The topic of the hour is dance, in particular the expressive rug-cutting exercise that actress Lauren Storm used to loosen up a stuffy Hollywood reception last summer.

"We went to a conference in L.A. with a bunch of bigwigs, and no one was dancing," explains Corbin Bleu, Storm's co-star on the teen survival series "Flight 29 Down."

"They just stood there in their black ties," adds Storm, falling into the sardonic tone of her character, Taylor, "sipping martinis."

Bleu: "I looked out from the corner of my eye and saw ... I don't know."

Storm: "It was the noodle dance."

Bleu: "It was like a seizure."

Storm: "Everyone was jealous."

Bleu: "They were, like, 'Is she OK?' "

Storm: "Paris Hilton would not dance because she was jealous!"

OK, so George and Gracie they're not, but the two young actors clearly share a chemistry remarkable even within the show's tight-knit cast.

The two friends have the same agent, Scott Appel, and the connection made it possible for them to share some of the tedium of a summer full of industry functions and public appearances.

"There are so many pictures of us together I'm surprised no one tried to make something of it," Storm says.

Storm and Bleu have more than an agent in common. Both are highly motivated and hyper-intelligent.

Storm graduated from the Excelsior School of Los Angeles at age 15. Bleu studied dance at the Debbie Allen Dance Academy and theater at Los Angeles County High School for the Performing Arts. He turns 17 next week and has already completed his homeschooling.

Both have interests that extend beyond the performing arts. Bleu, a delegate at a recent Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine summit on social issues affecting teens, is applying to several universities, hoping to study psychology. Skilled in technical drawing, Storm wants to become an architect.

And both have precociously developed social consciousness, devoting time to charitable causes. Storm is on the board of directors of Kids With a Cause and Olive Crest Homes and Services for Abused Children. Bleu has worked on behalf of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Ronald McDonald House and others.

Yet, on "Flight 29 Down," the two couldn't be more different.

Bleu is the show's natural focal point as Nathan, a confident, occasionally over-eager teen who vies with Hallee Hirsh's Daley for leadership of their group of plane-wrecked high schoolers.

Storm's fine comedic timing is put to good use in the role of Taylor, a spoiled, often clueless high school princess who defies expectations with glimpses of intelligence and complexity.

"The show is designed for a younger audience, but it's a credit to DJ (MacHale, the show's writer, director and co-creator) that it's not written extremely young," Bleu says. "It's not exactly 'adult,' but it's not a kiddie show."

GOTTA DANCE

Bleu: I tried surfing last year. I stood up on my first wave.

Storm: Yeah, shut up.

Bleu credits his father, actor David Reivers ("Poseidon"), with helping him develop as an actor. "He was right beside me, coaching me, my entire life," Bleu says.

Bleu's mother, Martha, was an actor when she met Reivers at New York's acclaimed High School for Performing Arts.

Two of Bleu's three sisters — Hunter, 13, and Phoenix, 4 — also are actors. The third, Jag, hasn't decided on a career yet. She's 2.

That's how old Bleu was when he started modeling. Four years later, he appeared in his first off-Broadway play, "Tiny Tim is Dead."

Still, Bleu says his first love has always been dance.

"It's a source of expression for me, and a way to blow off steam," he says.

The poise and discipline Bleu learned as a dancer translated to acting, resulting in a steady stream of TV, film and stage work. "Flight 29 Down" is his first job as a series regular.

With "Flight 29 Down" accounting for just three months of the year, Bleu pursues other projects. He starred in the Disney Channel original movie "High School Musical" and during the series' hiatus, Bleu made a one-time appearance on the Disney pilot "Hannah Montana."

"He has his head screwed on right," says Bleu's mother, Martha. "He knows what he wants and has a great work ethic."

A PERFECT STORM

Bleu: When we finished filming last season, we didn't know if the show was going to get picked up.

Storm: There are pictures floating around of me bawling.

While Bleu may have been born to perform, Storm's career was wholly unpredicted.

"I don't know where she came from," says Storm's mother, Barb, with a laugh. "She didn't get her looks from me!"

Barb Storm, a teacher, is a third-generation University of Michigan alumna. Her husband, David, a dentist, also attended the school.

"We just thought that's what she would do, too," Barb says.

Storm still plans to attend college, somewhere, but her budding acting career is the priority for now. She recently landed a movie role alongside Patty Duke.

Storm, a native Chicagoan, began modeling at age 11. Her big break came when she attended an International Modeling and Talent Agency event in New York and came away with 11 first-place finishes. Capitalizing on the interest that generated, the Storms flew to Los Angeles to see if Lauren could catch a break.

"We gave her six months," Barb says. "In that time, she did a commercial and an independent film and got her (Screen Actors Guild) card.

"Soon we learned that we weren't coming home," Barb says.

Storm's father maintained his Chicago dental practice while Barb looked after Lauren in Los Angeles. She accompanied Storm to Hawai'i for the first season of "Flight 29 Down" and quickly found herself de-facto den mother to the ensemble cast.

This season, the show's producers invited Barb back as a "production caretaker." She earned her per diem and more on the second day here, playing mom when actress Kristy Wu fell ill with a 104-degree fever while the show's producers and directors were dining with representatives from Discovery Kids.

"I just try to be there for the kids," Barb says.

But with Storm now 19 and the new owner of a Burbank home, Barb hopes to get a California teaching certificate and work as a set teacher. "That way, I can stay in (Storm's) world but not be next to her."

Of all the cast members (with the exception of local actress Tani Lynn Fujimoto), Storm probably had the easiest time adapting to Hawai'i life. Her grandparents own a cabin on the Big Island, and Storm has visited the Islands regularly for years.

"I know where the hot spots are," she says.

"It's totally rare that you find an ensemble cast that really cares about each other," says Storm. "And it's great to be doing this in Hawai'i."

Reach Michael Tsai at mtsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.