BBC Young Dancer 2015

[Odyssey]

I thought they were all amazing and really raised their game from the earlier finals. What an inspirational group of young dancers. Shame they fluffed the presentation and I would like to have heard a bit more about why they chose Connor, he is incredibly talented and still developing, it will be very exciting to see how he progresses over the next few years.

I agree it would have been a good idea to focus a little more on how the judges reached their conclusion with perhaps brief comments about each of the dancers. The presentation was a hoot - perhaps a golden envelope is required next year.

[Harwel]

Thoroughly enjoyed the live performances. I thought they all danced their hearts out. I thought the individually choreographed pieces were fantastic and really showed each dancer at their best. Well done to all those choreographers! A great show, so glad I was able to get to see it live. My absolute favourite piece was Conors duet, great choreography and wonderful dancing.

[pas de chat]

I agree with you Harwel Connor's duet was beautiful and my favourite dance of the evening, in fact I had Jacob down to win until I saw it performed and it changed my mind.  It was hard to pick a winner though I had it down to either Connor or Vidya but they all really stepped up for the grand final. 

 

I hope the BBC do it again next year but with more gusto to keep up the pace.  I would love to see two age groups, male/female split and classical and contemporary chunked together with a new dance category like Stage to celebrate the Uk's fabulous MT/Jazz/Tap.  It needs to be outside of exam time so more enter, have a better prize structure, and absolutely no US style modern gymnastics or 12 year old girls en pointe doing DQ, we see enough of that on BGT, YAGP and SYTYCD UGH!!

 

It was a fabulous watch though despite the fluffed ending

[tabitha]

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this as I am not usually keen on competitions, but I don't think I really focussed on the competitive aspect and saw it more as a showcase of dance with the competition bit tagged on. It was lovely to see a programme totally focussed on dance and the fact that it was on prime time TV on a Saturday night is great. I thought the format / age range was right and don't have a problem with boys and girls being in the same competition but it would be nice to see a few more girls next time.

 

Got to love Carlos, so cool, even in a (minor) crisis

[JulieW]

I too am happy with the age range and the sexes being together - I think it needs to stay along the same lines as the musician comp. And also don't agree that ballet and contemporary should be together - they're far too different imho. But would like to see another section along the lines of stage so tap and jazz could be included.

[Odyssey]

Got to love Carlos, so cool, even in a (minor) crisis

Plus once he (eventually) found out who had won, unlike the norm for awards, he didn't keep us all waiting for an interminable amount of time .

[Pas de Quatre]

Not sure I would like stage and tap included - aren't they seen often enough in other tv competitions?  The joy of BBC Young Dancer comp was its serious nature with everything tending to be calm and understated with no glitz or hype.

[taxi4ballet]

I thought the format / age range was right and don't have a problem with boys and girls being in the same competition but it would be nice to see a few more girls next time.

 

And perhaps a few more on the judging panel as well!

[Jan McNulty]

Mark Skipper, CE at Northern Ballet has announced on twitter that Archie Sullivan is joining Northern Ballet next season.

[zxDaveM]

Foteini Christofilopoulou was at Sadlers Wells for the dress rehearsals. Here are a few photos:
 

The finalists - Connor Scott, Jacob O’Connell, Archie Sullivan, Vidya Patel, Kieran Lai, Harry Barnes
© Foteini Christofilopoulou. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr


Archie Sullivan (ballet finalist, with Kaylee Marko for the duet)
© Foteini Christofilopoulou. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr


Connor Scott (contemporary) - the overall winner
© Foteini Christofilopoulou. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr

See more...
Set from DanceTabs: BBC Young Dancer of the Year
Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr

[angel]

Perhaps if they run the competition again they should have male and female categories. Seem to remember the last ybdy was all/ mostly male winners too.

[aileen]

Does anyone know whose studio (the one with greenery outside) we saw the dancers rehearsing in?

[Pas de Quatre]

If you mean the one with the grass stepped amphitheatre, that was Trinity Laban, where they held the mentoring sessions.  The one with lots of trees outside the full length windows was Tring.

[sarahw]

After saying I wouldn't watch the final I saw bits as dd was watching. Thought it was MUCH better in that you saw the whole of each dance. However there was still a bit in the DQ solo (bearing in mind he wore black) where they filmed from the side against black wings rather than from the front against blue.

 

Anyway, being grumpy aside I think the format has great potential. ...

[Two Pigeons]

I found it genuinely that Archie really stood out in the ballet final but not at all in the overall one. Either way, I really enjoyed his Les Bourgeois solo and I feel he has a very good career ahead of him. No wonder NBT have snapped him up.

 

My other two memories were that Darcey, bless her, should not try to conduct interviews and that Samira Saidi has got no less beautiful over the passing years.

[John Mallinson]

Flickr album by Stephen Wright.

[Harwel]

Very good news that Archie has a contract with NB. Well deserved.

[alison]

The one with lots of trees outside the full length windows was Tring.

 

Thanks.  I did wonder whether it might be Tring - what a setting!

 

However there was still a bit in the DQ solo (bearing in mind he wore black) where they filmed from the side against black wings rather than from the front against blue.

 

I know, that was really annoying.  And I thought it was only Archie who was filmed that way.  Not, of course that it made any difference to the judges.

 

Talking of which, rather awkward having the Artistic Director of one of the competitors' schools on the judging panel, isn't it?  I mean, there's potential there for a serious conflict of interest.

[SPD444]

I have to say it was a really wonderful night. The foyer before the show started was thronged with children really sounding excited with what lay ahead. Our seat was in the first circle and in front of me was Carlos next to the DG of the BBC, I also recognised Ed Watson as well as any number of other faces whose names I am not sure of. I loved the hip-hop guys who were so down to earth and thrilled to be there but, my favourite, was the Asian girl she was stupendous ( not that I know anything about Asian dance ) but her performance was terrific. The audience cheered all the dancers, which was lovely. And, of course, Carlos had to steal the show by appearing not to know who the winner was, but I think he did not understand what Zoe said. so confusion reigned. The dance I had never seen, hip hop and asian, were really interesting and I hope the BBC continue with this show. We hear all the time about the young people in this great country or ours in a bad way, this shows there is another side to the coin; one we should promote. Well done.

[John Mallinson]

Photos by Elliott Franks

[Fonty]

I only watched the ballet programme, I didn't get a chance to see any of the others.

 

However, can someone enlighten me?  How do they judge the abilities of the dancers in the final?  I am not sure how you could compare someone dancing a hip hop piece with someone dancing classical ballet. 

[Ellie]

I only watched the ballet programme, I didn't get a chance to see any of the others.

 

However, can someone enlighten me?  How do they judge the abilities of the dancers in the final?  I am not sure how you could compare someone dancing a hip hop piece with someone dancing classical ballet. 

I think they mentioned qualities such as technique /musicality/stage presence within each performance.

[alison]

OTOH, I'm still not really sure how you can compare a male ballet dancer who has to cope with the technical demands of partnering a ballerina with other dancers who are largely dancing side-by-side with their partner, or facing off against someone else.  The requirements are so different.

[alison]

Connor will be on "In Tune" on Radio 3 this afternoon sometime after 4.30.

[Harwel]

IMO, I think the classical PdeD has to be chosen with great care in this instance, so that it shows off the male much better. I think the choice this time was not a good one as there was no way it showed his dancing off, the whole point of that PdeD is to show off the ballerina. The solos were great, the PdeD was a poor choice for this competition.

[Circe]

Next comp in 2017 according to BBC young dancer facebook page. Do hope girls are present across all heats next time.

[alison]

That would make sense: that way, they can alternate with the Young Musician competition.

[LinMM]

Just like to say how much I enjoyed the live performance on Saturday. The atmosphere in the theatre was so warm and wonderful a definite rosy glow in the air and I'm sure the dancers must have felt this support there for them.

 

It was in fact a bit of a marathon for the audience as well as the dancers as we had no break until the very end while the judges were making their decision and it was tribute to the fantastic dancing on display that evening that I only just noticed towards the end that we had been sitting there for nearly three hours(I was in my seat just after six!)

 

All of the dancers gave their all .....this was very apparent ...and quite moving at various points.

I really loved the hip hop live but then there were two really great exponents of this dance form in Harry Barnes and Kieren Lai.

 

My favourite duet for me was definitely the Indian classical dancers ....very beautiful ....a tear in the eye after that....but all the pieces that were especially choreographed for the dancers were my favourite solos and just couldn't choose between them and would now like to watch again!!

When it came to decision time I honestly didn't know who would win because they had all had fabulous moments during the evening but if I had had to pick three at that point it would have been Harry Barnes(hip hop) Connor Scott( contemporary)(such a versatile dancer) and Vidya Patel(Indian classical) but only by a whisper only though!!

I'm not sure what happened when they were announcing the winner it looked as if they had forgotten to tell poor Carlos who the winner was .......but as it was being televised it may have been something else he was asking......but anyway Connor was a truly worthy winner.

 

Just something I'd like to say about the classical. I agree with Harwel that

In the end I think the pas de deux from Don Q......which was really well danced and showed Archie to be a lovely partner....was rather unsuitable to this highly charged competition as it didn't really show off Archie enough......especially to people who don't know much about ballet and the skills of partnering etc. If they require a duet there must be some other duets either with a male or female partner which would have shown off his dancing more for this full on Dance evening!! So I thought ....maybe wrongly...that he was let down by this choice for this occasion.

 

It seems from comments from people who watched on tv that the judges didn't go into why they made their choice!! They usually do with Young Musician of Year don't they?

There seemed to be a lot of talking going on for the tv which the audience weren't privy to(we could see it but not hear it) so a bit disappointing if they didn't discuss their decision much.

It must have been very difficult to judge anyway but it's true when you are watching live the different styles don't really matter as you can still see dance quality and musicality and star quality coming through!! Still nice to know what they thought........I haven't watched the programme back yet as have had a rather busy and to,be honest dramatic two days ....hence this late report ......but certainly the best thing Ive spent my money on for quite a while!!

Edited May 11, 2015 by LinMM

[aileen]

Graham Watts gives a detailed review of the evening and I agree with much of what he says. I do think that the duets presented a bit of a problem in the competition. As Lin says, the traditional pdd in classical ballet is designed to showcase the female partner. I don't think that Archie's choice of DonQ, on top of the variation from the same ballet, was a good choice. Something more contemporary (perhaps even a piece for two men) might have been better. The battle for the two hip-hoppers didn't work for me; it seemed choreographed rather than spontaneous, but perhaps it was more exciting in the theatre. I feel that the contemporary duets had an advantage as there were no constraints on the format or choreography. It sounds as if Vidya's dances came across better in the theatre and that something was lost in the transmission on screen. Not to take anything away from Connor (whose movement quality is exceptional imo), but I think that he had the best choreography overall which showed him to best account. I thought that his own piece was really accomplished.

[sarahw]

The only way you can judge the final must be performance and star quality. In terms of technique that can really only be compared in the heats. The example several of you give about pdd clearly demonstrates this.

 

Maybe they could have a male and female winner from each section?

[Fonty]

That would make sense: that way, they can alternate with the Young Musician competition.

 

I am trying to remember the last Young Musician competition I watched, it must be some years ago. 

 

One of the big disappointments I had with the ballet programme has been mentioned by others - the fact that they didn't show the complete routine for everyone.  This wasn't a competition, this was the edited highlights of a selection process.  I guessed who the winner would be purely because they showed more of his routines then anybody else.  I was particularly annoyed by the pas de deux coverage, they showed so little of some of them I don't know why they bothered. 

 

Do they do that with the YM competition?  I have no recollection of someone starting their piece, and then the programme cutting to the last few bars, but I might be wrong. 

Edited May 13, 2015 by Fonty

[LinMM]

Was this "cutting" going on in the final programme too on the Saturday? ....I still haven't watched it back.

 

That would be a great shame if that was happening in the final and ...no ....in the final of Young Musician you do see the WHOLE performance of their final pieces ......there is no cutting.

 

If you go to this competition online you can see the whole of the pieces the finalists from each category danced .......as I noticed from Archie's piece "Le Bourgeois" one of the best moment from this was cut from the live programme!! And he danced this so well.

But I assumed with the final they would show the whole of their final dances......though this was three hours long so perhaps they did have to cut......very irritating though.

Dance is one of those things which does come across much better live though.

I thought the two who best connected with the actual audience on the night were Harry Barnes and Connor Scott but have no idea whether this came across on tv or not.

ALL the dancing from ALL the candidates however was really terrific.

[John Mallinson]

If you go to this competition online you can see the whole of the pieces the finalists from each category danced .......as I noticed from Archie's piece "Le Bourgeois" one of the best moment from this was cut from the live programme!! 

 

He didn't dance it in the final.