BBC Young dancer 2017

[Jan McNulty]

I attended the ballet final at the Lowry last night and it turned out to be an excellent evening.

 

The five finalists performed a classical variation, a pdd (three of the competitors had non-competing partners and two competitors from the same school partnered each other) and finally a solo of their own choreography.

 

I thought the standard of the competitors was excellent.

 

The evening was hosted by a CBBC presenter.

 

The judges (Shobana Jeyasingh (who is on all the judging panels), Deborah Bull and Matz Skoog) were interviewed on stage in the pause between the pdd and the final solos.

 

I wish I could make it to the other finals and I look forward to seeing the televised competition.

[LinMM]

I watched this tonight and although street dance isn't my thing I found it fascinating and the young man who won was quite extraordinary I liked his performances a lot ....unfortunately only caught his first name Jodelle

There was also a very talented young lady ....who brought a slightly more aesthetic touch to the dance ....nice to see a female dancer in this category as this does tend to be more a male preserve on the whole.

[LinMM]

Just watched this and definitely think the winner of this ballet category was the right one. 

A boy who is training at ENB school I believe. 

But also saw a certain moderator from this forum in the audience twice very clearly!!

[Pas de Quatre]

Definitely agreed with the judges decision - Rhys Antoni Yeomans was outstanding.  As in previous years the format of the programme was rather irritating. Less padding and more dancing would be better.

[MargaretN7]

They did say the complete dances for each finalist could be seen on the programme website. 

[thewinelake]

Just wondering what the panel made of last night's ballet final? I was really impressed. A tough decision, but no quibble with the judges' choice.

[Two Pigeons]

I agree.  I would have been really happy had either of the students from Elmhurst won but the guy from ENB definitely had the edge.  

 

Would never have recognised Ashley Page though.  Even his voice sounded different from my memory of him.

[Jan McNulty]

I've merged a couple of topics and moved some posts from the news thread to here.

 

Please use this thread to discuss the competition/tv programmes.

 

Thanks

[capybara]

Congratulations to the deserved winner.

 

While I had problems with the 'balance' of the programme, I felt it could/did help people who are unfamiliar with ballet understand how challenging an art it is.

 

I do wish that the RBS could get behind the venture. As others have said, YBDY was an excellent initiative with entrants (up to the semi-final stage, at least) perhaps more widespread and more representative of ballet training in the UK today than is the case with the TV venture. There was some excellent dancing at the recent RBS Solos Evening.

[Pas de Quatre]

I suspect it is all rather time consuming.  If time is RBS's stated reason for not competing in Prix de Lausanne, then it would apply even more as it seemed the heats and the finals were in different places and different weeks for the BBC Young Dancer.  Unfortunately although I agree with capybara that it might help people unfamiliar with ballet, overall I didn't find it very inspiring. 

[Two Pigeons]

Fair though these points are at least two students from a less heralded ballet school, Ballet West, got some deserved exposure.

 

Students from the RBS and, to a lesser extent ENB, are much more in the ballet going public eye.  Elmhurst get far less coverage and Ballet West probably hardly any.  It is not a bad thing to be reminded from time to time that there are other ballet schools.

[Pas de Quatre]

Were these talented students from reputable schools - yes undoubtedly.  Is it a fair representation of Vocational classical ballet training in UK - not really.

[thewinelake]

Is there a list of vocational ballet schools in the UK ranked in order of perceived prestige?*

 

RBS students aren't allowed to enter Genée etiher, I guess.

 

*Answering my own question, Google points me back here : 

 

Edited April 1, 2017 by thewinelake

[Jan McNulty]

7 hours ago, Pas de Quatre said:

Were these talented students from reputable schools - yes undoubtedly.  Is it a fair representation of Vocational classical ballet training in UK - not really.

 

That could be said of any competition.  Obviously there had been at least one previous round and perhaps a pre-competition selection.  Do we know if more schools were represented but the pupils did not get through to the finals?

 

I would guess it is a big additional time commitment that perhaps not everyone could undertake and perhaps some schools did not allow their students to enter.  That is not the fault of the competition itself.

[taxi4ballet]

5 hours ago, thewinelake said:

RBS students aren't allowed to enter Genée etiher, I guess.

 

I think that in order to compete in the Genee, you need to have passed the RAD Adv2 exam with Distinction, and as the RBS doesn't teach RAD then the students wouldn't be eligigble for entry.

[Bluebird]

The last time a large number of RBS students entered the Genée (in 2010) they were given a 'crash' course in the RAD syllabus to enable them to take part.

[tabitha]

The age range for the competition is 16-21 so not just aimed at schools as most are around 19 when they leave vocational ballet school. Lots of young people already working in ballet companies would also be eligible.

[thewinelake]

I'd have thought that working in a company would make participation even more tricky. The 19 year old girl was the oldest of the five, right?

[Pas de Quatre]

It depends whether the student went into full time training at 16 or 18. If the latter then they would be 21 in the 3rd year.

[Lehcar28]

To eligible for the competition you can't be in full time employment

 

You must not be – and nor should you ever have been – employed on a professional, full-time contract as a dancer –UNLESS that contract ended before your 16th birthday. Work placements do not count as professional, full time contracts. If you are offered professional work which would start during the course of BBC Young Dancer, you must either withdraw from the competition or refuse the work. If you are offered professional work which doesn’t start until after the Grand Final, you may accept the work and stay in the competition.

[Jan McNulty]

Thanks for the clarification Lehcar.

[Rachelm]

Did anyone else find the TV coverage of the ballet final rather infuriating, in that it only showed fragments of each solo or pas de deux?

 

If the BBC are going to commit to covering this event surely it would be better to do it fully and completely? The whole point of watching is to see the dancing!

 

(Don't get me wrong- I'm very grateful that they have the event and that it's televised, I just found it frustrating to see scraps of the dancing).

[Jan McNulty]

I believe you can see the dances in their entirety on the BBC website. The final is being shown live.

[Guest]

I do sympathise with those who were annoyed with the program format. I guess the BBC have a tough remit to attempt to please ballet fans AND appeal to a wider audience who might just be inspired to get more involved with dance in future. Showing  the long-suffering parents and the local dance school where it all started are a part of that. On a personal note,  I managed to persuade members of my own family to give up an hour of their Friday evening and watch this. I must add that for years my daughters dance has been a bone of contention when rehearsals/associate classes etc etc have clashed with family events. Afterwards  they said that they understand now (proud grandparents of 2017 entry vocational student). So thank you BBC! You explained what I could not.

[Yaffa]

On 4/1/2017 at 13:43, capybara said:

Congratulations to the deserved winner.

 

While I had problems with the 'balance' of the programme, I felt it could/did help people who are unfamiliar with ballet understand how challenging an art it is.

 

I do wish that the RBS could get behind the venture. As others have said, YBDY was an excellent initiative with entrants (up to the semi-final stage, at least) perhaps more widespread and more representative of ballet training in the UK today than is the case with the TV venture. There was some excellent dancing at the recent RBS Solos Evening.

 

I do agree that YBDY was an excellent initiative and really miss it. I also found BBC Young Dancer to be interesting... but I just don't think it would work for RBS to get behind the BBC venture. Apart from the time factor, I think there's an audience that really wants to know what's going on at the top end of British Ballet (as opposed to Dance) training. What's realistic for this audience to hope for now? I'd guess BBC Young Dancer  will be repeated every two years. But perhaps something like YBDY  (with a bigger auditorium than Linbury) could take place every alternative year if not every year, with practice and rehearsals integrated into the curriculum at RBS etc. as I believe happened in the past. It does not have to be a competition. The year after YBDY stopped, there was an excellent Spring Concert featuring the older students of the major vocational schools. I'd love to see something like this repeated.

[sarahw]

As a parent of a child at Vocational School I think this competition is a valuable addition to the British ballet training scene. (Of course a competition solely about ballet showing more ballet students would be better).

 

One thing that has become clear is that British students are disadvantaged by their lack of participation in major international competitions. (Of course there are exceptions).

 

If this initiates a change of attitude to such competitions it would be positive.

[ToThePointe]

Have a read of my interview with Chair of the Jury, Shobana Jeyasingh - a truly remarkable woman! Very excited to see the Final tomorrow

 

http://tothepointemagazine.wixsite.com/tothepointemagazine/single-post/2017/04/21/BBC-Young-Dancer-2017-To-The-Pointe-Interviews-Shobana-Jeyasingh

[Sim]

Fascinating interview, TTP!  How interesting to hear direct from the Chair of the Jury how things work and how they go about the hard task of choosing a winner!  I too am really looking forward to the final tomorrow night.  Thank you.

[ToThePointe]

Have a read of my interview with the finalists ahead of the final this evening!

 

http://tothepointemagazine.wixsite.com/tothepointemagazine/single-post/2017/04/22/BBC-Young-Dancer-2017-The-Finalists-Have-Their-Say

[capybara]

Thank you ToThePointe. I know that I will watch the finals with added interest as a result of your interviews 

[penelopesimpson]

Well, there's a surprise - Darcey Bussell, again. Are the BBC aware that 'other dancers are available?'

[penelopesimpson]

There are better street dancers around than this guy

[Sim]

Yes I preferred his duetting partner!