Darcey Bussell & Kenneth Tharp announcement
The BBC has launched The Year of Song and Dance 2015 on BBC Four, unveiling new commissions, partnerships and talent signings, exploring the extraordinary power of song and dance across a whole spectrum of eras and styles, from ballet to contemporary dance and classical voice to popular song. Part of the BBC’s biggest ever commitment to the arts, the season also features major programming on BBC Two and BBC Radio 3 alongside complementary programming elsewhere on BBC Radio.
Tony Hall, BBC Director-General, says: “BBC Four's Year of Song and Dance is everything I love about the BBC. Over the next 12 months we'll be offering everyone extraordinary access to some of today's great artists and performers. And we'll be working with the very best to inspire new talent right across the country. When the BBC gets behind something, working closely with lots of others, we can offer opportunities like no-one else. Drawing the BBC together, from CBBC to Radio 3, has created something very special - something only the BBC could do.”
As part of The Year of Song and Dance, Darcey Bussell will be lending her dance expertise to the Grand Final of BBC Young Dancer 2015, which will be broadcast live from Sadler’s Wells on BBC Two in May. She will be part of the presenting team meeting the dancers as they prepare for the Grand Final and providing her expert insight into the demands of the dance profession. Kenneth Tharp, Chief Executive of The Place, will be Category Final Judge across all of the competition’s Category Finals. He will judge all of the finalists from each category, selecting six entrants to go through to the Grand Final.
A showcase of the UK’s most talented and dedicated young dancers across Ballet, Contemporary, Hip Hop and South Asian Dance, the competition concludes in a televised Grand Final (Saturday 9 May, BBC Two). Four programmes featuring highlights from each of the Category Finals with introductions to the respective dance styles and behind-the-scenes content will be shown on BBC Four in the weeks running up to the Grand Final, and BBC Radio 1Xtra, Radio 2, Radio 3 and BBC Asian Network will also broadcast complementary programming around the time of the Grand Final.
Darcey Bussell says: “I’m delighted to be involved in BBC Young Dancer, which I know will encourage and support the next generation of new dance talent. The BBC is unique in being able to offer such a fantastic platform to young dancers. Dance and music are two arts that are inspiring and uplifting; it is so important that they play a significant role in people’s lives. Exploring and celebrating the arts in new and exciting ways through programming like The BBC’s Year of Song and Dance is essential to keeping the arts alive and bringing new perspectives on culture to a wide audience, and I am thrilled to be a part of it.”
Kenneth Tharp, Chief Executive of The Place, says: “What dance has in common with singing is that the body is our instrument, which is why it is so exciting to see the BBC putting both song and dance centre-stage for a whole year in a season that will reach the whole country. Creating the right conditions for talent to thrive is essential, and I hope that programmes like BBC Young Dancer will help to nurture and showcase outstanding young talent in the UK, and to inspire future young dancers to pursue their ambitions.”
You can find out more about The BBC Year of Song & Dance here: http://bbc.kongjiang.org/www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2015/year-of-song-and-dance
