all-Asian minus one b-boy group of Quest Crew, a new dance-heavy show take its place on MTV.

In sort of a 'Fame' meets 'The Hills' combo, MTV –  more appropriately named RTV for its new all reality all the time television programming - unveils Taking the Stage, a reality show -documentary hybrid that follows five students at Cincinnati's School for Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA).

Throughout the show, the students compete in song and dance challenges, replete with dating and ego drama along the way. The show premiered on MTV on March 19 at 10 p.m. EST.

The show is produced by Nick Lachey, a school alumnus. He brought the idea for the show to MTV because he claimed SCPA played a large part not just in his career, but in his life.

"That school is not like any other place in the world," he told the New York Daily News. "It creates a whole world of learning that you don't see very often in this country, and especially on MTV."

Lachey is among many who attended SCPA and went on to study arts at prestigious universities and pursue careers on Broadway, in Hollywood and all facets of the entertainment business. They include entertainers like actress Sarah Jessica Parker (Sex and the City), actor/director Todd Luiso (High Fidelity, Love Liza), actor Rocky Carroll (NCIS).

In this pilot season, five students in Taking the Stage are on the cusp of greatness:

Jasmine who dreams of dancing with the famed Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater will settle for entry into New York’s performing arts conservatory Juilliard after SCPA. Malik -- Jasmine's best friend -- leads the school's only hip-hop dance group, The Definition. Shaakira is a dancer and aspiring actress. Mia is a singer-songwriter. And, finally, there's Tyler, a gifted hip-hop dancer who is fresh meat at SCPA.

While SCPA appears to be a good place to cultivate young talent, Taking The Stage has already met criticism for casting a sub-par prima ballerina.

“If that girl thinks she’s gonna get into Juilliard, she must be crazy,” said Toni Bernard, a 12^th grader and dancer at Fiorello LaGuardia High School of Music &the Performing Arts, affectionately called “The Fame School,” for its depiction in the cult motion picture.

Not that Nick Lachey isn’t uber-famous for his late-90s boy band, but LaGuardia products like Jennifer Aniston, Omar Epps, Adrien Brody, and dare we say Al Pacino, tend to tip the scale. Even Jessica could see that!