The Grand Final BBC Young Dancer


The Grand Final

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Over the past four weeks, we have showcased some of the U:K.'s most

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promising than talent. We've seen some excellent performances and all

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categories have been closely contested. For the five dancers who

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have gone through to the Grand Final, one of the biggest stages in

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the dance world awaits. It will be brilliant for them to dance at

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Sadlers Wells. It is an amazing opportunity to shine on stage and

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show their qualities, versatility, abilities. To be seen by so many

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people in the dance world raises their game. It will change lives. It

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is a huge opportunity to bring all the forms together, create more

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audience and to let them find out more. Once in a lifetime opportunity

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to showcase talents. What they are able to achieve is dead exciting.

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All the arrows of rehearsal for those few minutes of time in front

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of a global audience. I am so excited to see them. The winners of

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South Asian, ballet, street and contemporary dance class a wild card

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will perform again. All of them will be looking to impress a panel of

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leading dance figures and at the end of the evening one of them will lift

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the BBC Young dancer trophy. I am so honoured to be in this competition

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at this stage. Performing on Sadlers Wells stage is going to be

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incredible. I'm just going to swallow it up and do my thing and

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have fun. It's incredible to go out on this stage and perform alongside

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people who are driven and love the art form as much as I do. More than

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winning this, it is about the experience, the journey. I'm really

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nervous but if I'm honest, it is an honour and I want to do it again,

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knowing that I will get this far. Enjoy it. I don't want to look back

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and have any regrets. Welcome to the Grand Final of BBC Young Dancer

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2017. Good evening. Very warm welcome to

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Sadlers Wells for the Grand Final of BBC Young Dancer 2017. If you've

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been following the series you will know that we are in for something

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special. Absolutely. It is only the second time this competition has

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been held and we are thrilled to be back in one of the great dance

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houses in the world. Over the past couple of years we have had a taste

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of what it is like to take part in a televised dance competition. We had

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a couple of weeks of training but for them this is the result of years

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of training. It is embarrassing that you brought that up considering the

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level we will see tonight. This has the potential to change their lives

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but first, it is a celebration of dance and a showcase for five

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exciting new talent. 21-year-old Jodelle Douglas was first to book

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his place after winning streak dance. It feels great to be given

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the platform to dance and express myself. To be in the Grand Final is

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the cherry on top, I guess. In his final year at English National

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Ballet School, Rhys Antoni Yeomans is the winner of the ballet

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category. I've worked my hardest and done my best so now I've got to go

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and perform and enjoy the moment. Shyam Dattani one through from a

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competitive South Asian dance final. I hope I can represent it in the

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right light. Nafisah Baba Is 20 and from London. She won the

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contemporary category. If you can take something valuable from the

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competition that is much more valuable than having the title,

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though that would be really nice. Completing the line-up is

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John-William Watson, who's been selected as the wild card. Going to

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be incredible because it has been such a long and wonderful journey.

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So talented, so dedicated and so young. I'm sure they will all have

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very exciting careers ahead of them. No doubt. Before we get started

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there are some further introductions. One of the questions,

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how do you choose a winner? Especially when the dancers are from

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four different worlds. It is for the best that we have nothing to do with

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that position. Tonight are some of the biggest names in dance. Marc

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Brew is an award-winning choreographer and has been working

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with companies as a dancer, teacher and choreographer. I know what it

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takes to be a dancer and to have that drive and passion. I will be

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looking for someone who is committed to what they do. All those elements.

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Kate Prince is a pioneer of dance theatre. Any dance, no matter what

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the style, as an audience member, how does it make you feel? Does it

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make you want to dance, ring you joy, make you cry? It can make you

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feel anything and everything. Kenneth Tharp is a leading figure on

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the UK dance scene. He has worked as a choreographer. If it makes your

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heart beat fast and hold your attention, when you don't want it to

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end, when they've got you write with them, that is a top performance.

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Nahid Siddiqui has received awards worldwide. Whether it is street

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dancing or ballet, technique or precision, athletics, drama, that

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magic that somebody carries. Jasmin Vardimon has been creating

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challenging, exciting and visually stunning dance for 20 years. It is

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important that it is only a tool to articulate the in a world who

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communicates through that. Kevin O'Hare is director of the Royal

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Ballet. As soon as somebody comes on stage we make an opinion about who

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they are do they have that extra thing that grabs your attention. For

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me it is about that person that just smashes it on the night. Welcome our

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judges. Jasmin, for the young dancers taking

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to the stage, the tests do not get much bigger. It is the final. There

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is a TV audience. How do they content with it? It is a big night

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for them, of course, being associate artist here, I present most of my

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work here and I know how special it feels to perform on that stage.

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Beside that there is the process that brought them here. Through the

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mentoring, the sessions that they had, the feedback, the exposure,

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that journey is something they will have to reflect on and reflect on

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the experiences they got and carried into their professional life.

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Kenneth, if I can come to you next, I love the blazer. These guys are on

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the stage, if you could give them some words of advice. Forget the

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judges, forget us, remember to breathe every now and then. It does

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help when you're nervous. They've worked so hard to get to this

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moment. One that stage, now the huge pleasure you are bringing to the

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people here. All looking forward to it. Judges, you are not off the

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hook. We will be speaking to you throughout the programme. Our

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judges. I would like to introduce you to

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someone else. She knows about judging dance competitions. She was

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the principal at the Royal Ballet and is the president of the Royal

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Academy, please welcome Darcey Bussell.

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Always an absolute pleasure to see you. You are on this stage two years

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ago for the inaugural competition. We've seen these guys rehearsing and

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I know that you are excited. It is so great to be back. I've had the

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chance to meet them, see them in rehearsal, beautiful dancers, very

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talented, very mature. What an opportunity for them, to be

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performing here. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for them. It will be

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a wonderful showcase. For the audience, it is quite a unique

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showcase because we have these dance styles coming together on one night

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on the stage. Yes. I love it. To see these disciplines performing

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together. To see the relationships and the things that bring them

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together. They are here for the same goal. They've worked incredibly

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hard. They are inspired by each other and they are here to perform

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together. This is what it is about. Performing to a great public that

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cannot wait to see them perform. It's a dream come true. What a

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performance we are going to see. You get to sit back and relax. We are

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looking forward to it. Thank you very much. Off she goes. My

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co-presenter has gone. Anita is very thing -- is in one of the best seats

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in the house. And she is with one of them right now. Thank you. I look to

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think of this as my post-match then. Welcome. You cheered the judging

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panel. You hand-picked the finalists. Put into perspective the

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level of talent we will see. We had an amazing and difficult claim. We

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look at five brilliant dancers and choose one. Despite the fact only

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one person walked away with the trophy I kind of feel they were all

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winners. To make it to that stage, especially here, it is an amazing

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challenge. How do you charge for such different dance styles?

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Specially choreographed for them. Let's meet the first answer in this

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young dancer grand final. John-William Watson. John-William

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Watson started dancing ages 14, joining Phoenix dance Academy youth

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academy a few years later. He is now in his first year of dance studies

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at the Royal Conservatory in Belgium. Having impressed the judges

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of the Contemporary final with his strong storytelling skills and

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ability to connect with the audience, John William was selected

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as the wild card for this grand final. Darcey Bussell spoke to him

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between rehearsals. Congratulations. On being the wild card entry. Was

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that the surprise? I was so excited to receive the news. I see it as

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another chance to perform again and a great opportunity I have been

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given so I'm going to embrace it. How have you found getting to know

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the other disciplines, has it been inspiring? We are all passionate

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about using our bodies to tell a story and that is what connects us.

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There is a common thread between everything and that is what is

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wonderful about this competition. Tell is the bit about your first

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piece that you will be performing. It is entitled if not now then when.

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I was inspired by nostalgia and how it can be a contrasting experience,

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it can be beautiful and also quite sad. Thinking about things or people

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you have lost so I channelled back into creating this solo and I am

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excited to perform it. What a way to kick off the

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competition. Amazing. Think of the pressure on that young man with the

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John-William Watson opening up this BBC Young Dancer grand final with

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herself choreographed piece. Next up 21-year-old Jodelle Douglas is the

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winner of the street dance final. Jodelle Douglas grew up in Bristol

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and developed his passion for Street Dance there. Now he lives in Cardiff

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where a youth representative of jukebox collective company.

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If you looks familiar it is because he made it to the category final

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back in 2015. This time around his unique style and energy made him the

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winner of the street dance final. What drew you back to come and

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perform again in this competition? Just the fun that I had and the

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experience, I wanted to do it again. And it will be my last time doing it

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so I want to give it one more blow. You seem relaxed but the nerves must

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be there. How do you work with that? I'm a freestyle dancer and it is

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just on the spot. That is where it gets rid of my nerves but if I have

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to think about something I get nervous. So I have just been going

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over it in my head and I'm more comfortable when I do it. And

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hopefully the nerves will just wash away. When I'm on the stage I will

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fine. Tell us about this with your first piece. It is called art

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within. That is just my own kind of brand, I'm constantly evolving and

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learning so work I have previously done I look back on and think I wish

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I'd done that. But in the meantime I'm just constantly wanting to tweak

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and evolve to make it the best. What about that for storytelling.

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Let alone all those body contortions, it gives you shivers.

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Jodelle Douglas there. Art within. Next up for body popping to belly,

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category winner Rhys Antoni Yeomans, aged 19. From Manchester, risk was

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introduced to belly aged ten when he saw the musical Billy Elliot. In

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less than two years he was performing the lead role in the

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show. Rhys is now in his third and final year at the English National

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Ballet School in London. He was the winner of the Ballet

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final with a well chosen programme showing off his broad range, his

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stage charm and presence. On the stage at Sadler's Wells there has

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been so many great dancers performing here and now it is your

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turn. Could you ever believe you would be here? I cannot believe I'm

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performing by myself on the stage at Sadler's Wells, but many people can

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say they are there just for them so I'm ecstatic to have been given the

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opportunity. Obviously you have performed before but this is a

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different pressure being part of a competition. I've had that challenge

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of becoming a character and portraying that role but here I am

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kind of expressing myself as a dancer. I just have to take that on

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board and revised it is a competition. A very different

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pressure. Your first piece, tell us about that. It is very technically

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demanding. A lot of jumps and battery. But I want to get across

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the sense of freedom and passion. And the kind of playful character

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behind it. APPLAUSE. Beautifully done. This

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final is well and truly under way. That is one man who knows how to use

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a kilt. Performed by Rhys Antoni Yeomans. Next up it is the winner of

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the contemporary category, 20-year-old Nafisah Baba. Nafisah

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started ballet classes when she was three years old, going on to other

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styles including contemporary, jazz and. She is preparing for a career

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in dance, training with Chrysalis London. In the contemporary final,

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Nafisah gave a performance to win the title. I felt amazing hearing my

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name. I kept replaying it, thinking, that is actually me. Your experience

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watching these other dances and talent, has inspired you?

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Definitely. Especially the street dance. It is something I would love

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to do. I love to incorporate things like that into my contemporary.

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Could you tell us a bit about what it means to you. It is called in its

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capable. When I was younger I was part of the netball Association so

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it was between doing that at weekends and then my mum said it is

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either that or you dance. When I was doing it, I was trying to imagine

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it, I do still miss it. Absolutely captivating by Nafisah

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there. Sportswoman turned dancer. You can see where the athleticism

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comes from. That is a piece called Inescapable. We now turn to South

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Asian dance with 19-year-old category winner Shyam Dattani. Shyam

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began his journey at the age of two and his love of performing led him

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to take up full-time training. It was his passion for dance and

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technique that shone through in the South Asian dance final and won him

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the title. I'm really excited to present my dance on the stage but

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also it makes me mindful because I've watched some of my inspirations

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in dance perform on this stage and to be able to perform on the same

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turf is something I never imagined. It gives meet singles. What is

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wonderful as how you tell a story. Tell us about that. My first solo is

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a descriptive piece. Kathak is a storytelling art that uses

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expression with hand gestures and in this piece I will be surrendering to

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a Lord, the elephant headed god, who is a remover of obstacles. Kathak

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grew from this as a temple art, so I want to share my devotion through

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this piece. Captivating, absolutely captivating.

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Delicate and thorough fully equal measure. The first round of solos is

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brought to a close. I'm sure you will all want to give Shyam and all

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the five finalists a massive round of applause.

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We've seen them all perform once and whilst we give them a couple of

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minutes to catch their breath let's handover to Anita who is with the

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judges. Beauty, brains, footwork, enough about you. Let's talk to the

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dance experts. We've seen the first performances. Initial thoughts? It

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is their focus, how they engage with the public. Telling that story

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through their movements. The strength of skill was outstanding. I

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could not take my eyes off any of them. I suppose one of the

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surprising ones was the street dancer, because it is such a

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different forum, to be in the theatre, the lighting, the stage,

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playing with that. It is so unusual for young dancers to be so exposed

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on a stage performing. Have they risen to the occasion? The

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absolutely have. Must be incredibly challenging to be on the stage. You

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have the production values, the wonderful set and the lighting. What

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I found really touching is each one of them was incredibly emotional.

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Most of the solos they choreographed themselves, and there was a real

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attempt to have a story, the narrative, use lyrics. I phoned it

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incredibly moving. You feel incredibly supportive. Let's talk

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about the commitment. They are incredibly young to perform their

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artform to this level. Yes, the time that would have gone into rehearsing

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this. They've been doing this since the beginning of the competition,

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perfecting these solos. It is ours and aisles of training. -- it is

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lots of training. I know exactly what they've been under, the

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pressure they've been under. It is something they would not want to

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miss. It is televised and are therefore a life. There is a lot

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more dancing to come. Let's bring in the judges before we

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move on to the duets. And for a dancer like Jodelle Douglas in

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Street Dance we are more likely to see the guys doing battle but right

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here on stage we are going to see them doing the Gillette. How

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difficult will that be. It is a different skill and different

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mentality vote up the brilliant thing about Street Dance, it has

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evolved so much especially in the last 15 years. You're just as likely

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to see Street Dance on stage in the Sadler's Wells as in a battle and

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the good things about being a straight answer is that you can

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choose. You can battle against each other, you can do a duet with each

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other or do both. We are finding out so much and I think when we see

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these dancers doing the Gillette we will find out even more. What is the

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different skill set with a partnership dance. Doing the duet

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work and the partnership is about to people instead of one and it is

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about the connections they make between each other. They need to

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build trust, and there is commitment between them. Sensitivity and also

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the timing. How the weight is shared between them and also the chemistry

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that they can have an share with us as the audience. Thank you both. So

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first to dance is John-William Watson joined by Beth Emerson. They

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choreographed the peace together. Oh, my goodness. The level of

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maturity by these young dancers is astounding. John-William Watson with

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dance partner Beth Emerson. Next to perform Jodelle Douglas and someone

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that you may recognise. This guy was the winner of the street dance final

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two years ago but he lost out this time around. To prove there are no

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hard feelings he's except the invitation to be Jodelle Douglas's

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partner here. Channing rivalry into friendship. They have created a

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brand new piece. Mass effect. You can see the camaraderie between

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the dancers. Jodelle Douglas and Harry Barnes. You would almost say

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they are enjoying it! Next Rhys Antoni Yeomans partnered by Masato

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is a Grammy. They are dancing a pas de deux.

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Oh, my goodness. They make it look so easy. That beautiful display of

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control and strength was the pas de deux performed by Rhys Antoni

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Youmans with his partner Masato. Now we return to the Contemporary dance.

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Deliverance is the title of this piece.

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You cannot help but be impressed by these young performers. You're

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watching the stars of the future. Incredible synergy. To bring this

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duet section to a close we bring you Shyam Dattani.

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Yes. Shyam Dattani bringing the duet section to a close. Two down, one to

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go. We will give them one more round of applause.

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Fen-3-mac impressive stuff. We are about to have a dance battle. To my

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left I have a ballet heavyweight. To my right, we have one of the leading

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figures in the world of street dance. I think street dance in this

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competition is a renegade. It is always evolving and it is one of the

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newest dance forms. It is amazing to see Jodelle Douglas and Harry dance

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together. What did you make of that? It was very humorous and

:09:05.:09:12.

entertaining. I grew by three key rules, education, entertainment and

:09:13.:09:15.

enlightenment. I felt that showed all three things. You are right. We

:09:16.:09:23.

did feel those things. How difficult is it to work as a couple? It is

:09:24.:09:29.

that trust. You've got to be as good as each other. That enjoyment that

:09:30.:09:40.

they have. It is about trust and strength, the skills being matched.

:09:41.:09:49.

Explain the ballet duet. It was a complete contrast. That was a

:09:50.:09:58.

traditional pure classic. Even though Rhys is the one we're meant

:09:59.:10:05.

to be viewing, it is showing her off and that is the tradition in

:10:06.:10:11.

classical ballet where the male supporter is making sure she looks

:10:12.:10:17.

best. The one that is unusual in classical ballet is a male dancer at

:10:18.:10:24.

the top of his game is not always a great partner. It did show that

:10:25.:10:34.

skill. They had no problem there. How exciting is it for street dance

:10:35.:10:41.

to be here on the stage? It is not just this thing that you do on the

:10:42.:10:46.

streets. It is something that you work hard for. You've got to put

:10:47.:10:52.

blood, sweat and tears into it. It is something we push our bodies to

:10:53.:11:01.

do. To have that respect and appreciation and affirmation is very

:11:02.:11:12.

good. From a duet points of view, it is how classical ballet works. With

:11:13.:11:25.

all the solos that we seem today, I've seen these variants. Only one

:11:26.:11:38.

more dance. It is the final round from the final five coming. It is a

:11:39.:11:46.

rare opportunity for a dancer to have a new work created especially

:11:47.:11:52.

for them. Are finalists are going to premiere the solos on the stage. To

:11:53.:11:58.

begin it is John-William Watson. He's been working with Caroline

:11:59.:12:00.

Finnan. They've created a solo. At the first meeting, Caroline was

:12:01.:12:17.

keen to draw on a variety of experiences. Some paintings from

:12:18.:12:23.

Francis Bacon inspired me. There are ideas of assumed identities that you

:12:24.:12:29.

try to break out of. Thoughts about the subconscious. More delicate.

:12:30.:12:37.

There is something similar with our styles and approaches so it is nice

:12:38.:12:42.

to work with someone on the same wavelength. He's very good to give

:12:43.:12:48.

ideas. I would love for him to take it somewhere I've not thought of. It

:12:49.:12:57.

feels like a lovely collaboration. A few days later and with the

:12:58.:13:01.

structure and choreography taking place, they start to focus on the

:13:02.:13:07.

detail of the solo. I want to push him to find new ways of finding the

:13:08.:13:12.

weight and the bones for that momentum. He has a lot of strength

:13:13.:13:17.

in his body and what interests me is that as much as vulnerable moment so

:13:18.:13:24.

you can be passive and then explode again. You can see contrast with

:13:25.:13:38.

these small, intricate movements. Big, contrasting physicality. It

:13:39.:13:44.

would be nice if the audience went away. You can push outside

:13:45.:13:45.

boundaries. APPLAUSE.

:13:46.:17:19.

How impressive was that! Choreographed by Caroline

:17:20.:17:38.

Flint and premiered by John-William Watson. Incredible. Catch your

:17:39.:17:43.

breath. You were the wild card. Just one week ago we knew that you would

:17:44.:17:48.

be competing. How are you feeling now having performed three dancers?

:17:49.:17:55.

It is hard to put into words. It has been such a wonderful experience. It

:17:56.:18:02.

is just over so quickly. You have done everything you can. I'm sure

:18:03.:18:07.

you have enjoyed it. Congratulations, go and relax.

:18:08.:18:13.

Outstanding. Our next performer has given him the kudos and well done to

:18:14.:18:19.

that men. Next up we have Jodelle Douglas who has been war working

:18:20.:18:25.

alongside Nicolas Marvel. Unknown is the name of this piece.

:18:26.:18:32.

We were listening to music first and trying to get a feel of a story we

:18:33.:18:37.

could build together. Just trying to get him to adapt to my style of

:18:38.:18:41.

choreography. You're just kind of moving, just looking at it, really.

:18:42.:18:48.

I always get worried when I am creating a piece. I always find that

:18:49.:18:53.

is the hardest. When we were rehearsing we were trying to build a

:18:54.:18:57.

story and came up with a few options. We were going down the

:18:58.:19:01.

theme of someone walking and they are lost and a bit scared and not

:19:02.:19:06.

sure where they are. They get into contact with something and it

:19:07.:19:10.

changes their perspective. We stormed through the start. Just

:19:11.:19:16.

started connecting and licking and understanding each other. I feel he

:19:17.:19:23.

took on board what I wanted to get out of this piece. After several

:19:24.:19:28.

days work shopping, they're excited by the way the pieces developing and

:19:29.:19:33.

the willingness to incorporate different styles into the dance.

:19:34.:19:39.

Jodelle Douglas is much more liquid and flexible with his movements

:19:40.:19:42.

whereas I'm more robotic so it is combining these styles together that

:19:43.:19:46.

makes it such an interesting performance. He pushed me in styles

:19:47.:19:54.

are not so comfortable with. His animation is perfect, so replicating

:19:55.:19:59.

that was so hard. It was physical and mental, a challenge. Just to be

:20:00.:20:04.

able to see our collaboration on the stage with the lighting and

:20:05.:20:07.

everything, I'm really excited to see that.

:20:08.:23:10.

Absolute magic. Choreography by Nicolas Marvel and premiered by this

:23:11.:23:34.

guy, Jodelle Douglas. So cool, unbelievable. It is all a front. As

:23:35.:23:41.

we know you applied in 2015 and got to the category finals. Can you

:23:42.:23:44.

describe what the experience has been like to be in the final. Last

:23:45.:23:50.

time I just missed out but it was still an honour to be able to

:23:51.:23:55.

express myself on that platform. But to win the category and perform at

:23:56.:24:00.

the grand final, I do not know, just overwhelming. We all enjoyed that.

:24:01.:24:07.

Not a bead of sweat on the guy. Wait until I take my hat off! Well done,

:24:08.:24:13.

all three performances complete. Give him a round of applause. Next

:24:14.:24:25.

to perform is Rhys Antoni Yeomans. Rees was teamed with Morgan and she

:24:26.:24:33.

has chosen music by John Adams. Short ride in a fast machine. I

:24:34.:24:39.

first played it to him and he was, I love it and really exciting. Then as

:24:40.:24:45.

we started to work with it, it was one, two, three, four, five. Very

:24:46.:24:51.

complex phrasing. The dynamics constantly changed so it is dynamic

:24:52.:24:56.

for my body to keep maintaining the power. I've got to balance out and

:24:57.:25:01.

be clever. A lot of the movement and the coordination is different from

:25:02.:25:07.

the work he normally does training. So he is learning new movement

:25:08.:25:12.

pathways. Then he is able to play with that which is nice. Taking on

:25:13.:25:23.

the material himself. It is looking good but we still need to put in the

:25:24.:25:28.

correction of the timings because of such a confusing piece. You think

:25:29.:25:32.

you've done it all because all the corn coffee is made to the music and

:25:33.:25:36.

you realise there is a whole new layer of work starting. That is

:25:37.:25:40.

putting in the light and shade to make it interesting to watch.

:25:41.:25:46.

Nice and relaxed, that was good. I've had to not remove the classical

:25:47.:25:50.

training but have it in the background and the four grand needs

:25:51.:25:54.

to be something new and just more organic as a way of moving. --

:25:55.:25:58.

foreground. Commanding the stage, Rhys Antoni

:25:59.:29:18.

Yeomans. Created by Morgann Runacre-Temple. You have done it!

:29:19.:29:23.

You can take a breather. It will may not be lost on you that some of the

:29:24.:29:27.

greatest names in Ballet are in this room. Did that come into your

:29:28.:29:34.

thinking on stage? Slightly! It must've been a little bit

:29:35.:29:37.

intimidating but it did not show at all. Just being on stage is what I

:29:38.:29:43.

love to do. I just had to forget about what was happening, who was

:29:44.:29:48.

watching and just do me. Beautifully done. Well done, have a breeder. Get

:29:49.:29:53.

this guy some water! Waiting in the wings is Nafisah

:29:54.:30:00.

Baba. The first thing we did was falling,

:30:01.:30:21.

not catching yourself but letting your body fault. You will see me

:30:22.:30:26.

letting my body fall, letting my head go.

:30:27.:30:33.

I'm being pushed out of my comfort zone, trying things I've not done

:30:34.:30:40.

before. I'm pushing through with it rather than being like, I will do it

:30:41.:30:48.

later. We can go before we fall. That is what we are partly trained

:30:49.:30:53.

to do. She said, don't go to a position you know, don't analyse

:30:54.:30:59.

things, it was difficult to just let my head go and let my body fall and

:31:00.:31:10.

not get in a position. When they meet again a few days later the

:31:11.:31:15.

piece had started to take shape. I could not have asked for more in

:31:16.:31:19.

terms of the commitment and the readiness to try things which were

:31:20.:31:23.

outside her habitual patterns of moving. It was incredible.

:31:24.:34:49.

Just the way that she holds herself takes your breath away. Performed by

:34:50.:35:16.

Nafisah Baba. Glad you did not leave your shoes behind. They will be

:35:17.:35:23.

relief. You said there were no regrets. Surely you cannot have any

:35:24.:35:30.

after that. S I don't. It is an honour to dance on that stage. Look

:35:31.:35:36.

at the smile. You are phenomenal. Your job is done. Great effort. Just

:35:37.:35:46.

one more dance in this Grand Final. To begin the process, Shyam is

:35:47.:36:12.

trained to think outside his training. She gave me this piece of

:36:13.:36:16.

paper and put it in front of me and said to make a shape with it. At

:36:17.:36:21.

first I was quite thrown back and she said, take all the Kathak out of

:36:22.:36:32.

yourself. He struggled with understanding what I wanted until he

:36:33.:36:37.

could see for real but he needs to replicate that or use that to inform

:36:38.:36:48.

the way my body is on the ground. She taught me to remove each

:36:49.:36:58.

movement. Every limb seemed to be engaged in this movement. A week

:36:59.:37:10.

later and things have moved on. The piece has evolved and changed. My

:37:11.:37:15.

body has been manipulated into forming this piece and it is quite

:37:16.:37:23.

amazing. He has embraced it and I respect that. He is likely, you can

:37:24.:37:27.

mould him into shapes and he's ready for it. I'm excited for him. She's

:37:28.:37:36.

focused on the technique of Kathak, but also will be moulding it in this

:37:37.:37:41.

contemporary, more urban aspect. It is quite eccentric and I can feel

:37:42.:37:45.

the buzz when I'm performing it. That is how you do it. Five

:37:46.:41:22.

finalists. I know you've brought a huge contingent with you tonight. We

:41:23.:41:26.

can hear them, we've been hearing them all night. What is the

:41:27.:41:34.

overriding emotion for you? I feel like all my hard work, the

:41:35.:41:40.

dedication of all those who put so much into my dance, I hope I

:41:41.:41:47.

showcased it well on stage. I feel so grateful to be part of the

:41:48.:41:59.

atmosphere. Well done. You take your place. Time to take a bow. Didn't

:42:00.:42:17.

they do well? Give it up for John-William Watson, Jodelle

:42:18.:42:24.

Douglas, Rhys Antoni Yeomans, Nafisah Baba, and Shyam Dattani.

:42:25.:42:42.

Sadly, we cannot have everyone because she is actually performing,

:42:43.:42:45.

but they deserve our applause. APPLAUSE. Well done. That brings us

:42:46.:42:58.

to the end of the competition. Before the judges head off and make

:42:59.:43:03.

a difficult decision, some difficult questions. Just before we talk about

:43:04.:43:10.

this night as a whole, 15 premiers. How exciting to see brand-new work

:43:11.:43:16.

by such dances on the stage. It is brilliant and energising and

:43:17.:43:24.

beautiful. I congratulate the BBC for introducing this. It is so

:43:25.:43:33.

heartening. It is great to be part of this. I think everybody would

:43:34.:43:40.

echo this in the theatre. You've got to make a big decision. Sum up what

:43:41.:43:49.

we've seen. It is wonderful to see them giving their best and having

:43:50.:43:53.

the opportunity to perform on this stage. Be fascinating to see what we

:43:54.:44:02.

come up with. Close competition. Let us see who wins. Before you make

:44:03.:44:08.

that call, I'm sure you have some final thoughts. Yes. We've been

:44:09.:44:13.

joined by a choreographer and director described as the world's

:44:14.:44:16.

most popular living dance maker. Sir Matthew. You are a huge

:44:17.:44:33.

supporter of this competition and a huge promoter of dance. What did you

:44:34.:44:38.

make of what you've seeing this evening. I was adjudged to years ago

:44:39.:44:43.

and thought it was something that the dance world should support. And

:44:44.:44:48.

we all did. And we continue to do that. It is wonderful to see young

:44:49.:44:54.

dancers promoted in this way. And having an audience they could not

:44:55.:44:58.

dream of in the theatre, a television audience with so many

:44:59.:45:02.

more people. An incredible thing for them and also in terms of the

:45:03.:45:08.

choreography, we are seeing new choreography, I find that exciting.

:45:09.:45:13.

There is another whole element to the competition. Completely and the

:45:14.:45:17.

final performance, choreographed by someone else. I think we saw a

:45:18.:45:22.

different side to them. I think what we want is to see the versatility of

:45:23.:45:26.

these artists. Where they're going to go now. They are busy young and

:45:27.:45:33.

raw talent and they're suddenly worked on and being tested out of

:45:34.:45:36.

their comfort zone and whether they are capable of taking back on board.

:45:37.:45:41.

Some of them really achieved that. It is interesting, certainly we saw

:45:42.:45:48.

it with Shyam Dattani, pushing the boundaries of his dance form. This

:45:49.:45:52.

is something you have done, to tear up the rule book. Is this the

:45:53.:45:58.

future? I think is the job of a dancer to interpret the work of a

:45:59.:46:01.

choreographer. I love to see them do their own work and you get a bonus

:46:02.:46:06.

in some ways thing that come from them. But to work with the

:46:07.:46:10.

choreographer is as Darcey Bussell will tell you, you must interpret

:46:11.:46:15.

their work. And that is a challenge. It is a test. And that was a

:46:16.:46:18.

challenge for him, a different style. To put you on the spot, or

:46:19.:46:25.

would you give a job in your company. I was very drawn to

:46:26.:46:35.

John-William Watson. I was drawn to the musicality and character, the

:46:36.:46:39.

completeness of each piece. As a choreographer I was drawn to someone

:46:40.:46:43.

doing their own work in that way. He's a talent to watch. Thank you

:46:44.:46:48.

both. I have my fingers crossed for all of them.

:46:49.:46:53.

While the judges are busy trying to choose a winner from those five

:46:54.:46:58.

wonderful dancers we have a special treat just for you. Two years ago

:46:59.:47:04.

17-year-old Connor Scott made quite an impression performing on this

:47:05.:47:09.

very stage and he was named as the first-ever BBC Young Dancer

:47:10.:47:12.

champion. Since then he is moved down to London from Northumberland

:47:13.:47:16.

and he's in his second year of training at the School Ballet and

:47:17.:47:20.

Contemporary dance. We are delighted to welcome them back here to perform

:47:21.:47:26.

for you right now. Here is Connor Scott with an extract from a new

:47:27.:47:28.

piece. Brave E is the title. Ladies and gentlemen, your 2015 BBC

:47:29.:53:17.

Young Dancer, Connor Scott. The man they are all aspiring to tonight.

:53:18.:53:22.

I'm just hearing that the judges have made their decision. The

:53:23.:53:30.

anticipation, I know. I reckon we just have enough time for one more

:53:31.:53:35.

performance. We have had solos and duets already this evening but

:53:36.:53:40.

shoppers see all of our finalists on stage one more time? Performing from

:53:41.:53:53.

Vivaldi 's four seasons, your 2017 BBC Young Dancer finalists.

:53:54.:57:06.

I can speak I think on behalf of everyone in this room, we are in all

:57:07.:57:33.

of your talent. Thank you to those wonderful dancers and their

:57:34.:57:36.

dedication to their art. Truly an inspiring night. They are at the top

:57:37.:57:42.

of their game and we have been mesmerised. But there can be only

:57:43.:57:45.

one winner and that moment has arrived. Time to find out who will

:57:46.:57:52.

be named the BBC Young Dancer 2017. John-William Watson. Jodelle

:57:53.:58:06.

Douglas. Rhys Antoni Yeomans. Nafisah Baba. Shyam Dattani.

:58:07.:58:22.

Please welcome to the stage the judges. Nahid Siddiqui, Kevin

:58:23.:58:31.

O'Hare, Jasmin Vardimon, Kate Prince, Marc Brew and Kenneth Tharp.

:58:32.:58:42.

And were joined onstage by Darcey Bussell who will make presentation.

:58:43.:58:51.

But before she does they have had a very difficult decision to make.

:58:52.:58:56.

Kenneth I'm sure would like to say word. Thank you very much. First I'm

:58:57.:59:01.

sure all the audience here and those watching at home would like to join

:59:02.:59:06.

myself and my fellow judges in thanking these astonishing young

:59:07.:59:10.

dancers for an amazing evening of dancing. Thank you so much.

:59:11.:59:21.

We also wanted to say what a brilliant opportunity this has been

:59:22.:59:26.

and thank the BBC for giving these young dancers such a fantastic

:59:27.:59:30.

opportunity to share their talent and their expertise and discipline.

:59:31.:59:38.

We have had an interesting discussion but in the fight that we

:59:39.:59:42.

thought something is cut through regardless. How a dancer makes you

:59:43.:59:48.

feel. How they connect with the audience. And so even though we had

:59:49.:59:55.

a lively discussion, from the discussions and scoring, one clear

:59:56.:00:05.

winner emerged. It is down to me. It is inspiring to see such expressive

:00:06.:00:12.

and dynamic performances from such young, talented British dancers. It

:00:13.:00:18.

makes me so proud to be British. I am excited about this. The winner of

:00:19.:00:30.

the BBC Young dancer 2017 is... Nafisah Baba.

:00:31.:00:46.

Take it in. This is your moment. What is going through your mind? I

:00:47.:01:46.

just want to say thank you so much to every single one of you. To my

:01:47.:01:49.

friends and family for a never-ending support and making me

:01:50.:01:55.

feel like I can be on top of the world. On behalf of everyone in the

:01:56.:02:06.

audience, thank you for making us feel something wonderful.

:02:07.:02:14.

Congratulations. All the hard work paid off. Please enjoy it. The

:02:15.:02:25.

winner of BBC Young dancer 2017, Nafisah Baba.

:02:26.:02:34.

I'm sure you will agree they were all phenomenal. Please welcome back

:02:35.:02:53.

our fantastic finalists. That brings to an end our Grand

:02:54.:03:29.

Final of the programme. A huge thank you to all our judges who have been

:03:30.:03:33.

involved in every stage of the competition. Thank you to everybody

:03:34.:03:41.

who looked after the dancers. Until next time, from all of us, good

:03:42.:03:44.

night. Our crack team of experts

:03:45.:04:09.

use pioneering research

:04:10.:04:18.

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