Davis Cleveland, Roshon Fegan, Adam Irigoyen, Kenton Duty, and Caroline Sunshine play other main characters in the series.

[5] Shake It Up follows the adventures of best friends CeCe Jones (Bella Thorne) and Rocky Blue (Zendaya) who, with the help of Rocky's brother Ty (Roshon Fegan) and his best friend Deuce Martinez (Adam Irigoyen), fulfill their dreams of becoming professional dancers when they land roles as dancers on a local show "Shake It Up, Chicago!".

[6] CeCe and Rocky must deal with their new circumstances while balancing maintaining their social status at school, watching CeCe's little brother, Flynn (Davis Cleveland), and the antics of their TV show which include matching the skills of their competition, notably brother and sister duo Gunther and Tinka (Kenton Duty and Caroline Sunshine).

On May 21, 2010, with the title change revealed as Shake It Up, the production for the show was announced to begin in July, and anticipated for a fall 2010 premiere.

On what makes the show different, Marsh said "while buddy comedies have been around since the start of television, ... this is the first time anyone has incorporated dancing into the underlying premise of a sitcom.

"[10] The concept of the show has been noted to be very similar to that of fellow Disney Channel series Hannah Montana, and according to The Sun-Sentinel, Shake It Up is the same approach with dance.

[11] Additionally, the show is Disney's third series to have a show-within-a-show following "Silverstone" in The Famous Jett Jackson and "So Random/Mackenzie Falls" in Sonny with a Chance.

Chuck Barney of the Contra Costa Times said that the show's plots "play out in typical Disney Channel style with uncomplicated story lines, broad humor and moral uplift.

[14] Original music for the series has been produced and recorded by the show's cast and various artists, with the theme song "Shake It Up" performed by American singer and actress Selena Gomez.

[10] Davis Cleveland, whose work included guest appearances on Good Luck Charlie, Zeke and Luther and Hannah Montana, was cast as CeCe's younger brother, Flynn.

[10] Roshon Fegan, who co-starred in both Camp Rock films, was cast as Rocky's older brother Ty.

Casting for Tinka ran again and Caroline Sunshine landed the role after canceling plans for a family vacation so she could audition.

The brother/sister duo of Gunther and Tinka is said to be inspired by Ryan and Sharpay Evans of Disney's High School Musical series.

Only CeCe, Rocky, Deuce, Flynn, and Gary appeared in the crossover because Disney claimed they only needed "base characters".

[20] On December 23, 2011, a rebroadcast of the episode "Party It Up", in which a female character (a supermodel) complimented CeCe and Rocky with the line, "I could just eat you guys up...you know, if I ate!

Former Disney Channel star Demi Lovato, who left Sonny with a Chance in the fall of 2010 for counseling because of personal issues, commented on the episode, criticizing the network through Twitter for normalizing eating disorders when Lovato had struggled through the issue, and as one of the reasons for leaving the company's fold.

which had an eating disorder joke, "1 full meal a week" and "a minute on the lips, forever on the hips" would be pulled from the network's airing cycle and reviewed further.