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[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dance_central_dancer_7118.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Sass to the beat.]]

''Dance Central'' is a launch title developed by Creator/{{Harmonix}} for the Platform/{{Xbox 360}}'s motion controller, Kinect. This dancing game involves moving your body according to the indicators, but thanks to the sensors on the camera, it can read your whole body. This both adds more movement required for the player, but also means the moves had to be simplified compared to other dancing games to avoid physical strain.

The soundtrack is a bit narrower than other dance games, where most of the songs have a variety with the 2000s, but the songs from TheEighties and TheNineties are almost all hip hop, likely to fit with the urban dancing mood of the game.

The game also lacks local multiplayer, although it doesn't prevent friends from dancing along with you.

A sequel, ''Dance Central 2,'' was released on October 21, 2011 in Europe and October 25 in North America. It improves upon the original by adding true two-player gameplay in both competitive and cooperative modes, as well as the ability to create playlists, a freestyle-off option for [=DC2=] on-disc songs and future [=DC2=] downloadables, voice commands, and a more in-depth practice mode, allowing players to select specific moves in a routine to practice. Additionally, users can import songs from the original game, both on-disc and downloadable.

''Dance Central 3'' was released on October 16, 2012. It has a time-travel focused story mode, introducing numerous songs from the 1970s to the 2010s, as well as two new modes: Crew Throwdown mode, in which two teams attempt to outdo each other in dancing minigames, and a Party Mode. Both modes allowed more people to play the game.

''Dance Central Spotlight'' was released on September 2, 2014 for the Xbox One as a download-only title.

''Dance Central VR'' was released on May 21, 2019 for the Oculus Rift and Quest. In December 2022, a patch made the game unplayable. As of August 2023, there are no plans to fix it.

''Kinect Star Wars'' is technically part of this line as well as the dance game portion, ''Galactic Dance Off'', was developed by employees from Harmonix and likewise uses their gameplay interface.

Compare ''VideoGame/JustDance'', ''VideoGame/DanceMasters'', ''Dance Paradise'', ''VideoGame/WeCheer''.

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!! This game provides examples of:
* AerithAndBob: Normally named characters like Emilia, Aubrey, and Taye share the spotlight with characters named Oblio, Jaryn, and Dare.
* AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs: After [=Flash4wrd=]'s era in [=DC3=]'s story mode, DCI HQ [[spoiler:was hacked by Dr. Tan]].
* AndYourRewardIsClothes:
** There are alternate costumes to unlock in all games.
** In ''VR'', in addition to clothes, you unlock new phones for maximizing your relationship with the other dancers.
* AprilFoolsDay:
** In 2013, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4C-TfCxcFN8 Dance Central Blackout]], where the player has to rely on audio cues from a headset instead of visual cues.
** In 2015, [[http://www.harmonixmusic.com/blog/romance-central/ Romance Central]], a DatingSim.
* AmazingTechnicolorBattlefield: If the player is doing well, the normal stage will drop into shadow with pulsing multicolor neon lights.
* AMFMCharacterization: Each of the dancers in ''VR'' has a favorite song that reveals a little about their personality. These songs can only be performed with the dancer that favors them.
** Aubrey: "YES" by Louisa.
** Emilia: "New Rules" by Music/DuaLipa.
** Hart: "Make Me Feel" by Music/JanelleMonae.
** Mo: "HUMBLE." by Music/KendrickLamar.
** Oblio: "Attention" by Music/CharliePuth.
* ArtShiftedSequel:
** The models in ''Dance Central Spotlight'' looks notably different from the usual.
** With ''Dance Central VR'' Harmonix brought the art style back to the 2D of the original ''Dance Central'' opening.
* BookEnds: The song list of the first game starts with "Poker Face" and ends with "Just Dance", both Music/LadyGaga songs, and both of which are from her debut album "The Fame".
* BossRush: The showdown with Dr. Tan and his minion in the second game onwards, where you have to dance the rep songs/era songs of all the dance crews in a row. {{Lampshaded}} by Dr. Tan himself in [=DC2=] who calls the showdown "another boss to battle".
* ChallengeRun: Playing with the flashcards off.
* CharacterBlog: Each crew member has a Twitter account, but [[https://twitter.com/DrTanPhD only one]] is a legit account made by Harmonix themselves.
* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: Every team in ''Dance Central 2'' and ''Dance Central 3'' have their own predominant colors:
** Riptide Crew: red and black.
** [=Flash4wrd=]: green and yellow.
** Lu$h Crew: blue and white.
** Hi-Def: brown, subverted since their clothes are multicolored.
** The Glitteratti: [[GrayscaleOfEvil black and white]].
** DCI: grey and purple.
** D-Coy: orange.
** M.O.C.: black and blue.
* ColorCodedMultiplayer: The flashcards in ''[=DC2=]'', ''[=DC3=]'', and ''Spotlight'' are colored purple and blue to differentiate the routines for player 1 and player 2. This is especially helpful for players that select different difficulties. The game also will add the second character on the same side that the second player joined from rather than always having player 1 on the left, preventing any mid-routine confusion.
* ColorMotif: Alongside ColorCodedForYourConvenience, the dancers' personalities generally follow the colors of their clothing.
** Riptide Crew: A very upbeat and excitable duo dressed in red.
** Lu$h Crew: A calmer, yet haughty crew that wears blue and white.
** [=Flash4wrd=]: A pair of cheery, yet snarky, sisters who wear mainly yellow.
** Hi-Def: The most down-to-earth crew, represented by brown.
** The Glitterati: An antagonistic and cold crew wearing black and white.
** DCI: A pair of smart secret agents wearing purple.
** D-Coy: Another upbeat, enthusiastic crew represented by orange.
** M.O.C.: An out-of-balance crew. The more melancholic of the two is represented by blue while the obviously evil on is represented by black.
* CoolShip: The final stage in [=DC2=], aptly named "The Airship", is a giant airship with dozens of monitors, floor to ceiling windows, and a technicolor dance floor.
* CoverVersion: There's one in [=DC2=] of Music/BritneySpears's "Toxic". It is also the only cover version ever done on the game.
* DancingIsSeriousBusiness: In [=DC3=], where the plot is to save the world through dancing. There's even DCI, a [=CIA=]-esque agency to protect the world from dance crimes.
%%* {{Disco}}
* DownloadableContent: Several songs can be bought and downloaded.
* DropInDropOutMultiplayer: At least for the second and third games, a second player can join in or drop out at any time by standing in front of the Kinect.
* EasierThanEasy: Dance Central 3 and Spotlight's Beginner mode, which only gives the player 3-5 different moves to perform.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The first Dance Central would actually slow down the song if players weren't performing well. This was dropped in all sequels.
* {{Exergaming}}: There is a mode to track calorie counting.
* ExtendedGameplay: Like the original ''Dance Central'', ''Dance Central Spotlight'' requires you to unlock the other routines. In order to do this, you need to collect dance flashcards, which can only be obtained by performing a ''Flawless'' on a move. Collecting more flashcards will eventually unlock all 8 routines.... [[ButWaitTheresMore BUT]] unlocking all the flashcards on each routine for one song will present a golden boombox under the name. Depending on how many songs you have, you will be here for a while.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: At the end of ''Dance Central'', Dr. Tan's apparent interest in [[spoiler:and continued monitoring of Oblio]] foreshadows [[spoiler:Oblio's kidnapping]] and the future [[spoiler:[[LukeIAmYourFather reveal that the two are father and son]]]].
%% * FriendlyRival: Almost every dance crew in ''Dance Central 2'' has this with the other crews.
* GameBreakingBug: Patch 1.2.2 completely broke ''VR'', resulting in an infinite loading screen if players attempt to boot it up.
* GameplayAndStoryIntegration: There are two places in Dance Central 3's story mode where you need to dance freely to progress. These sections have no flash card prompts.
* GameplayAndStorySegregation: [=DC3=]'s story mode, where it's said that creativity (swag) is more important than methodical dancing. In a rhythm game where dancing not according to prompt costs you points.
* GossipEvolution: The news of the Dance Central club closing spread like wildfire. The reason it's closing ranges from being turned into "a Christmas ornament warehouse" to "a staple-gun test range" to "a training facility for sharks" and so much more. The actual reason for the club's closure is [[spoiler:to turn it into a laser tag facility exclusively for rich people]].
* GovernmentAgencyOfFiction: In [=DC3=], Dance Central Intelligence recruit the Lu$h, Hi-Def, [=Flash4wrd=], and Riptide crews to thwart an evil plot.
* GratuitousNinja: [[SdrawkcabName Ttiw Tolrep]], aka [[TechnicolorNinjas "The Pink Ninja"]]. This was changed to Shinju and added Kichi aka [[TechnicolorNinjas "The Blue Ninja"]] in the second game onwards.
* GuestFighter: Of all things, Nisha and Claptrap from ''VideoGame/BorderlandsThePreSequel'' on ''Spotlight'', unlocked by mashing Y or X a few times on the character selection screen. Claptrap doesn't have feet, however.
* GuiltBasedGaming:
** Might have to do moreso with the Kinect, but if you stop dancing, the game will pause.
** Similarly, if you put in 0 effort, the dancers will make snide comments about your low score at the end of the song.
* HarderThanHard: A majority of the higher tiered songs in Dance Central 2, 3, and its DLC. It takes a lot more than just practicing the routines through Rehearse. Some moves are just way too fast, such as the ''Toe Tapper'' move in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ju_J7rA8__M OMG]]. which also is labeled as the hardest song not just in Dance Central 3, but the ''entire series''. You're even awarded an achievement for 5 starring the song.
* IdiosyncraticDifficultyLevels: In [=DC3=], the seven levels of song difficulties are thus named: Warm-Up, Simple, Moderate, Tough, Legit, Hardcore, Off The Hook. Averted in Dance Central Spotlight, where there are no skill level ratings at all (other than the different difficulty routines for each song).
* InAWorld: The Dance Central 3 [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGcLxyEFrLA "Movie Trailer"]] is an actual trailer for the game, if Dance Central 3 was suddenly an action movie.
--> '''Narrator:''' ''In a world where crews live to dance and dance to live...''
* IntercourseWithYou: A number of songs on the soundtrack. The more obvious ones include: "Promiscuous", "Lapdance", "Poker Face", "King of the Dancehall", and "Satisfaction" but there are many more. Harmonix gets away with it by having a T rating.
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: Some dancers make remarks on stars, scores and other geeky stuffs after dances.
* MadLibsDialogue:
** The announcer ([[spoiler:Rasa]]) in the practice ("Rehearse") mode for the first two games. He only has about 10 lines that will splice in extra information as needed. Most noticeably, if he needs to break down the move further, you'll get a spliced together chain of five words.
%% ** Music/{{Usher}} Voices the practice mode in [=DC3=], in addition to having several songs in each game.
* MechaMooks: Most of the games have robot dancers created by Dr. Tan to challenge you as the FinalBoss of the series, except ''Dance Central 3'' where you've to battle Dr. Tan himself.
* NoFourthWall: ''VR'' actually gives you an avatar (you're still in 1st person POV) and the dancers talk directly to you.
* OddlyNamedSequel2ElectricBoogaloo: ''Dance Central: Spotlight'', after previously [[NumberedSequel numbering sequels]].
* OldSaveBonus:
** If you own older ''Dance Central'' games, you can import their songs into newer games (for a fee).
** If you import the original DC soundtrack into Dance Central 2, you'll unlock Mo's outfit from the first game (The other four returning characters have their own DC Classic outfits unlocked through controller cheat codes).
* OnlyOneName: Most of the characters only have a first or nickname they go by, and Dr. Tan's first name is never revealed. {{Subverted}} with Oblio, whose last name [[spoiler:is revealed to be Tan]], Dare (last name Batheson), and [=MacCoy=] (real name Oleksander Macko).
* OriginalCharacter: Original songs anyways. Tan-Step for [=DC3=] was the first, created by M-Cue, a developer of the game. When Dance Central (VR) came out, it featured two new original songs, Out All Night and Fall Apart (which is shared with Rock Band 4).
* PaintingTheFourthWall: At the start of [=DC3=]'s story mode, a laser beam scans the player at DCI HQ. At the same time, the Kinect sensor also moves up and down.
* RecycledTitle: ''Dance Central'' (the original) and ''Dance Central'' (the VR game), which is not at all a remake or reboot of the first.
* RhythmGame: Par for the course as a dancing game.
* ShipTease: There's not a lot in a game about dancing, but a few couples do get teased:
** [[HopelessSuitor Angel]]/[[PlayingHardToGet Aubrey]] get the most amount of tease with a few moments scattered throughout the stories of both [=DC2=] and [=DC3=] that imply Aubrey feels more towards Angel than she lets on. One such instance is that Aubrey gets [[GreenEyedEpiphany jealous]] just seeing Angel ''talk'' to Emilia. It looks like it might be sunk in ''VR'' before Aubrey reveals that she's been keeping her eye on Angel.
** [[SavvyGuyEnergeticGirl Aubrey and Oblio]] get two moments, one in the comics released with ''VR'', which shows Aubrey getting flustered around him, and one in ''VR'' where she admits that his "vibe" works for her. For his part, Oblio is either [[{{Pun}} oblivious]] or not interested. Nothing comes of it though, and Aubrey moves on.
** [[BirdsOfAFeather Jaryn and Oblio]] receive some tease as well, although much more [[{{Subtext}} subtly]] than the previously mentioned pairs. There is a dance move in-game called "Mrs. Tan" which '''only''' appears on songs that Jaryn is the default dancer for. [[spoiler:Tan is Oblio's last name]].
* ShoutOut: Many of the retro character and costume designs in Dance Central 3 were meant to be based off of real-life celebrities.
** Miss Aubrey's 70's look was supposed to resemble that of Farrah Fawcett.
** Glitch's 80's outfit is reminiscent of Music/MichaelJackson's outfit in his Music/{{Thriller}} music video, while Mo looks Music/LLCoolJ.
** [=Flash4wrd=]'s flashy, colorful 90's outfits resemble those of TLC (who actually appear in-game with their song "Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg")
** Emilia's 2000's look is a nod to Creator/VanessaLachey, while Bodie in his 2000's look looks like Music/AaronCarter.
* StealthPun: Why's that crotch-grabbing pelvic thrust in "Sexy and I Know It" called "Wednesday"? Because Wednesday is ''Hump Day''. ([[RimShot Ba dum tss]]...)
* StockPoses: Some of the dancing moves are well known poses, likely JustForFun.
* TimeTravel: The Story Mode of the third game is about [[BigBad Dr. Tan]] stealing famous dance steps from past decades, so the DCI hires you to get these steps back, travelling to TheSeventies, TheEighties, TheNineties and the TurnOfTheMillennium, where the game characters help you to get them by dancing (and also rescuing [[SecretCharacter Dare and MacCoy]], DCI agents who were kidnapped).
* UnlockableContent: Costumes and songs can be unlocked, as well various {{Secret Character}}s during the series, mostly the robots.
* VirtualPaperDoll: Multiple costumes are available for the characters.
* WordSequel: ''Dance Central: Spotlight'', the fourth game and the first and only game to have a subtitle instead of a number.
* WorkingOutTheirEmotions: In the opening, Emilia ends up taking her anger out on a punching bag after getting off the phone with Miss Aubrey. While there is no dialogue in the scene, Emilia has some [[SymbolSwearing colorful thoughts]] about her ex-friend and, later on, it's revealed that the two can't stand each other.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Dare, Oblio, and [=MacCoy=] are absent from ''Dance Central 2''. Subverted in that the third game brings them back as playable, unlockable characters and explains where they've been. [[spoiler:Dare and [=MacCoy=] have been captured by Dr. Tan, and Oblio is revealed to be Dr. Tan's son and is under his MindControl (that is, until the player breaks him free through some dance offs).]]
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