Imagine the frenzy of Kim Kardashian announcing her very own musical, and then including Canberra on a national tour of the show.

This is the adult equivalent of what will happen in Canberra on April 20 when faux reality television series The Next Step hits the Canberra Theatre stage.

Pre-teens across the region – including my own 10 year old and 12 year old – are in a Next Step frenzy, literally counting down the days until their favourite Disney Channel stars arrive in the ACT.

The Next Step is a Canadian teen drama series centred on fictional The Next Step dance studio in Toronto. Filmed in mockumentary style, the television show follows the lives of the dancers in A-Troupe, the highest "ranked" dance team in the world. New episodes screen weekly in Australia on Foxtel's Disney Channel, but tweens can also get their fix via ABC Me and iView.

Hundreds of young Canberrans (and their parents) made the trek to Sydney last year for the stage version of the show, but this year will only need to drive to Civic.

Brittany Raymond, 22, joined the cast of The Next Step at just 17. She plays Riley, head of the A-troupe dance team and a talented, ambitious, "win at any cost" character. My kids hate her.

They're booing Riley off-screen in our lounge room as I speak to a much more pleasant Brittany, who is in Toronto, Canada.

Bree Winchester: What inspired you to start dancing?

Brittany Raymond: My older sister Sam. She's a few years older than me – she started dancing and I remember the exact moment I was watching her on stage and I turned to my mum and I was like "I want to do that!"

So the next year, Mum put me into dance because I wanted to be just like my sister. I instantly fell in love with it and I've been doing it ever since.

Bree: So does your sister Sam claim she's the reason you're famous?

Brittany: No (laughs) – but I would totally claim that if I was her!

Bree: How close is Riley to your own character?

Brittany: She is a little bit like me – when I was younger I was a lot more like her. I've definitely changed a lot over the past few years. But Riley takes things a lot more seriously than I do – in the audition process [for "The Next Step" in 2012] I was probably just so nervous and taking it very seriously that they played off of that really well, and it worked.

Bree: Which of your "The Next Step" cast mates has the most annoying habit while on tour?

Brittany: Everyone has their own thing. The one thing that's really funny is Isaac [Lupien], who plays Eldon. He always sleeps in. So right before we have to rehearse for the show we just have to go back to the bus if were touring on a bus, or back into the hotel room and be like "Isaac! You gotta get up, bud! Time to rehearse!"

You'd think we'd get sick of each other pretty easily but we're all like one big family, so it's a lot of fun to be able to explore the world with all of my cast mates. We all work so well together.

Bree: What's it like being part of a global tween obsession?

Brittany: It can be a little overwhelming at times ... but it's always really great to be able to talk with a fan who is super comfortable with saying "I love your show".

Bree: How would you describe your dance style?

Brittany: More "style-based" – I'd say it's a mix of contemporary and hip-hop.

Bree: What kind of music inspires you to hit the dance floor?

Brittany: I'm the person that loves all kinds of music, just anything I can move to honestly – anything with a funky beat or something inspirational or something with a good rhythm.

I feel like I can honestly dance to anything.

Bree: How many hours a week are you in the studio, rehearsing the TV show?

Brittany: Our training is a balance of acting, dancing and some of us sing, so you have to find a balance with that. But when I was training before I booked "The Next Step", I was training about 40 hours a week.

For the tour coming up, we only have about two weeks beforehand to rehearse. It's going to be a great show with lots of group dances, solos, duets, and brand new choreography.

Bree: What are you doing when you're not dancing?

Brittany: I love to read and also write. I took up knitting recently, which has been super therapeutic for me – I just love to create things. I'm basically an 80-year-old woman!

I knitted all my Christmas gifts this year because I didn't want to spend too much money. So I made hats and scarves and I tried to knit a vest but that didn't work out so well, so I just stuck to the basics – but it was fun!