Skipton Our Dancing Town

In a picturesque part of Britain,

something extraordinary is happening.

Braving the wet and windy weather, hundreds are gathering...

..to take part in a special one-off event

to celebrate their history and heritage...

We're here in 21st century and we need to be put on' map.

..and tell the story of what makes them and their town unique.

AUCTIONEER SELLS

-It's literally Sheep Town.

-Yeah.

Helping to bring these stories to life

is West End choreographer Steve Elias.

Let's dance!

'Dance can do so much.

'It unites, it allows people to express themselves,

'it celebrates, it entertains.

'Dance, I believe, has the power to be life-changing.'

Steve's spending the summer in Yorkshire,

where he wants to get three very different towns dancing.

-Do you dance?

-I certainly don't.

-No?

He'll be persuading everyone from beginners...

Right, left, right, left.

Dancing and farmers just don't go.

..to gifted amateurs, to join together

for the performance of a lifetime through the town's streets.

At the end of the summer,

Steve's master plan is to bring all three towns together in York

to stage one final extravaganza to celebrate the whole of the county.

Personally, I think he's raving bonkers.

This week, Steve's in Skipton.

Two, three.

Shunt, shunt!

As I thought, carnage.

Six, seven, eight.

And one, and two, and three, and four, and five, and a six,

and a seven, eight.

Da-da-da-da-da-da-ba. That's it.

And this, just here,

flex.

Originally from a small town in south Wales,

Steve Elias has spent the past 25 years

starring in some of Britain's best-loved musicals,

from Billy Elliot

to Guys and Dolls.

Five and a six, seven, eight.

'My dad was a builder and my brothers plasterers'

so I'm known as the black sheep of the family, affectionately.

Steve is a highly regarded teacher and choreographer.

'I spend my days mentoring in the best performing arts colleges.'

I feel very privileged.

One and two and three, four!

'But I'm looking for the next challenge.

'I'm drawing on things like flash mobs and viral videos online

'and the Opening Ceremony from the Olympics.'

That's when the country saw how dance could be used to showcase

the history and culture and create a sense of pride and spectacle.

I want to go to towns and give them something similar.

Leave them with something lasting that celebrates their heritage

and who they are.

Steve's first attempt to unite a whole community was a triumph.

In four weeks, he managed to corral almost 250 people keen to learn

and take part in a dance through the streets of Barnsley.

CHEERING

Barnsley, we did it!

It warms the cockles of this old man's heart.

He's hoping for similar success on the next stop

of his Yorkshire odyssey - Skipton.

A small market town 27 miles north-east of Leeds.

I don't know much about it as a town,

only that it's famous for farming

and has a large agricultural community

and a market that's been there for hundreds of years.

Apart from that, that's what I'm going to discover.

I'm just trying to see what the lay of the land is, really.

What makes Skipton tick.

What really is the essence, the heartbeat of the town.

Known as the Gateway to the Dales, Skipton grew in importance

with the founding of its castle in the 11th century.

Around 1300, the Holy Trinity Church was built in its shadow.

The two have loomed over the town ever since

as Skipton moved from medieval marketplace

to booming trade centre

thanks to the arrival of the Leeds-Liverpool Canal in the 1700s.

It's just beautiful.

This is the best vantage point, absolutely.

The various iconic buildings -

you know, we've got the castle just above, there,

and the church behind me and then the stretch down there.

Then you've got the hills.

It's a great place. I'm feeling really positive about it, actually.

Ladies, can I just ask you, easy, to describe Skipton in three words?

First things that come into your head.

Cobbles, castle and sheep.

Ah, OK.

Whatever comes to mind. Don't think about it, just go.

Erm, traditional.

Traditional - that's an interesting word I want to, kind of, explore.

-Ian.

-Hi.

Steve's arranged to meet local historian, Ian.

In the Domesday Book, it's listed as

Skeep, which is old English for sheep,

and ton, for town.

Its name is literally Sheep Town, you know?

Where I've been walking now, they used to have livestock?

That's right. Right out here on the street.

Some of these photographs here are turn of the 20th century.

There's a market going alongside. There seem to be stalls.

Stalls, yeah.

So they were working side-by-side, really.

If I was to represent Skipton in a performance,

that would be something great,

if I could somehow weave that in,

this idea of farming and market together.

Skipton's market dates back to 1204

when a Royal Charter granted a weekly gathering for trade

in sheep and woollen goods.

For centuries, local farmers and stallholders met to buy and sell

until the livestock trade outgrew the marketplace

and moved out of town.

Today, Skipton's reliance on tourism

means it's day-trippers rather than farmers who fill the town.

I'm here today, gone tomorro'!

Steve's holding a town meeting in three days' time

and he wants as many Skiptonians as possible to be there.

I'm hoping to tap in to the market traders,

see if I can get them involved,

see if they can get this mission and message out,

so here goes.

Hi, guys. All right?

-Can I give you one of these to have a look?

-Of course you can.

-Do you dance at all?

-No, I don't. I do dance when I'm drunk.

-I don't personally like dancing.

-At all?

-At all.

I seem to remember somebody was telling me,

"If you don't dance, you'll lose her, she'll leave you."

Sadly, she's still bloody 'ere, you know, after 30 years.

-Do you dance at all?

-I love dancing.

-What if I took you in a hold now and we danced here now?

-I could do it.

Come on, then. It's your birthday.

Come on, then.

That's it.

-Oh, you're on Strictly!

-Yeah, we're on Strictly.

That's it!

Oh, go on, lady!

You've got the moves.

Thank you very much. Cheers. Thank you.

-Hiya.

-I'm looking for Mark.

-I'm Mark.

That's right. I'm Steve.

Mark's been a stallholder for 30 years.

I need to galvanise the troops,

get some market traders involved in this performance.

We have about 56 stalls on Skipton Market.

Monday used to be a good day when the farmers used to be down.

With the farmers being there, it was busier, there was more characters,

and the market thrived a lot better then.

The performance is all about that.

It's all about promoting, celebrating,

community coming together.

We really need that back, I think. Hopefully get it busy again.

-That's what we want.

-Absolutely.

'It's hard to believe that Skipton's high street

'was at the heart of the farming community

'and alongside the farmers were the market traders selling their wares.'

'And this is what I'd love to...

'represent in dance.'

The farmers and the market traders again as one,

interacting, laughing together.

So my idea's crystallising now.

Can I give you one of these? There's a meeting.

Can I give you one of these?

Encouraged by the response at the market,

Steve expands his search to the rest of Skipton.

Can I give you one of these?

Just in case you know of any budding dancers.

Have a look at that.

I'm trying to get Skipton dancing.

It's trying to get people who've never danced before in their life,

never thought of dancing, trying something new.

Don't worry if you've never danced before

or if you've got a hidden passion for dance, I'm your man.

I'll have a go.

As long as it's not quite the full monty -

half monty is OK with me.

In an effort to find farmers to take part,

Steve heads to the cattle market,

a mile and a half from the town centre.

It just made sense to recruit right here at the cattle auction.

I'm not sure that farmers are renowned for their dancing

but I'm going to find out.

AUCTIONEER SELLS

400,000 sheep and 20,000 cattle

are sold here every year.

This is really exciting.

I can't see anyone bidding but they must be - a flick, wink, fingers...

It's fantastic.

AUCTIONEER SELLS

Hello, hello, hello. Ladies and gentlemen, I know you're very busy

so I'm not going to take up too much of your time.

My name's Steve and I'm in Skipton

trying to attract, galvanise

a cast of hundreds

to perform in a piece which is about Skipton.

If you've never danced before, don't worry, it's my job.

I'm looking for volunteers, I can't do it without you.

Simple as.

'When farmers are in the auction ring, they're there,

'their mind is focused about buying or selling livestock.'

So I could tell they were, like,

"I haven't got time to concentrate on dance, I'm here to do work."

I know you're busy, I'm not going to take too much...

-Can I give you one of those? Just pass the word out.

-Yeah.

Brilliant, cheers.

Tell me about your dancing days, then.

I met the wife at a dance and so did this chap.

-So that was one of the perks?

-And I've been married 62 years.

-So it worked!

-It did...

-It worked, yes.

I'm trying to get the farming community involved in my project.

Do you accept farmers with two left feet and a wooden leg?

Absolutely. That's my job.

Meeting, 6:30pm.

I'd love you to be there. Get the word out for me.

-I'll do what I can for the community.

-Brilliant.

-My name's Steve.

-Commonly known as Amos.

Amos, you're a scholar.

-I'll see you there tomorrow.

-Okey doke.

-Cheers.

Here, it's very interesting.

You've got what I call the nostalgia.

The men in their seventies who are still here daily

because it's such an important part

of their life.

Already ideas are starting to percolate

how I can incorporate more of the nostalgic period dancing,

bringing it up straight to modern-day.

Yeah, it's...they're great.

Do you want to dance?

BELLS RING

'It's the day of the big meeting

'and I'm excited,'

nervous, feeling a bit sick, actually.

Hiya.

Hi, there.

-I think I'm in the right place for the meeting.

-Yes.

-I'm Lindsey. I'm the events manager.

-I'm Steve. I'm the choreographer.

Nice to meet you. We're just finishing off setting up the room.

I'll give you a hand. Come on.

After three days of flyering and spreading the word,

Steve is about to see how many people from the town

turn up for the meeting.

'The worst-case scenario, that no-one turns up'

or we have ten people.

Because that means all the walking the streets

and passing out the flyers and trying to generate interest

hasn't worked.

That will be hard to stomach

because I'll have to start thinking of a Plan B.

But, to be honest, I don't have a Plan B.

Hiya. Come on in.

-I'm Steve, the choreographer.

-Hello.

-Nice to meet you.

-And you.

-I've got a wet hand.

-Don't worry. It's pouring down. Just take a seat.

-I'm Steve, the choreographer.

-Ben.

-Hi, Ben.

-I'm a dancer.

-Brilliant!

-I'm Steve, the choreographer.

-I'm Sarah. Nice to meet you.

-Skipton Slimming World.

-Hello!

-Hello!

-Can you help?!

-Of course I can!

Hello, I'm Steve, the choreographer. Hi, Mark.

So, I'm going to have to start putting more seats out now

because they keep on coming.

Join the group.

That would be brilliant. I'm going to move some.

'This is fantastic.'

It's nerve-racking.

I'm overwhelmed by the turnout from Skipton. It's incredible.

I'm here to create a one-off, unique...

performance piece.

It's all about the people who live and work here.

Think about Yorkshire pride, it's not about me.

This performance is about you.

What do you think?

-LONE VOICE:

-Go, Skipton!

-Yes, shout it loud!

-Go, Skipton!

I like it. Come on. That deserves...

APPLAUSE

So, welcome aboard.

Pass the message on and let's create something unique, special,

which is all about Skipton.

I really thank you for your time.

A captive audience gives Steve a chance

to get a sense of Skipton's dance potential.

Can you just stand up, please?

That's all I want you to do is just move your body from side to side.

Don't worry about it, if you feel embarrassed, you can sit down,

but it's just literally moving from side to side

and now that's all we're going to do is just add a little click.

MUSIC: Rolling On The River by Tina Turner

That's it. Get into it now. That's it!

That's it.

Let's go. Come on, dance!

Anything you want to do. Make it your own.

That's it! That's it!

Let's go.

Let's take it in turn.

I'm blown away. I've never experienced that reaction.

Take a bow.

CHEERING

Totally not what I was expecting at all.

I'm overwhelmed and I'm from Skipton. It's amazing.

It's really, really brilliant.

We thought we were going to be doing something militaristic

rather than zumba dancing.

I think it's a great idea but how many farmers

are going to get involved in this, I have no idea.

'My mind is reeling at the moment.

'There's so much for me to process and how I can make this work.'

Just the generosity of people tonight was incredible.

Erm, look out, Skipton,

because this is going to be amazing.

Of the 250 people at the meeting,

only a handful were from the farming community.

One of them was Amos.

If I can get him behind what my mission is,

I'm sure that he can go forward and rally the troops

from the farming communities.

Amos' 120-acre farm lies in a scenic corner of the Dales.

'I don't think there's a better lifestyle.

'It's not a job, it is certainly a lifestyle.

'Farming has actually been my life from a very early age.

'I used to keep pigs as a kid and dogs and hens.'

Over the last 30, 40 years,

things have changed immensely.

There are less farmers around.

Townspeople haven't been brought up

knowing any farmers.

A lot of schoolchildren possibly now think

that the food comes from the supermarket

where, you know, it's really wandering around

in the neighbouring fields.

WHISTLE

-Amos!

-Hello.

-How are you?

-I'm very well, thanks. Yourself?

Good to see you. It's brilliant.

-It's home.

-What breed are these?

-They're actually Welsh.

-Are they?

-Balwen Welsh Mountains.

-Oh!

-The Welsh get everywhere, you see.

-Don't they just.

At the meeting, there was 250 people there,

which was brilliant, but you were the only established farmer there.

What does that tell you, Steve?

Well, it tells me you're interested in what's going on in the community.

Going back 30, 40 years,

townspeople, well, they were more connected with farming

either through knowing a farm worker

or they had relatives that were farmers.

It would be nice if we could get, you, know, this divide

between the townspeople and the farmers, well, narrowed a bit.

So if I can get a rehearsal, will you get the group together?

I'll do my very best. I will.

Once we've got them in a rehearsal room and the door is locked,

you know, I think they will love it.

-Which way would you go there?

-Away, here.

Away, here!

'What I love about Amos,'

you can see when he's passionate about something

and when he's committed,

he will get these people to me.

Hook or by crook, he will deliver me, I'm sure,

farmers.

Do I look a prat like that in that flat cap?

Three weeks until the performance

and Steve's holding his first rehearsal in a local hotel.

Hello!

Come to Papa. Come forward.

Sacrificing their Sunday to attend are the slimming club,

hotel staff and a local cleaning firm.

The section I'm going to teach you, it's fast.

Find a space so you don't punch someone out.

We're going to do 16 counts for nothing,

then we go, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight,

two, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.

It's actually called a "pimp" walk.

LAUGHTER

Each group Steve works with will have a routine tailored to them,

choreographed to a specific track.

Your body's coming forward. Think that you're a coiled spring.

Steve wants the dance to move through the streets

as one group takes over from another along a planned route,

building to an impressive finale.

Don't do just... And...

OK, then do.

MUSIC: Sing, Sing, Sing by Benny Goodman

That's excellent. You've made my Sunday today.

While rehearsing groups, Steve's also on the lookout

for undiscovered talent who could perform as soloists or duets.

-Ben, you've danced before.

-Yeah.

-So, excellent.

Also standing out is hotel receptionist Elizabeth.

You were at the back but you've danced before.

OK, because I could see that.

Here we go. And again. Let's do it once more.

Five, six, seven, eight, step.

'For the finale, I need a duo to lead the town

'dancing down Sheep Street.

'It's a classical Hollywood ending, as it were.

'We've got Elizabeth, who works at the hotel where we're rehearsing.'

We've got Ben. How about putting them together?

The Skipton Fred and Ginger. Great stuff. Really happy.

With the first volunteers signed up, Steve's plan is forming,

but he still needs more people to achieve his vision.

Luckily, Skipton has a thriving dance scene to tap into.

I need a cast of hundreds, who do all different styles.

'Skipton is a very inspirational town.

'I'm amazed at how many established dance groups

'turned up to the meeting.

'I'm thinking, in some ways, they've become the spine of the performance.

'There's so many different specialities.'

Brilliant.

You just go, yeah, OK, you're part of Skipton.

This is what Skipton's about. You're in it.

I've never danced tango, even though I'm a choreographer, but I love it.

Wide side step, and dissociate. That's it.

When you dissociate, you want to keep your shoulders level.

-Right, OK.

-And bring your feet together after each step.

'I'm really in awe of them.

'It's like that swan analogy, that calm and smoothness,

'but there's so much going on underneath.

'Total respect.'

I'd love to incorporate you in the performance...somehow.

I'm not quite sure how as yet

but I'd love to work with you as a group.

'One of them said, "We want to be better than any other group."'

So, I like that fighting spirit.

That's the type of energy you need for a performance like this.

PHONE RINGS

-Hello?

-Hiya, Brend. It's Amos.

Amos is doing his best to round up his fellow farmers.

You know I mentioned to you about the dance

that's being put on in Skipton?

With two weeks to go, Steve still hasn't managed to get any farmers

or market traders to attend a rehearsal.

'Historically, it's these two groups that make Skipton tick

'and it's crucial that I get them on board.

'But I'm running out of time.'

-Hello.

-Hi, David, it's Amos.

-Hello, Amos.

Are you busy on Friday night?

-Friday night?

-Yes.

Erm...

'A lot of these farmers, they're out of their comfort zone when...

'when they get out of their wellies.'

Hopefully, hopefully, you know, a few of them will turn up now.

You wouldn't want to miss out on this.

LAUGHTER

'For Amos, it's all about the community'

and promoting the thing he loves, which is farming.

Amos! How are you, mate?

What brings you to this neck of the woods?

I thought I'd pop in to see how you're getting on

getting farmers on board for me.

What struck me is, you always say, you were in the Young Farmers

-and "they helped me" and various people have help you along the way...

-Yeah.

..and you are always thinking about,

if there's any way I can give back or help people.

I just feel as though if I can put a little bit back

into the community, I'm willing to do so.

How does that need or want to help people come from, then?

I think, one point in my life when things were looking

a little bit grim,

I was diagnosed with cancer when I was 20, erm...

27.

My son at the time was...

he was just six month old when I was diagnosed.

I think when you have actually...

..been through something...

like cancer or, you know, any...any illness,

I think you do take stock.

It just keeps reminding you that

we're not here forever.

The groups who have signed up are perfecting

their individual routines for the big performance.

From the local farm shop...

We have one, two, three, four.

..to the hotel staff...

Two, three, four. Get a nice position.

That's it. And just as if you're looking over the shoulder,

just checking that she's doing everything correct.

That sounds like an average day!

..and the cleaners from Steve's very first rehearsal.

And six, and seven, eight. Brilliant.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.

'I want them to embody girl power.'

Women power.

'I wanted a sense of, "We love our job,"

'and they're just walking down the street and they're showing Skipton'

what a great job they do, how confident they are

and how proud they are as women helping the community.

You've got to work your dusters.

Ba-ba, ba-ba, ba-ba, ba-ba.

Step, up, step, down. Brilliant.

Slow, bach, as we say in Wales.

Let's go from the top.

Don't worry about it. This is big, broad brush strokes.

'I've just spotted one of the cleaners has a dancing talent.'

She's got fabulous chaine turns, which are those fast turns

with the head whipping round that ballerinas are famous for.

I'm looking for a soloist.

You start the performance off.

So it looks like it's just a scene

from a film, yeah, and then chorister runs past you

and it's as if he gives you the energy

and we have this beautiful contemporary thing on the lawn.

-How do you fancy that?

-That would be really good, yeah.

19-year-old student Alice is working as a cleaner over the summer.

I can remember when I was very, very young,

I used to watch ballets on the TV with my mum

and I used to ask her all the time if I could start ballet classes.

And I nagged her so much, she was, like, "OK."

From ballet I ended up joining tap and then modern.

The thought of opening it is really scary to me.

I haven't performed in a while

and I thought I was just doing the routine with Just Ask

until Steve asked me if I wanted to do this

but I absolutely love the routine.

It's just so good to get back into dancing properly after so long.

Yeah.

Good.

All right, mate. Cheers. See you later. Thank you.

Still struggling to recruit market traders and farmers,

Steve's set up a special meeting just for them.

There's a rehearsal tonight, 5:45pm, at the working men's club.

-See you there.

-What? When's that?

-Tonight.

Oh, right. Tonight.

Last-minute charge, rallying up the market traders.

They'll all be tired, won't they?

-They'll want to get home and get in bath and get to bed.

-No.

I know I will be, anyway.

How are you doing?

Steve hopes Martin, the mayor, can open a few doors.

I might need a bit of help off you, if that's OK?

This is Martin, our Lord Mayor and market trader.

-Pleased to meet you.

-Same to you.

-Nice to meet you.

Do people come to you here?

Yes, because I'm a councillor in Skipton, from 9:30am until 4pm,

anyone who's got problems with the

town council try and put their views forward.

-A unique service.

-It is and we're right on the corner.

-Yeah.

What I'm asking you, if you could help me

get some of your market traders involved.

-That's what we'll try and do.

-Yeah.

-We'll sort it all out.

-We'll try and get as many as we can together.

-Cheers, Martin.

'It's raining at the moment and everyone's packing away

'and if I was them,'

would I hang about until 5:45pm for a rehearsal to dance?

I'm not sure. We'll see.

'While I was speaking to the market traders,

'they said that they don't see the farmers as much'

and that relationship and banter that they used to have

has disappeared.

So I've invited the market traders...

and the farmers to a rehearsal

together.

Hopefully that might

generate another bit of community spirit.

Erm..

hopefully, if it doesn't backfire.

-Hi, Steve. I'm Jane.

-Jane, nice to meet you. Take a seat.

First to arrive are the market traders...

-I've brought a few props, Steve.

-Excellent.

..followed closely by the farmers.

I'm Steve, the choreographer. Please come in.

Come on, Amos.

-Where are we going?

-Just onto the floor.

Thank you so much for coming. Evening.

You do realise, Steve, when you've moved on,

these lot won't speak to me ever again.

Don't say that!

The traders quickly get the hang of it.

Keep on walking down.

Four, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.

But the farmers take a little longer.

Step, click, step, click.

Left, clap, left, clap, left, clap.

Three, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.

Ba-da, ba-da, ba-da, ba-da.

Up, up, down, down.

Up, up, down, down.

Up, up, down, down. And that's it.

Is that my hips or my knees that are clicking?

What do we wear? Do we come in our wellies?

-Or sensible shoes as opposed to your dancing shoes.

-I don't do wellies!

LAUGHTER

I don't! This is me.

LAUGHTER

I think it's really nice that the farmers have all come down

and it's the first time I've seen them in quite a number of years.

It's got us all together.

I sell burgers, tea, coffee, hot chocolate,

-sheepskin rugs and slippers.

-You use some of our lambs, I hope.

So what do you do on the market?

Oh, I sell bath bombs and stuff, so just lovely things.

I have to say, you've done well.

-I want to shake your hand.

-That's very nice of you, Steve.

Thank you.

'If I hadn't stopped them, they would have talked all night.'

I felt...for me that was a really nice poignant moment, actually.

They're like long, lost friends, really.

Hopefully now by doing this dance routine

and getting to know 'em again, we can build a bond back in Skipton.

A week to go, Steve heads to Skipton's streets

to plan the final route for his dance.

It's going to start at this beautiful church, here.

From this door, I can see this solo chorister running out

as the bells are pealing -

a kind of quintessential British pastoral scene.

Steve wants the performance to move into the street,

where he hopes the farmers will join the dance.

So that's our next visual,

which they will lead us down...

into the market.

'At the meeting, there was a great representation

'of the ex-servicemen, so what I'm thinking is,

'for them to start at this memorial

'and just march in pride'

and celebration of what they've done for Skipton and the country.

More and more dancers will surge into the marketplace,

where they'll be joined by local traders.

They're going to spill out, each of the market traders

carrying their wares.

People selling clothes.

I'd love to see them on clothes rails being turned around.

At this point, there should be about 100 performers lined up,

filling the parade.

So, once they join and once they dance, they don't disappear,

they just join and join, so all that energy, all that colour,

all that celebration, should make a great impact.

The parade then heads down Skipton's historic Sheep Street.

We could have a bottleneck where all our 200 plus cast members

have to filter from the marketplace

into this quite narrow...

street.

What I hope it will do is bring this energy just...

snaking down of all our dance groups.

But this, I know, is our end point.

It's got a natural slope so...

you'll see everyone.

Everyone will have centre stage - their own centre stage.

So what a fantastic place to stop.

Skipton's finale will be led by the duet Steve's planned

for Elizabeth and Ben.

'I've put them together,'

hopefully in a Fred and Ginger type of choreography.

They're going to set the bar.

In my head I've got this vision of quite complex stuff

but are they up to...

up to doing it?

I don't know. I suppose I'll find out.

'I think the biggest cast I've ever worked with

'was probably when I was a dancer at Disneyland.'

Some of the parades and shows had 80 to 100 performers in it,

but what Steve wants to do is probably going to even surpass that.

One, two, three four...

Today's rehearsal is especially challenging

for receptionist Elizabeth.

'It's been nine years since I've done anything, any choreography'

been in a studio, had anyone tell me what to do.

It's been a long time.

Nine years ago, Elizabeth was all set for a career on the stage

after winning a place at a prestigious dance school in Essex.

So I'd been at college, it was about eight, nine months.

I just knew something wasn't right and I knew I didn't feel well.

I eventually took myself to the doctors

and about six months of tests later...

erm, they found a tumour.

Doctors had discovered a brain tumour.

Symptoms included extreme fatigue,

meaning Elizabeth could no longer take part in classes.

'I missed out so much. I still managed to do my end of year show.

'I did the show, packed my bags

'and came straight back home in the car with my parents.

'And that was sort of the end, really. It was quite abrupt.'

It is gut-wrenching, to think that all that effort,

all that hard work, is just...

gone.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven and eight. That's it.

-Which one is it now, this way?

-That way.

I think my little brain is struggling a little bit

just to piece it all together but it's one of them things,

I think all of a sudden it'll just come back to me and I'll be fine.

Seven, eight. Three, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.

Four, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. One, two.

Yeah. Boo-ba!

So go the most economic route to get there.

'You can see she must have been a glorious dancer in the day'

because her technique is still there.

What she's fighting with now

is the brain saying one thing but the body is not in tune.

Three, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.

That's it!

Thank you. It's been good fun.

'It's just now practice, practice, practice...'

practice.

'I want all of Skipton represented in the performance

'and right now that's not the case.

'There's a huge housing estate on the outskirts

'and hardly anyone from there has signed up.'

It's those people that I'm... I'm on a quest to find.

A mile out of town is the Greatwood and Horseclose estate,

built by the local council in the '30s and '40s

to relieve overcrowding in Skipton.

With bathrooms and indoor toilets,

it boasted all the mod-cons of the time.

Today, it's home to almost 4,000 people

and at its heart is the community centre, run by volunteers like Ray.

The community centre brings people out, it gets people out the house,

not being sat at home.

It gets people out, gets them involved in the community.

They come in here, they have a meal, forget their problems,

meeting their neighbours, have a natter, a catch-up.

-Ray.

-How are you?

'How did you get involved in the community centre?'

I arrived in Skipton five years ago.

Not much money, out of work, went into social housing,

got involved cooking for a few people and helping out the old folk.

I got the feeling that they relied on me

and that gave me a sense of purpose

so that gave me the boost that I can go out there

and do something even though I'm unemployed.

-Show me around, then, Ray.

-I'll show you around.

I'll show you what's going on.

Hello, ladies.

-Do you mind if I join you for a minute?

-Not at all.

-I'm Steve. Nice to meet you.

-Nice to meet you.

I'm a choreographer.

So I'm in Skipton hoping to get Skipton dancing.

We've got about 300 people hopefully dancing down Sheep Street.

Ooh, I won't be one of them because my legs won't take me.

-A lot of years since I've bopped.

-Oh, you used to bop.

I can make it so you just click in time.

That?

Brilliant.

'They're of the generation of rock and roll and jive.

'It would be great even to get them just clicking.'

Bring them back to the good old days.

I'm here to rehearse.

I'm going to go outside, if anyone wants to come with me,

just bring your dancing shoes, smile, blink and breathe.

That's it. Brilliant.

Jade's there and you're here.

One, two, three, four, five... seven, eight.

And you just loosen it up and you just run on the spot,

five, six, seven, eight.

So you go one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.

I'll have a look and see how it goes.

All right?

Click, step, click, step, click, step, click, step.

Run, run, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.

And up and up, up and up.

72-year-old Barbara hasn't danced

since her husband Geoff died eight years ago.

When I first met Geoff, we was in the coffee shop in Skipton,

got talking and said, "Would you like to go out?"

And so we went to the pictures.

I sat with my coat on all night.

I didn't want... Every time he moved his hand, I jumped.

He was a really good-looking fella.

And we both loved dancing.

You're a joint thing.

It's just togetherness.

You know, once he'd gone, that had gone.

I miss him.

Yeah.

And one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.

Two, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.

Three, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.

And fall.

-Yes!

-Well done.

Yes.

-One more.

-Give over!

Come on!

-You were watching there with intent.

-Yes.

-Did it look fun?

-Yes, it does.

-You said you used to jive.

-I did, yes.

Good as well.

Can you teach me a few moves?

Yeah!

-Yeah, come on, then.

-Come on, then. Let's have a jiving masterclass.

Let me see if I can get you...

-I go here and here, then I go round.

-Yeah.

-Are you going to do the shoulder bit?

-Yeah.

You're fantastic.

And then go this way.

'Ey up. Woohoo!

'It's great. I've met some brilliant people, great characters,

'and that's what this performance is all about.'

It's...

It's the heart and spirit of what makes Skipton unique.

One week to go

and today Steve's holding his first and only rehearsal

of the entire dance.

'It's a bit nerve-racking because it'll be the first time'

that the people who've been rehearsing in separate

little groups come together and they see the enormity

of what we've been trying to achieve.

Unable to close down the town centre before the big day,

Steve's laid out the route to scale on a local sports field.

'We've mapped out a mock-up of the street and the town.'

We start here at the library, opposite the library.

Come down with me.

The start of the route will take in Skipton's two iconic landmarks,

the Holy Trinity Church and the castle.

From there, the parade moves passed the war memorial

and down through the market,

before the dancers spill round into Sheep Street,

where hundreds will gather for the grand finale.

One, and two, and three, and four, five, and six, and seven, eight.

One, two, three, pop!

The final complicating factor is that the entire dance

will be captured in one continuous unedited shot.

The difficulty is, we're moving through...

an actual town.

So anything can...

..upset the camera angle,

and if anything goes wrong choreographically,

we've got to keep on going.

Once the camera's passed you, you can move into position.

Here we go. And circle, circle. Here we go.

Brilliant.

Despite inviting all his groups, less than half have turned up.

Are we rehearsing everyone or just the tango?

There's no-one else to rehearse.

We have no market traders, no farmers, no farm shop,

we've got no Elizabeth and Ben.

I've literally had to run the route myself.

You run, run, run, run.

Walk...run with me.

You know, it just beggars belief.

It's hard work.

One group who have turned up are the cleaners

but Steve's opening soloist is missing.

-Steve, Alice?

-She's got a hip problem.

She's on painkillers.

It's a case of just really waiting to see how it goes.

-She said it could be 24 hours, it could take longer, so...

-OK.

'If she can't be involved,'

then I've got a great gap to fill and no time to fill it.

'I've just got to hopefully wait to hear from her.'

'It's a big worry, to be honest.'

It's three days until Skipton dances.

'Everyone's working towards the same goal,

'which is just a celebration of the town they live in.'

'The room for error is huge.

'These are amateurs who've had only a few weeks to come together

'as a community and dance.

'I'm not looking for professional dancers,'

I'm just looking for real people

who are enjoying community spirit through dance.

That's what it's all about.

Tomorrow, the town is set to dance,

and Steve still doesn't know if he has an opening soloist.

'I seem to have lost Alice.'

Erm...

I know she's been injured but I haven't been able to contact her.

Well, what is this vision I see before me?

-How are you?

-I'm all right, thank you.

What have they diagnosed?

I have a tear in my labrum, in my hip.

So, in a few months, I'm having an operation to stitch it up.

A tear is really painful.

But I've had rest and painkillers

so it's feeling a lot better compared to last week.

Million-dollar question...

Dum-dum-dum...

Are you dancing?

Yes, I am.

It's a bit nerve-racking that it's tomorrow

because it seems like it wasn't two minutes ago

we did our first rehearsal.

'Great to see Alice back and great to see that she's out of pain'

and it'll be a great addition to the performance.

It's the day of the performance.

It's exciting, nerve-racking.

'We've got a limited amount of time because we've closed the roads

'into Skipton.'

Ba-ba-ba, camera, camera, camera.

'It's a one camera shot which means that there's no editing.

'Once it begins, it continues till the end.'

It's madness what we're trying to achieve.

11:00am, and hundreds are pouring into the town centre.

One, two, three, four, Rosie, six, seven, eight.

One, two, three, four.

In among them, Amos and his band of farmers.

'I said I would help'

and I'm going to see it through to the bitter end now

so, you know, let's just hope things go reasonably well today.

It's a good thing for Skipton, putting us on the map a bit.

It's a personal achievement for me as well.

A nice full stop on the end of what was my dancing career

because the ending I had wasn't one I would have liked to have had.

Yes, it's good. Good.

I'm glad folk turned out.

-That's what it should be all about, shouldn't it, joining in.

-Yes.

'There's a nice, nervous crackle in the air. There's anticipation.'

I'm just hoping that the cast are ready to go, primed.

There's nothing I can do now. It's out of my hands.

The only thing that's worrying me is the weather

and I can't control that.

RUMBLE OF THUNDER

-It's very wet.

-It could be worse.

It's typical Skipton.

'There's no contingency with the weather.

'Once it gets any heavier than a light drizzle,'

we'll have to call the performance off

because we're dancing on cobbles and once they get wet, it's...

it becomes very dangerous.

I'm nervous. Very nervous, to be honest.

I'm hoping everything goes to plan and it stops raining.

As the rain eases off, Steve grabs his chance to rally the town

before they take to the streets.

I just have to say what an amazing sight it is to see you all here.

It's your performance, it's about your lives and your community.

You have to enjoy it, relish it and live it.

So, Skipton, are you ready to dance?

-ALL:

-Yes!

BELLS RING

MUSIC: Chanson de Matin by Edward Elgar

# You fall in love

# Zing, boom

# The sky up above

# Zing, boom

# Is caving in

# Wow, bam

# You've never been so nuts about a guy

# You want to laugh, you want to cry

# You cross your heart and hope to die. #

SHEEP BLEAT

# Sometimes I think they must have wool in their ears

# And when you see a cane I see a crook

# And when you see a crowd I see a flock

-# It's sheep we're up against

-Sheep we're up against

-# It's sheep we're up against

-Sheep we're up against

# Sheep we're up against. #

MUSIC: MARCH OF THE ROYAL BRITISH LEGION

MUSIC: MI CONFESION by Gotan Project

MUSIC: Morgenblatter-Walzer Op.279 by Johann Strauss

# Just walking along

# My clothes are soaked right through to the skin

# I haven't a doubt

# That this is what life is all about

# The sun and the rain

# Scraps of brain washing down the drain

# I feel the rain falling on my face

# I can say there is no better place

# Than standing up in the falling down

# In so much rain I could almost drown. #

# Oo-oh

# Oh, baby

# I just want you to dance with me tonight

# Come on, oo-oh

# Oh, baby

# I just want you to dance with me tonight. #

-# That's why your love

-Your love keeps lifting me

-# Keeps on lifting

-Your love keeps lifting me

# Higher

# Higher and higher

-# I said your love

-Your love keeps lifting me

-# Keeps on

-Lifting me, lifting me

# Lifting me

# Higher and higher. #

MUSIC: Higher and Higher by Jackie Wilson

MUSIC: Sing, Sing, Sing by Benny Goodman

MUSIC: Light Cavalry by Franz von Suppe

CHEERING

It is the first time that I've really ever let go since Geoff died.

Brilliant.

Absolutely brilliant.

Yeah, loved it.

My Fred and Ginger of Skipton, how was that?

-Really good fun.

-Yeah?

-Yeah, really, really enjoyed it.

Don't stop, you. Yeah?

It was brilliant. It was such a good day. I've had such a good time.

I've always been proud to be a Yorkshireman

and I do hope that this performance

helps the community.

I'm just proud.

You could see in their eyes, they've gone on a journey.

They're different people to where we started weeks ago.

They've taken that challenge on and they've conquered it.

It's Yorkshire pride at its best.

Skipton, we danced!

CHEERING

Next time, Steve heads to Huddersfield...

-I will get you dancing.

-Nobody's managed it yet.

..and gets more than he bargained for...

-I won't hit you...

-Right.

-..that hard.

..as he attempts to pull off another grand performance.

Seven, eight.

It's going to be awesome. I've never done anything like this.

Ignore the rain!

I'm really worried. It's a nightmare.