BBC Young Dancer is a televised national

dance competition Competitive dance is a popular, widespread sport in which competitors perform dances in any of several permitted dance styles—such as acro, ballet, contemporary, jazz, hip-hop, lyrical, modern, musical theatre, tap, and improv—before ...

, broadcast on

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

and

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

since 2015. The competition, inspired by the success of the biennal

BBC Young Musician of the Year BBC Young Musician is a televised national music competition broadcast biennially on BBC Television and BBC Radio 3. Originally BBC Young Musician of the Year, its name was changed in 2010. The competition, a former member of the European Uni ...

, is designed for British amateur dancers of

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

contemporary Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is o ...

, hip hop and South Asian dance, all of whom must be aged between 16 and 20.

History

BBC Young Dancer was launched in October 2014 by

Director-General of the BBC The director-general of the British Broadcasting Corporation is chief executive and (from 1994) editor-in-chief of the BBC. The position was formerly appointed by the Board of Governors of the BBC (for the period of 1927 to 2007) and then t ...

, Tony Hall and was part of BBC Four's Year of Song and Dance. Cuban ballet dancer

Carlos Acosta Carlos Yunior Acosta Quesada (born 2 June 1973) is a Cuban-British ballet director and retired dancer who is director of the Birmingham Royal Ballet. He danced with many companies including the English National Ballet, National Ballet of ...

was the competition's ambassador. On 14 January 2015, ballet dancer and ''

Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (informally known as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of usually 4 ...

'' judge

Darcey Bussell Dame Darcey Andrea Bussell, (born Marnie Mercedes Darcey Pemberton Crittle; 27 April 1969) is an English retired ballerina and a former judge on the BBC television dance contest ''Strictly Come Dancing''. Trained at the Arts Educational Sc ...

was announced as co-presenter and dance expert for the Grand Final of the inaugural competition, which was aired live from

Sadler's Wells Theatre Sadler's Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue in Clerkenwell, London, England located on Rosebery Avenue next to New River Head. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683. It consists of two performance spaces: a 1,500-seat ...

in May.

Zoe Ball Zoe Louise Ball (born 23 November 1970) is a British radio and television presenter. She was the first female host of both ''Radio 1 Breakfast'' and ''The Radio 2 Breakfast Show'' for the BBC, and presented the 1990s children's show ''Live & K ...

and

Clemency Burton-Hill Clemency Margaret Greatrex Burton-Hill (born 1981) is an English broadcaster, author, novelist, journalist and violinist. In her early career she also worked as an actress. In January 2020 she suffered an AVM brain haemorrhage and underwent eme ...

were her co-hosts. There were different judges for each style. The category finals for each style were filmed at the

Riverfront Arts Centre The Riverfront ( cy, Glan yr Afon) is the principal and newest theatre and arts centre in the City of Newport. It is located on the west bank of the River Usk on the Bristol Packet Wharf in the city centre. Designed by architectural firm Austi ...

in Newport and later broadcast weekly on

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

. Contemporary dancer Connor Scott won the inaugural competition on 9 May 2015. The grand final was judged by a panel of dance experts:

Matthew Bourne Sir Matthew Christopher Bourne (born 13 January 1960) is an English choreographer whose work includes contemporary dance and dance theatre. Choreographer In 2007, Bourne contemplated a gay version of ''Romeo and Juliet''. Despite the succ ...

Mavin Khoo Mavin Khoo (Mavin Khoo Bu-Aun) is Malaysian dancer of the Indian classical dance form, Bharata Natyam. Early life and education Born on 30 April 1976 born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, a youngest son to Tan Sri and Puan Sri Khoo Kay Kim. His fa ...

Wayne McGregor Wayne McGregor, CBE (born 12 March 1970) is a multi award-winning British choreographer and director. He is the Artistic Director of Studio Wayne McGregor and Resident Choreographer of The Royal Ballet. McGregor was appointed Commander of the ...

Tamara Rojo Tamara Rojo CBE (born 17 May 1974) is a Spanish ballet dancer. She is the English National Ballet's artistic director (2012–2022) and a lead principal dancer with the company. She was previously a principal dancer with The Royal Ballet. She ...

, Kenrick Sandy and

Alistair Spalding Sir Alistair Spalding (born 25 August 1957, Stotfold, Bedfordshire) has been the Artistic Director and Chief Executive of Sadler's Wells theatre since 2004. Early career Spalding's first job in arts management was at the Hawth Theatre, Crawley, ...

. The next competition was held in 2017, contemporary dancer Nafisah Baba was announced as the winner of the overall title on 22 April. The category finals were moved to

The Lowry The Lowry is a theatre and gallery complex at Salford Quays, Salford, Greater Manchester, England. It is named after the early 20th-century painter L. S. Lowry, known for his paintings of industrial scenes in North West England. The complex ope ...

in Salford, however the grand final remained at Sadler's Wells Theatre. The televised grand final was hosted by Bussell,

Anita Rani Anita Rani Nazran (born 25 October 1977), better known as Anita Rani, is an English radio and television presenter. Early life Rani was born and brought up in Bradford, West Yorkshire to a Hindu father and a Sikh mother. In an episode of ' ...

and

Ore Oduba Ore Oduba (born 17 November 1986) is a British television and radio presenter who has also worked as an actor. He is best known for winning the fourteenth series of BBC One's ''Strictly Come Dancing'' in 2016. He presented the CBBC news program ...

; it was judged by

Kevin O'Hare Kevin O'Hare (born 14 September 1965) is a British retired ballet dancer and current Director of The Royal Ballet. He succeeded Monica Mason in the role in 2012. Early life O’Hare was born in Kingston upon Hull to Northern Irish parents, Mich ...

Jasmin Vardimon Jasmin Vardimon (born 1971) is an Israeli-born, UK-based choreographer, dancer and artistic director of the Jasmin Vardimon Company, which she formed in 1998 in the UK. Vardimon is an associate artist at Sadler's Wells Theatre, since 2006.Sadlers ...

, Marc Brew,

Kate Prince Katherine Jane Prince (born 1974) is a British choreographer, and the founder and director of ZooNation.Kate Prince in ZooNation Dance Compan retrieved March 30, 2015 Early life Kate Prince was born in Southampton in 1974. Career In 2002, Pr ...

Kenneth Tharp Kenneth Olumuyiwa Tharp CBE (born 1960) is a British dance artist and former Chief Executive of The Place. He was director of the Africa Centre, London from 2018 to 2020. Biography Tharp was born in Croydon, south London, to English mother Pame ...

, and

Nahid Siddiqui Nahid Siddiqui (born 1956) is an exponent of Kathak dance. She has been a disciple of two great teachers: Maharaj Kathak (Pakistan) and Birju Maharaj (India). She has against all odds and challenges, spent decades of her life breathing hope, v ...

. The 2019 title, held on 18 May at

Birmingham Hippodrome The Birmingham Hippodrome is a theatre situated on Hurst Street in the Chinese Quarter of Birmingham, England. Although best known as the home stage of the Birmingham Royal Ballet, it also hosts a wide variety of other performances including vi ...

, was won by street dancer Max Revell. The judges this year were McGregor,

Shobana Jeyasingh Shobana Jeyasingh (born 26 March 1957 in Chennai) is a British choreographer and founder of Shobana Jeyasingh Dance. Shobana Jeyasingh has been creating dance works for 30 years. Born in Chennai, India, she currently lives and works in London ...

, Emma Gladstone,

Christopher Hampson Christopher Hampson (born 31 March 1973) is an English ballet choreographer and director and former ballet dancer. In August 2012, Hampson succeeded Ashley Page as artistic director of Scottish Ballet, and was appointed CEO/Artistic Director in ...

, Junior Bosila Banya and Chitra Sundaram. The competition returned in 2022 with a new format open to all dance styles; the category finals in Salford were replaced by in-person auditions held in front of a professional panel of judges in

Shoreditch Shoreditch is a district in the East End of London in England, and forms the southern part of the London Borough of Hackney. Neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets are also perceived as part of the area. In the 16th century, Shoreditch was an impor ...

, London, with those successful in this round making it through to the final ten who attended a week-long dance residency at

Dartington Hall Dartington Hall in Dartington, near Totnes, Devon, England, is an historic house and country estate of dating from medieval times. The group of late 14th century buildings are Grade I listed; described in Pevsner's Buildings of England as "on ...

in Devon. Across the four-episode series, the finalists were put through their paces by leading choreographers to prepare new works for the grand final in London’s Roundhouse where the winner was crowned. The grand final was judged by Prince, Arthur Pita, Subathra Subramaniam and

Ryoichi Hirano Ryoichi Hirano (平野亮一, born 1983/84) is a Japanese ballet dancer who is currently a principal dancer with the Royal Ballet in London. Early life Hirano was born in Osaka. He had his ballet training at his mother's dance school. His bro ...

Hosts

The following have hosted stages of the competition: *

(2015–2017, finals only) *

(2015 final) *

(2017–2019) *

(2017 final, 2019) *

Clara Amfo Clara Amfo (born 22 May 1984) is a British radio broadcaster, television presenter, podcast host and voice-over artist. She is known for presenting her shows on BBC Radio 1. Early life and education Amfo was born in Kingston upon Thames in Lo ...

(2022)

Winners

Past finalists

;Key

2015

2017

2019

2022

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:BBC Young Dancer British biennial events Dance competition television shows BBC Television shows BBC Cymru Wales television shows British television specials Awards established in 2015 Young Dancer Early career awards 2015 establishments in the United Kingdom