The lore of the Just Dance series encompasses the backstories behind the characters and universes within the games. While characters have always been present in the series and would occasionally interact, there was no concentrated effort to connect them in a dedicated storyline beyond occasional Easter Eggs until Just Dance 2022, and there was no effort to include a proper story mode until Just Dance 2023 Edition. These stories are told visually through routines, also known as maps, with additional details revealed through the descriptions of in-game cosmetics, promotional content on social media, and updates directly from the series' writers.
The main storyline follows a group of dancers called the Just Dancers, which consists of Wanderlust, Sara, Brezziana, Mihaly, and Jack Rose, as they try to stop the evil sorceress Night Swan from taking over the in-game planets known as the Danceverses. Story mode playlists following this storyline are present on Just Dance 2023 Edition and Just Dance 2024 Edition, titled "Enter the Danceverses" and "Dance with the Swan", respectively. Prequel routines focusing on Wanderlust’s parents, the Traveler and Si’Ha Nova, are present on Just Dance 2022, while prequel routines focusing on Night Swan are available on Just Dance+ and Just Dance 2025 Edition. The main lore has not returned since.
Outside of the main storyline, maps focusing on side characters and their stories have been released, though none have received their own story mode playlist. These stories are typically told at a slower pace, usually one or two maps per year, and often involve retconning older routines into the storyline. Notable characters in this category include the Bride, Rasputin, Agent D, Grace, Ari, and others.
Prior to the introduction of an official storyline, some previous games and spin-offs featured modes with their own story. Currently, these storylines are separate from the main lore. However, All Stars Mode on Just Dance 2020 served as an inspiration for the Danceverses.
Key terms
Coaches
Coaches are the in-game dancers that the player follows and also serve as the characters in the story. While they had been sporadically given names as far back as Just Dance 2, there was not a larger effort to name them until Just Dance 2022, when coach names would be revealed on social media. Starting with Just Dance 2023 Edition, coach names for new routines appear on the coach selection screen and any coach with an avatar is named. Coach names for older routines were gradually added, first for songs added during seasons and later in random batches.
Danceverses
- Main article: Danceverses
Danceverses are the in-game planets of the Just Dance universe. There are ten Danceverses: Dancity, Wasterra, Carnivallium, Winterhaven, Eternyx, Sun Horizon, Cyberfunk, WackyGroove, Melosia Realms, and Floworld. Each Danceverse has a specific theme, for example Dancity is a planet-sized city and Carnivallium is carnival-themed. Some routines also take place in Space, the area between the Danceverses. Additionally, Earth exists within the lore of Just Dance, but is separate from the Danceverses. Characters can travel between the Danceverses using portals or spacecraft.
Flow
The Flow is an energy that is present throughout the Danceverses that only some characters can feel and harness, similar to the Force from the Star Wars franchise. This energy can be used both for good and for evil. When used for evil, it is referred to as Dark Flow and can be used to possess other coaches.
Main storyline
The main storyline begins in Just Dance 2022 with routines following the Traveler and Si’Ha Nova as they try to reunite. They eventually meet, and social media posts made prior to Just Dance 2023 Edition show them conceiving a child, Wanderlust. Further posts show Wanderlust’s childhood.
The storyline continues in Just Dance 2023 Edition with the "Enter the Danceverses" playlist. This playlist follows Wanderlust, who is now an adult, as he goes around the Danceverses to recruit coaches and stop the evil sorceress Night Swan from taking over. He enlists Sara, a human from Earth; Brezziana, a fitness influencer from Dancity; and Mihaly, a shaman from Cyberfunk. The four fight Night Swan and are victorious after convincing her son, Jack Rose, to switch sides. Night Swan returns to Eternyx while the group celebrates and sends Sara back to Earth.
The storyline continues on Just Dance 2024 Edition with the "Dance with the Swan" playlist. This playlist follows Wanderlust as he tries to reunite the team after Night Swan steals Discoball and successfully kidnaps and corrupts Sara, turning her into Night Sara. Wanderlust is able to contact Brezziana and Mihaly, who each successfully fight off their own respective corruption attempts. However, he is unable to contact Jack Rose, who is distracted by his mother showing him a vision in which they emerge victorious. Wanderlust, Brezziana, and Mihaly face off against Night Sara, but are unsuccessful and all get corrupted. Mihaly is able to send a distress signal to Jack Rose just before the corruption, but Jack Rose is unable to reach the group in time. This leaves the rest of the group corrupted and Night Swan victorious.
No further continuation of the storyline has been released since Just Dance 2024 Edition. Instead, routines focusing on Night Swan’s past have been released. The first two routines were Darkest Hour and Murder on the Dancefloor, which were released on Just Dance+ as part of the Night Swan: The Prequel event. They were followed by In Your Eyes (Remix) on Just Dance 2025 Edition, which chronologically takes place between Murder on the Dancefloor and Darkest Hour, and is currently the last routine created for the main storyline. These routines show that Night Swan was a human ballerina who lives on Earth, named Leda Nox, who was brought to the Danceverses by the Traveler. The Traveler taught Leda how to use portals and the two were heavily implied to be in a relationship at the time, with the Traveler implied to be Jack Rose’s father. Leda opens a portal to Eternyx, where she meets the architect Cygnus. Cygnus shows her a future where she becomes Night Swan, with Leda beginning her path into becoming said persona. She briefly leaves Eternyx to retrieve Jack Rose before returning and fully becoming Night Swan.
The storyline has not continued since as the developers felt that the current story format was not working. They are unsure what the best way to continue the storyline would be.[1]
Other storylines
In addition to the main storyline, recent games have featured stories focusing on other characters. Some of these stories involve retconning to include older maps and characters while others were created with new characters in mind. This section lists notable storylines that take place across several maps and locations. Stories relating to individual maps can be found on the pages for those maps and stories for locations can be found on the pages for each Danceverse.
The Bride and Rasputin
The Bride and Rasputin are the focus of an ongoing storyline centering around their tumultuous relationship. They first appeared in Hot N Cold and Rasputin, respectively, and first appeared together in Sugar. They were engaged and set to be married, but Rasputin showed up late, enraging the Bride as she was also left at the altar by a previous fiancé. The most recent map in this storyline, Payphone, shows what the wedding could have looked like but is revealed to be a dream at the last second, showing Rasputin alone in the desert outside of the jail from Telephone.
Agent D
Agent D is a spy who goes on several missions to stop members of a rival organization. She first officially appears in Toxic on Just Dance 2023 Edition and most past Britney Spears routines were retroactively confirmed to be previous missions with her in disguise. She is accompanied on these missions by Captain Catastrofa, whom she often has to rescue.
Ari and Grace
Ari and Grace are the focus of an ongoing storyline centering around their relationship. They are both high school students at Just Dance High School in Dancity. Both are recovering from past relationships and found true love in each other. They briefly considered breaking up, but decided to stay together instead.
Showdown
Showdown was a Eurovision Song Contest-style event in which representatives from five Danceverses competed for votes from the jury and the public. The competitors consisted of Estrella, Chavez, and Juan, representing Sun Horizon with SloMo; DeerStan and PandaFan, representing WackyGroove with Give That Wolf A Banana; Crystal, representing Melosia Realms with Euphoria; Cygnus, representing Eternyx with Beggin’; and the Bill Family, representing Wasterra with Trenulețul. The contest was originally supposed to include four Danceverses, but Eternyx entered as a surprise. The contest was won by Sun Horizon, who received the most votes from both the jury and the audience.
Captain Crimson and The Forgotten Queen
Captain Crimson and The Forgotten Queen are the focus of a storyline primarily taking place in Melosia Realms and expanded upon in the Wonder Tales song pack. The story follows Queen Alethea, daughter of deities Triton and Calypso, who is corrupted by the Gorgons and turned into The Forgotten Queen and frozen for years. While this is going on, Captain Crimson and Plum are sailing the ocean, looking for treasure at Skull Island. However, after reaching Skull Island, they find a portal within a cave. They enter, awakening The Forgotten Queen, but tragedy strikes and Plum disappears. Years go by, until Captain Crimson escapes and awakens on a sinking ship, where he had been held captive, and escapes before it sinks.[2]
Early story-like modes
Prior to "Enter the Danceverses", multiple games had features that functioned similar to a story mode. These modes tell shorter stories and are considered separate from the current lore.
Become a Star
The PlayStation 3 version of Dance on Broadway features a mode titled "Become a Star" in which the player assumes the role of an up-and-coming Broadway actor at the Little Triumph Theatre. In this mode, the player must play each song on the menu in order to progress and unlock more songs. The production manager, George, appears on tutorial screens to give advice. These screens are the extent of the lore.
The Smurfs
- Main article: The Smurfs Dance Party#Story mode
The Smurfs Dance Party features a story mode that loosely follows the plot of The Smurfs (2011). Eight routines are featured with lyrics and backgrounds referencing the events of the movie. Between each routine, a cutscene plays that shows Papa Smurf on stage recapping events from the movie with screenshots of the movie on the screen behind him. To date, this is the only time any Just Dance game has featured fully voiced cutscenes.
Mini Musical Mode
Mini Musical Mode is a feature on ABBA: You Can Dance that follows Alice, Annie, Betty, and Butch, in the fictional musical Welcome to Arlington!. The musical takes place in the 1960s and focuses on Betty unsuccessfully trying to get into a relationship with Butch and then going to her friends when it doesn't work out.
Just Dance Machine
- Main article: Just Dance Machine
Just Dance Machine is a mode on Just Dance 2017 (excluding 7th-generation consoles). It follows two aliens who crash land on Earth after their spaceship runs out of power. The ship is powered by dancing, so in order to recharge the ship they abduct a random human and have them dance to different styles of dance. After the player dances to a certain amount of these routines, the aliens return the human and fly off. A similar feature called Dance Lab is present on Just Dance 2018, but without a story.
All Stars Mode
- Main article: All Stars Mode
All Stars Mode was a mode on Just Dance 2020 (excluding Wii) that commemorated the tenth anniversary of the series. In this mode, Panda travels to ten planets, with each planet representing a song from a previous game. Short animated cutscenes showing the coaches getting on Panda’s space bus play in between each routine. After playing through all ten planets, an eleventh, representing High Hopes, is unlocked. These planets would later serve as the inspiration for the Danceverses. The mode was deactivated on February 28, 2023.
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