0:00:02 > 0:00:03Hello there, everyone.
0:00:03 > 0:00:08Good evening and welcome to another of our programmes from the Television Dancing Club.
0:00:13 > 0:00:16You didn't think Strictly was a new idea, did you?
0:00:17 > 0:00:19The outfits,
0:00:19 > 0:00:21the passion,
0:00:21 > 0:00:22the turns and lifts
0:00:22 > 0:00:24and the fun,
0:00:24 > 0:00:29Strictly Come Dancing is television entertainment that reaches across the generations
0:00:29 > 0:00:35and the culmination of the BBC's longstanding love affair with dance.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38And I suppose we could do worse than get on with the dancing.
0:00:38 > 0:00:40From its very earliest broadcasts,
0:00:40 > 0:00:43the BBC placed dance centre stage in its mission
0:00:43 > 0:00:47to educate, inform and entertain.
0:00:47 > 0:00:51In this programme we'll uncover an obsession that ran from the loftiest
0:00:51 > 0:00:53cultural institutions
0:00:53 > 0:00:55to the humble dance floor,
0:00:55 > 0:00:58through iconic performances
0:00:58 > 0:01:02and nights out on the town.
0:01:02 > 0:01:05You're just dancing. The music's so great, it's so loud.
0:01:07 > 0:01:11We'll be exploring how the BBC did it all,
0:01:11 > 0:01:13whether it was ballet,
0:01:13 > 0:01:14or ballroom...
0:01:14 > 0:01:16We were magnificent.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20..dancing like Travolta
0:01:20 > 0:01:22or doing the twist...
0:01:22 > 0:01:24Degrading and disgusting.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27..and along the way helped the nation
0:01:27 > 0:01:28perfect its moves.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31A one-two, a two-two, a three-two, a four...
0:01:32 > 0:01:36We'll get a glimpse into a world filled with glamour
0:01:36 > 0:01:38and cool,
0:01:38 > 0:01:42alongside routines that were sexy
0:01:42 > 0:01:44or a little bit naff.
0:01:52 > 0:01:55As part dancing queen,
0:01:55 > 0:01:59part dad dancer,
0:01:59 > 0:02:05the BBC has shimmied its way through 60 years of life on the dance floor,
0:02:05 > 0:02:08keeping up with the changing trends
0:02:08 > 0:02:11and sometimes falling out of step.
0:02:11 > 0:02:12From ballerinas
0:02:12 > 0:02:14to break-dancers,
0:02:14 > 0:02:18the cameras were there to witness them all dance at the BBC.
0:02:32 > 0:02:34In the 1930s and '40s,
0:02:34 > 0:02:37the BBC quickly identified dance as perfect
0:02:37 > 0:02:40for the new medium of television.
0:02:45 > 0:02:47Filming dancers, erm,
0:02:47 > 0:02:50dancing was an effective way to demonstrate
0:02:50 > 0:02:52what the new technology could offer.
0:02:55 > 0:03:00Televisions were expensive and people needed persuading,
0:03:00 > 0:03:02so the BBC brought in popular dancers
0:03:02 > 0:03:04from both variety and theatre.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09This was entertainment that everyone could relate to.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17By the time TV was taking hold in the '50s,
0:03:17 > 0:03:21one particular form of dance helped the BBC send forth a message
0:03:21 > 0:03:24that it was OK to be highbrow -
0:03:24 > 0:03:26ballet.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29As both high art and entertainment,
0:03:29 > 0:03:32it was the embodiment of Reithian values,
0:03:32 > 0:03:34much to the delight of the Men from Auntie.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39Relatively few people got to see live ballet -
0:03:39 > 0:03:42a pity, because British ballet was amongst the best in the world.
0:03:44 > 0:03:48In 1953, the BBC staged an extract of the ballet
0:03:48 > 0:03:50Les Sylphides.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00At the centre of the performance was Alicia Markova.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03Acclaimed as one of the best ballerinas of all time
0:04:03 > 0:04:07and the first international star of British ballet,
0:04:07 > 0:04:09she was pretty nifty on her pins.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22Les Sylphides was based on music by Chopin,
0:04:22 > 0:04:23but was a ballet without a story.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28At least this meant it was OK to have no idea what was going on.
0:04:29 > 0:04:31All the same,
0:04:31 > 0:04:35Markova brought an ethereal and delicate quality to the performance.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47She changed her name whilst training in Russia,
0:04:47 > 0:04:50after her employers realised that no-one was going to come
0:04:50 > 0:04:54and see the very British-sounding Lily Marks.
0:04:54 > 0:04:56A hint of Russian mystery worked wonders.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05At the forefront of British ballet
0:05:05 > 0:05:08was the formidable Dame Ninette de Valois.
0:05:08 > 0:05:11Known to dancers of all ages as Madam,
0:05:11 > 0:05:15she was the founder of what became the Royal Ballet.
0:05:16 > 0:05:18Teaming up with the BBC,
0:05:18 > 0:05:22every aspect of ballet was opened up for adoration on camera.
0:05:23 > 0:05:27And what fascinated programme-makers most of all
0:05:27 > 0:05:29was the gruelling life of a ballerina.
0:05:31 > 0:05:35It was high art with a no-holds-barred approach to honesty.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39We take the children for a year on trial.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42That gives them an opportunity - us rather, us an opportunity to find
0:05:42 > 0:05:45if they are the right sort of temperament for the life.
0:05:45 > 0:05:47Now, turn your feet out.
0:05:49 > 0:05:53Separate your heels a little if your knees are already together.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57I'm afraid those thighs are too heavy for that amount of knock-knee,
0:05:57 > 0:06:01- even despite the good foot she showed. What do you think?- I agree.
0:06:03 > 0:06:08Number four, I'm afraid, is too tall for her age and too solidly built.
0:06:08 > 0:06:13- Yes, I agree.- So, really, number three is the only one, isn't it? - Yes.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16And if the children themselves are really very interested.
0:06:16 > 0:06:17Because, you know, sometimes
0:06:17 > 0:06:20its mother's far more interested than the child.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22Even a ballerina's shoes came
0:06:22 > 0:06:24under close scrutiny.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27Here I have a pair of shoes that came from Russia.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30These are the shoes worn by the great Ulanova
0:06:30 > 0:06:32when she danced here in London
0:06:32 > 0:06:36and here a pair of shoes by another great English ballerina, Anita Lander.
0:06:36 > 0:06:40And I thought you would like to see the difference between the weight
0:06:40 > 0:06:42of the shoes worn by a Russian ballerina
0:06:42 > 0:06:44and those worn by an English one.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47And so there are Madame Lander's shoes
0:06:47 > 0:06:49and these are Ulonova.
0:06:49 > 0:06:52As you see, they bring the scale down very quickly.
0:06:53 > 0:06:57In this era, ballet on the BBC could reach an audience of millions
0:06:57 > 0:07:00through Markova's performances.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02As she approached the end of her dancing career,
0:07:02 > 0:07:04she was honoured by This Is Your Life.
0:07:06 > 0:07:10Alicia Markova, first ever British ballerina absoluta
0:07:10 > 0:07:12and ambassadress of the ballet,
0:07:12 > 0:07:13this is your life.
0:07:14 > 0:07:16But by the '50s,
0:07:16 > 0:07:19the baton had been passed on to another ballet sensation.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25And now we have one last surprise for you.
0:07:25 > 0:07:26Come in, Margot Fonteyn.
0:07:31 > 0:07:35The first time I saw you dance was tremendous.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38I was about 13 years old.
0:07:38 > 0:07:42You became at once both my inspiration and my despair,
0:07:42 > 0:07:45because I could see equally clearly
0:07:45 > 0:07:49my vision of the ideal ballerina
0:07:49 > 0:07:53and the absolute impossibility that I myself
0:07:53 > 0:07:58could ever resemble this tiny ethereal being.
0:07:58 > 0:07:59Thank you, Dame Margot Fonteyn.
0:08:02 > 0:08:07Fonteyn had appeared for the BBC way back in the '30s, at the age of 18,
0:08:07 > 0:08:09in a showreel for the fledgling service.
0:08:23 > 0:08:25At the Vic-Wells ballet school,
0:08:25 > 0:08:28she had been Ninette de Valois's greatest discovery.
0:08:29 > 0:08:34Well, it's very easy to recall certain great personalities
0:08:34 > 0:08:36when they first come into your life.
0:08:36 > 0:08:40I can remember going up into the rehearsal room in those days
0:08:40 > 0:08:43to see the children's class one morning,
0:08:43 > 0:08:46and I could tell you exactly now where she was standing in the room
0:08:46 > 0:08:47and what she was doing.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50And I remember crossing the room and saying to the teacher,
0:08:50 > 0:08:53"Who is that little girl on the left?"
0:08:53 > 0:08:55Quite a clear picture to me.
0:08:59 > 0:09:04By the '50s, Margot Fonteyn was a superstar treated like royalty.
0:09:04 > 0:09:09But she was also bringing a world of high culture to the public.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12In this decade, Fonteyn unwrapped her Christmas present
0:09:12 > 0:09:14to the British public.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16Like mulled wine or Slade,
0:09:16 > 0:09:20The Nutcracker would become a regular seasonal favourite.
0:09:20 > 0:09:24On TV, ballerinas seemed even more mythical.
0:09:34 > 0:09:37With Tchaikovsky's magical score underpinning some
0:09:37 > 0:09:42of classical ballet's most technically demanding choreography,
0:09:42 > 0:09:45The Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy is pure fantasy.
0:09:51 > 0:09:53Fonteyn's delicate 1958 performance
0:09:53 > 0:09:58was the first time The Nutcracker had been adapted in full for British TV.
0:10:06 > 0:10:09But Fonteyn was no mere fairy-tale creature.
0:10:09 > 0:10:14Married to Panamanian diplomat Roberto Arias,
0:10:14 > 0:10:17in 1959 she was accused of being involved in her husband's
0:10:17 > 0:10:19attempted coup in his home country.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24She managed to avoid jail and escape Panama,
0:10:24 > 0:10:25but not the press.
0:10:27 > 0:10:29In newspapers and cartoons you've been dubbed almost a sort of
0:10:29 > 0:10:31gun-toting revolutionary.
0:10:31 > 0:10:33I can't help what newspapers and cartoons do.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36No, that would be completely unfair to think that you've even got
0:10:36 > 0:10:39any knowledge of anything about this revolution at all.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42What are you trying to get me to say, exactly?
0:10:42 > 0:10:46Why don't you tell me what it is you want me to say?
0:10:46 > 0:10:48And I'll tell you if I'll say it or not.
0:10:50 > 0:10:52Whatever the events overseas,
0:10:52 > 0:10:55her reputation in Britain seemed undiminished.
0:10:55 > 0:10:57The same year as the coup attempt,
0:10:57 > 0:11:00Fonteyn starred in the BBC's Sleeping Beauty.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09To the public, Fonteyn remained a princess.
0:11:15 > 0:11:17Broadcast live,
0:11:17 > 0:11:21she had a unique ability to tell the story through graceful skill
0:11:21 > 0:11:24and in the detail of her movement.
0:11:24 > 0:11:25You couldn't take your eyes off her.
0:11:36 > 0:11:40The '60s dawned, and ballet was stronger than ever on the BBC.
0:11:41 > 0:11:45The Royal Ballet signed up to create more television performances,
0:11:45 > 0:11:50and Dame Ninette was on hand to show exactly how it should be done.
0:11:50 > 0:11:53You only want to establish that one coming across and you can cut it.
0:11:53 > 0:11:55All right. Cue music.
0:11:55 > 0:12:00Ballets like The Rake's Progress satisfied the BBC's appetite for highbrow dance,
0:12:00 > 0:12:04despite the odd scene of apparent debauchery.
0:12:04 > 0:12:08But for pure entertainment, it drew on a different dancing tradition...
0:12:11 > 0:12:12..ballroom dancing.
0:12:14 > 0:12:16Programmes like Television Dancing Club
0:12:16 > 0:12:18and Come Dancing were early popular hits.
0:12:22 > 0:12:24They were formal and rule-based,
0:12:24 > 0:12:27treating dance like a competitive spectator sport -
0:12:27 > 0:12:32just the sort of thing the BBC was comfortable with.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35The two series were shown on alternating weeks.
0:12:39 > 0:12:44Come Dancing was filmed at different ballrooms around the country.
0:12:44 > 0:12:48Rated by a panel of judges, dancers from regional teams slugged it out,
0:12:48 > 0:12:51all hoping to make it through to the grand final.
0:12:54 > 0:12:58The host of Television Dancing Club, from its first episodes in 1948,
0:12:58 > 0:13:02was one of the leading figures in ballroom - Victor Silvester.
0:13:04 > 0:13:05Hello there, everyone.
0:13:05 > 0:13:07Good evening and welcome to another of our programmes
0:13:07 > 0:13:10from the Television Dancing Club.
0:13:10 > 0:13:12During the next half hour,
0:13:12 > 0:13:14we shall endeavour to bring the glamour and the elegance
0:13:14 > 0:13:17of good ballroom dancing into your homes.
0:13:19 > 0:13:23Victor began his career in an era when ballroom ruled supreme
0:13:23 > 0:13:25in the dancehalls.
0:13:25 > 0:13:29In the 1970s, he recalled his first steps.
0:13:29 > 0:13:32You started off, all those years ago, as a kind of gigolo,
0:13:32 > 0:13:35didn't you, in fact, hiring yourself out for a quid a night.
0:13:35 > 0:13:39Yes, I had my first job at Harrods' Georgian restaurant
0:13:39 > 0:13:41to dance with anyone there who hadn't got a partner
0:13:41 > 0:13:42and I was paid £1 a week.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45There's a picture of you just dancing, if you can have a look at that.
0:13:45 > 0:13:46Do you remember her name?
0:13:46 > 0:13:49- That? That's Dorothy, my wife.- Oh, I see.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52- One of the lucky ones who's got a wonderful wife in every way.- Yeah.
0:13:58 > 0:14:00What made Television Dancing Club so compulsive
0:14:00 > 0:14:03was a combination of glamour and competition.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12The public could actively participate by voting
0:14:12 > 0:14:14for the best dancing couple,
0:14:14 > 0:14:16although it took a while by post.
0:14:20 > 0:14:23Most of the dancers were amateurs.
0:14:23 > 0:14:24Plucked from everyday life,
0:14:24 > 0:14:28they represented the viewing public on the dance floor,
0:14:28 > 0:14:31many of whom would be familiar with the moves of the ballroom.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37And it wasn't just the performances under scrutiny.
0:14:38 > 0:14:41Beryl's dress is in a bright green nylon knit
0:14:41 > 0:14:45with purple satin edging the bodice and trimming the skirt.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48The dress is also covered with purple sequins
0:14:48 > 0:14:51and her shoes are green satin, to match her dress.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56Of course, the BBC wasn't about mere entertainment.
0:14:56 > 0:14:58It wished to educate and inform.
0:14:59 > 0:15:01Without rules and order,
0:15:01 > 0:15:05a dance floor might degenerate into mindless anarchy,
0:15:05 > 0:15:08so Victor did his best to set the audience straight.
0:15:09 > 0:15:13Anyway, before I begin, I'd like to introduce the girl
0:15:13 > 0:15:17who usually dances with me, here she is, attractive Christine Norton.
0:15:17 > 0:15:21AUDIENCE APPLAUDS
0:15:21 > 0:15:27One, two, cha-cha-cha. One, two, cha-cha-cha.
0:15:27 > 0:15:31So now we will give you a short demonstration of the Cha-cha-cha.
0:15:31 > 0:15:35We will start off with the New York and also introduce one or two
0:15:35 > 0:15:39of the other variations which I have shown you previously.
0:15:40 > 0:15:45BAND PLAYS CHA-CHA-CHA MUSIC
0:15:52 > 0:15:55One of the main reasons learning to dance was so important
0:15:55 > 0:16:00was that the ballroom was a major place to find romance.
0:16:01 > 0:16:03- REPORTER:- All over the country,
0:16:03 > 0:16:06there are 10,000 teachers sacrificing their feet to the cause
0:16:06 > 0:16:09of ballroom dancing, and 50 million people a year take lessons.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12The dancing may lure them into the ballroom,
0:16:12 > 0:16:14but when the moment comes to choose your partner,
0:16:14 > 0:16:18there's more to be considered than how well he or she dances.
0:16:18 > 0:16:21The partner you take may turn out to be yours for life,
0:16:21 > 0:16:24for just think - of all the couples who get married in Britain,
0:16:24 > 0:16:2775% of them meet in places like this.
0:16:27 > 0:16:33Governed by polite, if slightly daunting, rules of social conduct,
0:16:33 > 0:16:35success was by no means assured.
0:16:37 > 0:16:41- Have you ever been refused? - Many a time, many a time.
0:16:41 > 0:16:43What do you feel like then?
0:16:45 > 0:16:49At first I was a bit downhearted, but now I'm very hard-skinned.
0:16:49 > 0:16:52- It doesn't soak in that far.- What do you mean, you often get refused?
0:16:52 > 0:16:54No, not very often.
0:16:54 > 0:16:56Supposing, when you get up to dance,
0:16:56 > 0:16:58the man tries to dance cheek-to-cheek with you.
0:16:58 > 0:17:00How do you cope with this situation?
0:17:02 > 0:17:05Well, if he's nice, I might like it.
0:17:05 > 0:17:07But...
0:17:07 > 0:17:08Sometimes I...
0:17:10 > 0:17:14..military style, stand there like a sergeant major
0:17:14 > 0:17:17or something like that, you know? It puts them off, rather.
0:17:17 > 0:17:21Supposing it was the done thing for the girl to ask the boy to dance -
0:17:21 > 0:17:24- what then?- We've hit on it! I only wish we could.
0:17:24 > 0:17:27You see, if we went up to a fellow and said,
0:17:27 > 0:17:29"Please, may we have the dance?"
0:17:29 > 0:17:31They'd say, "Oh, she thinks I'm good," or...
0:17:31 > 0:17:35You know, they're so big-headed about things!
0:17:35 > 0:17:38Although huge numbers of people still danced in ballrooms
0:17:38 > 0:17:42across the country, like the big band sound that accompanied it,
0:17:42 > 0:17:46ballroom dancing was essentially a pre-war type of entertainment.
0:17:47 > 0:17:51It was growing increasingly middle-aged by the late '50s and,
0:17:51 > 0:17:54whilst still popular, producers had to make valiant efforts
0:17:54 > 0:17:56to keep it relevant.
0:17:57 > 0:18:01Outside of the television studios and opera houses, there was
0:18:01 > 0:18:07a whole world of popular dance culture the BBC just didn't get.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10ROCK AND ROLL MUSIC PLAYS
0:18:14 > 0:18:18Rock and roll had given teenagers new forms of music and dance,
0:18:18 > 0:18:21none of which was in the Beeb's comfort zone.
0:18:23 > 0:18:28When producers did try to keep up, they simply missed the point.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31# The Six-Five Special steaming down the line
0:18:31 > 0:18:34# Six-Five Special right on time! #
0:18:34 > 0:18:38In 1957, the BBC launched the Six-Five Special,
0:18:38 > 0:18:40their first series aimed at teenagers.
0:18:42 > 0:18:45# Everybody do the rock
0:18:45 > 0:18:47# Everybody do the roll... #
0:18:47 > 0:18:51The teen dancers in the studio looked right, but the producers
0:18:51 > 0:18:54were using old-fashioned big bands for the music...
0:18:54 > 0:18:58# ..was a merry old soul and a merry old soul was he... #
0:18:58 > 0:19:00..and even some of the guest dancers
0:19:00 > 0:19:03looked like they were from the wrong generation.
0:19:10 > 0:19:13In the end, it didn't really matter.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16Just as the BBC was catching on to rock and roll,
0:19:16 > 0:19:19teenagers were getting bored of it.
0:19:19 > 0:19:22They'd moved on to a new dance craze that would change everything...
0:19:22 > 0:19:24the twist.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26# Well, you know what I mean
0:19:27 > 0:19:30# Well, you can't get over a thing like this
0:19:30 > 0:19:34# Cos girls are natural twisters
0:19:34 > 0:19:37# You know what I mean? #
0:19:37 > 0:19:41It would be two years after it arrived before the BBC caught up,
0:19:41 > 0:19:44but when they did, they went for it big time.
0:19:44 > 0:19:47# Come on, everybody, let's twist Hey, hey!
0:19:47 > 0:19:49# Come on, everybody, let's twist Well, oh, well!
0:19:49 > 0:19:53# Everybody, everybody, everybody Everybody's doing the twist... #
0:19:53 > 0:19:56Previously, dancing, even rock and roll, had largely been
0:19:56 > 0:19:59something done whilst holding your partner.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02But the twist was a solo dance that liberated teens
0:20:02 > 0:20:07from the tyranny of asking members of the opposite sex to dance.
0:20:07 > 0:20:09# Come on, everybody, let's twist Hey, hey!
0:20:09 > 0:20:12# Well, there's a crazy little place in this big town
0:20:12 > 0:20:14# Where everybody, everybody comes around
0:20:14 > 0:20:16# And they jam the door... #
0:20:16 > 0:20:20Requiring little floor space, the twist could be done anywhere,
0:20:20 > 0:20:26making it ideal for parties - no-one was marking your performance here.
0:20:32 > 0:20:35Once the twist took hold, there was no stopping it
0:20:35 > 0:20:39and it soon became popular across the generations.
0:20:39 > 0:20:43Even the venerable Victor Silvester was lured in.
0:20:43 > 0:20:46Well, I don't think that anybody could call the twist
0:20:46 > 0:20:48an elegant dance.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51What, then, is its attraction?
0:20:51 > 0:20:53The answer is rhythm.
0:20:53 > 0:20:55Now, the name of the variation,
0:20:55 > 0:21:00it's sort of universally known now as "The Back Scratcher."
0:21:00 > 0:21:04And that's the one we're going to teach you right away.
0:21:04 > 0:21:09And, as its name rather implies, we dance it back-to-back.
0:21:09 > 0:21:11Doing it like this.
0:21:11 > 0:21:16Twist to the left, to the right, to the left, to the right.
0:21:16 > 0:21:17Up straight again.
0:21:17 > 0:21:21To the left, to the right, to the left, to the right.
0:21:22 > 0:21:26Right, that is "The Back Scratcher."
0:21:34 > 0:21:37The dance became such a phenomenon that the BBC dedicated
0:21:37 > 0:21:44an entire series to it in 1962, imaginatively named "Twist!"
0:21:44 > 0:21:48In the now sadly - or not so sadly - lost competition programme,
0:21:48 > 0:21:53celebrity teams were pitted against each other in a dance-off.
0:21:53 > 0:21:56But not everyone approved.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59The programme was announced in the Radio Times as "having everything."
0:21:59 > 0:22:01This claim was soon proved right
0:22:01 > 0:22:04as far as the viewers' abuse was concerned.
0:22:04 > 0:22:07"Degrading" and "disgusting" were the two hardest worked
0:22:07 > 0:22:10of the many words which jammed the telephone exchange
0:22:10 > 0:22:12while the twisters were still at it!
0:22:12 > 0:22:15'In all my born days, I've never seen such appalling rubbish,
0:22:15 > 0:22:16'dross and tripe!'
0:22:16 > 0:22:18'When it's as bad as the Twist! programme was,
0:22:18 > 0:22:21'I'm hypnotised by it and can't move.'
0:22:21 > 0:22:23'Think what could have been done with the money spent
0:22:23 > 0:22:25'on the Twist! programme. It doesn't make you angry
0:22:25 > 0:22:27'so much as sad and dejected.'
0:22:27 > 0:22:30Well, personally, I like the twist's individuality.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33At least you don't have to hold a partner you can't stand the sight of
0:22:33 > 0:22:34in a hot and sticky embrace!
0:22:36 > 0:22:39As the twist was taking over popular dance...
0:22:41 > 0:22:44..on the BBC, ballet was going as strong as ever.
0:22:46 > 0:22:50In 1962, a Soviet defector arrived in Britain.
0:22:52 > 0:22:56Rudolf Nureyev was a rising star of the Kirov Ballet,
0:22:56 > 0:22:59and here he would become a revelation.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04For Nureyev to stay behind when the Kirov Ballet flew away
0:23:04 > 0:23:06from Paris was sensation enough.
0:23:06 > 0:23:08The second and greater sensation was that this young dancer,
0:23:08 > 0:23:11who'd only been a relatively junior member of the Russian company,
0:23:11 > 0:23:15was suddenly hailed in France and here as a second Nijinsky -
0:23:15 > 0:23:18a ballet star of the very first magnitude.
0:23:18 > 0:23:22Do you think that you have changed in your style
0:23:22 > 0:23:25- since you've been in the West? - No, I don't think so.
0:23:25 > 0:23:26I don't think so.
0:23:27 > 0:23:31I can't change my style, it's me.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34I dance what I think, how I think and how I feel.
0:23:43 > 0:23:47It was proposed that the 23-year-old dance with Margot Fonteyn,
0:23:47 > 0:23:51who was 42 - retirement age for most dancers.
0:23:52 > 0:23:57She recalled their first meeting some years later on Parkinson.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00Yes, Ninette de Valois told me that he was going to dance Giselle
0:24:00 > 0:24:02at Covent Garden and did I want to do it?
0:24:02 > 0:24:06And my first reaction was that I was much too old to dance with
0:24:06 > 0:24:10- such a young dancer.- You say in the book...- And I said, well...
0:24:10 > 0:24:12..a nice phrase, "Mutton dancing with lamb."
0:24:12 > 0:24:15"Mutton dancing with lamb," that was my first reaction
0:24:15 > 0:24:17and I thought, "That's going to be a mistake!"
0:24:17 > 0:24:21Their first dance together, now considered a classic performance,
0:24:21 > 0:24:22was in Giselle.
0:24:32 > 0:24:36Fonteyn had first performed Giselle way back in 1937
0:24:36 > 0:24:41and Nureyev had his own ideas about how it should be done.
0:24:41 > 0:24:43But the chemistry between them worked wonders.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58The reservation that you had when you first danced with Nureyev
0:24:58 > 0:25:01from before, that you didn't want to dance with him because
0:25:01 > 0:25:06of the age difference - was it ever brought home to you by an outsider?
0:25:06 > 0:25:11There was a lady in the Russian Tea Room who bore down upon him
0:25:11 > 0:25:14with great enthusiasm and she talked and talked and talked at him
0:25:14 > 0:25:17in Russian for a long time and I was sitting there
0:25:17 > 0:25:20and suddenly she turned and looked at me
0:25:20 > 0:25:22and said, "Who's that, your mother?"
0:25:27 > 0:25:30It was a partnership that fascinated the world
0:25:30 > 0:25:34and also rejuvenated Fonteyn's career.
0:25:34 > 0:25:36They quickly went down in dancing history.
0:25:41 > 0:25:44Nureyev might have become a huge star,
0:25:44 > 0:25:47but male ballet dancers didn't have it easy.
0:25:47 > 0:25:50In this era, there were plenty of unflattering ideas about what
0:25:50 > 0:25:54it meant for men to dance in ballet.
0:25:54 > 0:25:58In 1966, the BBC made a documentary with the Royal Ballet School
0:25:58 > 0:26:00that attempted to set things straight.
0:26:02 > 0:26:06Next, come on, out of the way! Next!
0:26:06 > 0:26:11- REPORTER:- There are 40 boys at the school, aged between 11 and 16.
0:26:11 > 0:26:16Though competition to enter is very fierce and part of the timetable
0:26:16 > 0:26:21is unusual, in most ways, the school is just a school.
0:26:21 > 0:26:23CHILDREN SING
0:26:25 > 0:26:28What do you think the boys of your own age are going to think
0:26:28 > 0:26:32when they see this programme and see you come up on the screen?
0:26:32 > 0:26:34I should think...
0:26:34 > 0:26:37Mainly, I think the majority of them will think it's rather
0:26:37 > 0:26:39a silly sort of thing to do, you know.
0:26:39 > 0:26:43It's rather effeminate and poufy, I suppose you could call it.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46So, if I gave you the choice of being a professional footballer
0:26:46 > 0:26:50- or a professional dancer, what's your answer now?- Now?
0:26:50 > 0:26:53Definitely, no doubt, a dancer.
0:26:53 > 0:26:55Why?
0:26:55 > 0:26:58Well, I mean, I've been trained in dance and I understand dance
0:26:58 > 0:27:00better than I do football. I get...
0:27:00 > 0:27:04When I dance, I get a better feeling from dancing.
0:27:04 > 0:27:09What do you think one of the Arsenal team would think of this programme?
0:27:09 > 0:27:11I think they must respect the dancer,
0:27:11 > 0:27:14cos a dancer must respect a footballer, in a way.
0:27:14 > 0:27:16I think they're very close to each other.
0:27:16 > 0:27:18A scissor kick, you know,
0:27:18 > 0:27:20shooting for a goal where they kick over the heads,
0:27:20 > 0:27:22they fall back on their back.
0:27:22 > 0:27:25I mean, they must get their legs fairly high to start with
0:27:25 > 0:27:28to be able to do it. It's the same as the dancer's grand battement,
0:27:28 > 0:27:31just kick the leg up as far as you can in front and down.
0:27:31 > 0:27:35SHE PLAYS BALLET MUSIC
0:27:46 > 0:27:51So, if we accept that the boys enjoy the hard work of the ballet,
0:27:51 > 0:27:55what should be the pleasure for us in watching the finished results?
0:27:55 > 0:27:58You are, in a sense, drawing a picture.
0:27:58 > 0:28:00If you draw a picture, you have lines, circles,
0:28:00 > 0:28:04which balance each other up on the canvas, so on the piece of paper.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07And if the stage, if the space around you, is your canvas
0:28:07 > 0:28:11and your body is the pencil or the paint
0:28:11 > 0:28:15and your limbs are the lines, and your head...
0:28:15 > 0:28:18It's all part of the picture and you can put each piece of it
0:28:18 > 0:28:23in a position which relates to the other position
0:28:23 > 0:28:25and you create a picture, that's all.
0:28:25 > 0:28:28- So the boys are drawing pictures? - They're drawing pictures in space.
0:28:28 > 0:28:32The BBC's approach to ballet was to explain its culture
0:28:32 > 0:28:35and to challenge the preconceptions of what ballet is,
0:28:35 > 0:28:39even using the persuasive powers of children's TV.
0:28:41 > 0:28:44In the BBC's eyes, ballet was for everyone.
0:28:44 > 0:28:46Well, almost everyone.
0:28:47 > 0:28:51My main trouble was my basic stance.
0:28:51 > 0:28:56Tight, tail in, flat stomach, shoulders down, head up.
0:28:56 > 0:29:01Demi plie, plie, plie, out, out!
0:29:01 > 0:29:03Stretch, stretch, stretch!
0:29:03 > 0:29:06Thighs, good. And rest.
0:29:06 > 0:29:10Any boy who thinks ballet dancing is for sissies should try it!
0:29:11 > 0:29:14With music, with music. And...
0:29:14 > 0:29:18One, plie, two, forward, up!
0:29:18 > 0:29:20Straight, up, again.
0:29:20 > 0:29:23Up, up, up! Plie.
0:29:23 > 0:29:26And turn. Wait! Stay.
0:29:26 > 0:29:27And rest.
0:29:29 > 0:29:34At the high-art end of dance, the BBC had it covered.
0:29:39 > 0:29:44But when it came to teen culture, it was on much shakier ground.
0:29:45 > 0:29:48At the end of the '60s, the old expectations of romance
0:29:48 > 0:29:51and marriage were fading away from the dance floor.
0:29:51 > 0:29:55Fleet Street columnist Marjorie Proops was curious
0:29:55 > 0:29:57about where all this was leading.
0:29:58 > 0:30:00I think I'm a romantic,
0:30:00 > 0:30:03which might sound funny coming from a journalist.
0:30:03 > 0:30:08We are alleged to be pretty tough and a very unromantic species.
0:30:08 > 0:30:13But I like to read books with happy endings, I like boy to get girl
0:30:13 > 0:30:18and I'm the sort who could very easily weep at weddings.
0:30:18 > 0:30:22Romance stopped being romantic when they all started calling it sex.
0:30:29 > 0:30:33Today's couples present a very sharp contrast to the hero and heroine
0:30:33 > 0:30:37of that scolding romantic novel The Chic.
0:30:37 > 0:30:41Close hot embraces were the big thing of that era.
0:30:41 > 0:30:44You don't think of the partner, necessarily, I don't think.
0:30:44 > 0:30:47You're just dancing, the music is so great, it's so loud.
0:30:54 > 0:30:56In today's permissive society,
0:30:56 > 0:31:00contemporary young lovers dance without touching.
0:31:00 > 0:31:03Sometimes they don't even look.
0:31:03 > 0:31:07When their parents danced, it meant romantic togetherness.
0:31:07 > 0:31:11They clung cheek-to-cheek, enfolded and close.
0:31:24 > 0:31:27What dances did you used to do together?
0:31:27 > 0:31:28Oh, the Veleta and the Waltz
0:31:28 > 0:31:31and all kinds of old-fashioned dancing.
0:31:31 > 0:31:34- Dances where you hold each other tight?- Yes. Yes, exactly.
0:31:34 > 0:31:37But not too tight if you've got a good partner...
0:31:37 > 0:31:41- if he's a gentlemen. - Otherwise you'd be told about it!
0:31:43 > 0:31:46Marjorie was fighting a losing battle.
0:31:46 > 0:31:50Even at the BBC, sex appeared to be taking priority over romance.
0:31:51 > 0:31:56From teen music programmes like Top Of The Pops and the Beat Room
0:31:56 > 0:31:58emerged the Dance troupe.
0:31:58 > 0:32:02# Come on over, baby Whole lotta shakin' goin' on... #
0:32:05 > 0:32:08Dance troupes had been a staple of British entertainment for years,
0:32:08 > 0:32:12but now the BBC were going to put them centre stage.
0:32:12 > 0:32:15From The Beat Room came The Beat Girls.
0:32:18 > 0:32:23The Beat Girls approach, in various guises, would last for decades.
0:32:23 > 0:32:26# Whole lotta shakin' goin' on. #
0:32:26 > 0:32:30In 1964, one Beat Girl went on to form The Gojos
0:32:30 > 0:32:32for the newly launched Top Of The Pops.
0:32:36 > 0:32:40Originally, acts like The Gojos were a way of playing records without
0:32:40 > 0:32:46needing the musicians in the studio, in an age before music videos.
0:32:46 > 0:32:51# Reflections of the way life used to be... #
0:32:52 > 0:32:56But dance troupes soon became an attraction of their own.
0:32:56 > 0:32:59In the late '60s, a member of The Gojos broke away to
0:32:59 > 0:33:04found their replacement act called Pan's People.
0:33:04 > 0:33:09# You're a bad dog, baby But I still want you around... #
0:33:09 > 0:33:12Originally an occasional feature on Top Of The Pops,
0:33:12 > 0:33:17they eventually became an act with a dedicated segment all of their own.
0:33:17 > 0:33:21# Oh, baby, give me one more chance... #
0:33:21 > 0:33:25The choreography wasn't exactly complicated, but it was effective.
0:33:25 > 0:33:29Teens everywhere could join in and feel part of the gang.
0:33:30 > 0:33:33Over time, the outfits got skimpier
0:33:33 > 0:33:37and '70s camerawork wasn't focused on the dancing.
0:33:37 > 0:33:39# Oh, I do, now
0:33:39 > 0:33:42# Ooo, ooo, baby
0:33:42 > 0:33:44# Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah... #
0:33:47 > 0:33:50The fortunes of formation dancing appeared to be heading
0:33:50 > 0:33:52in the opposite direction.
0:33:52 > 0:33:56By the late '60s, ballroom on TV looked a bit tired.
0:33:56 > 0:34:01By the '70s, it was seen as stuffy and almost eccentric.
0:34:02 > 0:34:06The same old cliches had been trotted out for 30 years.
0:34:06 > 0:34:09The obsession with marriage...
0:34:09 > 0:34:10They hoped to get married in October,
0:34:10 > 0:34:13which I imagine will mean a little less travelling for Peter,
0:34:13 > 0:34:16because at the moment he has to travel from Tipton
0:34:16 > 0:34:18in Staffordshire all the way down to Bristol.
0:34:18 > 0:34:20..bored-looking judges...
0:34:20 > 0:34:23And your next set of marks for Midlands and West, please?
0:34:23 > 0:34:25Military two-step mark.
0:34:26 > 0:34:29..and, of course, the sequined dresses.
0:34:29 > 0:34:31The dress is a joint effort.
0:34:31 > 0:34:33Lynn's mother made it, it's candy pink, by the way.
0:34:33 > 0:34:36And Lynn decorated it with the white flowers
0:34:36 > 0:34:39and turquoise and that white boa.
0:34:39 > 0:34:43Ballroom TV was considered ripe for parody.
0:34:43 > 0:34:48Goodies! Goodies!
0:34:48 > 0:34:51The Goodies took the conventions of ballroom dancing
0:34:51 > 0:34:54and mercilessly teased them.
0:34:54 > 0:34:59But behind the madcap humour, it was a carefully observed critique.
0:34:59 > 0:35:01Say hello, girls.
0:35:01 > 0:35:02- TOGETHER:- How do you do?
0:35:02 > 0:35:04- TOGETHER:- Hello.
0:35:04 > 0:35:06We are Norma. We are a hair artiste.
0:35:06 > 0:35:10We are Cyril. We are a bank clerk.
0:35:10 > 0:35:11How interesting!
0:35:17 > 0:35:19Yes, well, now you've all got to know each other,
0:35:19 > 0:35:21you'd better run along.
0:35:21 > 0:35:24Our ambition is to own our own hair-dressing salon.
0:35:24 > 0:35:29How interesting. Our ambition is to own our own bank.
0:35:29 > 0:35:32Jolly good. Off you go, girls.
0:35:32 > 0:35:34Each sequin was sewn on by hand.
0:35:34 > 0:35:36We tied our own bowties by hand.
0:35:38 > 0:35:39All right, girls.
0:35:39 > 0:35:42And our dresses were specially made for us by good old mum.
0:35:42 > 0:35:45- Oh, all right, girls, run along, get out!- All right.
0:35:45 > 0:35:49We'll be waiting for you on the floor - whoops, to dance, we mean!
0:35:49 > 0:35:52That was a funny joke!
0:35:52 > 0:35:57Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!
0:35:57 > 0:35:58I'm afraid they are extremely stupid
0:35:58 > 0:36:01but, in this business, that is an advantage.
0:36:05 > 0:36:09It wasn't just comedy that was turning against the genre.
0:36:09 > 0:36:12Ballroom dancing competitors were gently condescended to
0:36:12 > 0:36:16in a documentary that followed a ballroom cruise in 1973.
0:36:16 > 0:36:21Number 21 is Bob and Barbara Grove, presented tonight with a pale green
0:36:21 > 0:36:26plastic trophy, non-returnable, and a £25 voucher for household goods.
0:36:26 > 0:36:30But as a thoroughly modern couple, don't they find the rather dated
0:36:30 > 0:36:33appearance expected of dancers embarrassing?
0:36:33 > 0:36:35Yes, the ballroom-dancing side is old-fashioned.
0:36:35 > 0:36:39If they changed the dresses, you know, somehow it would lose so much.
0:36:39 > 0:36:43You know, it is old-fashioned and tail-suits are, you know.
0:36:43 > 0:36:49This being the '70s, the questioning inevitably turned salacious.
0:36:49 > 0:36:53Husbands and wives don't always make a lovely couple on the floor.
0:36:53 > 0:36:56Michelle Gandalf is married, but dances with David Bateman,
0:36:56 > 0:36:59a gas salesman. Her husband stays at home.
0:36:59 > 0:37:01- Doesn't he'd mind?- Not at all.
0:37:01 > 0:37:04He knows I enjoy it, he knows...
0:37:04 > 0:37:07It's really...something I've always wanted to do and, well,
0:37:07 > 0:37:10as long as everything else goes all right at home, he's quite happy.
0:37:10 > 0:37:13Would you mind if he went off on a cruise with a girl to dance?
0:37:13 > 0:37:16Not at all. I'm trying to make him go away!
0:37:16 > 0:37:19The insinuation was obvious.
0:37:19 > 0:37:24Isn't it true that dancing is designed to be erotic
0:37:24 > 0:37:28and therefore tends to bring people together when they dance?
0:37:28 > 0:37:30Oh...
0:37:30 > 0:37:32That's a very difficult question, really.
0:37:32 > 0:37:35I wouldn't say dancing is erotic.
0:37:35 > 0:37:40I think it appeals to your senses, rather than use erotic.
0:37:40 > 0:37:43I mean, you haven't got time for anything.
0:37:43 > 0:37:45Anything in the way of sex.
0:37:45 > 0:37:47You know, there's absolutely no time at all.
0:37:49 > 0:37:54By the early '70s, ballroom was being portrayed as something quaint,
0:37:54 > 0:37:56but its lack of relevance to the younger generations
0:37:56 > 0:37:59didn't keep it from the airwaves.
0:37:59 > 0:38:03If anything, it now seemed a quirky enough idea to get involved in.
0:38:03 > 0:38:05- So, are we ready for music?- Si.
0:38:05 > 0:38:09Jolly good! Let's have a go.
0:38:09 > 0:38:10One, two, three, four.
0:38:10 > 0:38:12Slow. Slow!
0:38:12 > 0:38:14A quick step. Get ready...
0:38:14 > 0:38:18Drop, drop. Quick, quick.
0:38:18 > 0:38:20Quick, quick, slow.
0:38:20 > 0:38:23Quick, quick, slow...
0:38:23 > 0:38:26We were magnificent!
0:38:26 > 0:38:28I think I'm almost ready for the championships!
0:38:30 > 0:38:35The BBC knew where it was with a good old bit of tango, but usually turned
0:38:35 > 0:38:40into an embarrassing dad-dancer where popular styles were concerned.
0:38:40 > 0:38:45# Well, there used to be rain... #
0:38:45 > 0:38:48But in a surprising turn of events as the '70s went on,
0:38:48 > 0:38:52producers actually caught a style of dance as it was emerging.
0:38:58 > 0:39:00Focusing on a group of young dancers,
0:39:00 > 0:39:04one documentary picked up on the early rumblings of a new movement
0:39:04 > 0:39:07in popular dance, coming out of soul music.
0:39:10 > 0:39:14There were skilful steps and even partnered dances -
0:39:14 > 0:39:17just the sort of thing he BBC liked best.
0:39:18 > 0:39:22But in the hustle, which is growing in popularity and complexity, there
0:39:22 > 0:39:26are signs that the boy is prepared to dance with the girl once more.
0:39:27 > 0:39:33Then in 1977, a film was released that took this style of dancing
0:39:33 > 0:39:36and launched it into the stratosphere.
0:39:39 > 0:39:40With Saturday Night Fever,
0:39:40 > 0:39:44John Travolta made Britain go crazy for disco.
0:39:44 > 0:39:50# Here I am, praying for this moment to last
0:39:50 > 0:39:54# Living on the music, so fine
0:39:54 > 0:39:56# Born on the wind
0:39:56 > 0:39:59# Making it mine... #
0:39:59 > 0:40:03Disco heralded the return of dance moves with a focus on style
0:40:03 > 0:40:07and techniques, rather than just expression and doing your own thing.
0:40:08 > 0:40:11But the stylised and choreographed steps of Travolta's dancing
0:40:11 > 0:40:14weren't easy to pick up from watching the film.
0:40:14 > 0:40:16They needed to be learned.
0:40:17 > 0:40:20This is the Castle at Richmond.
0:40:20 > 0:40:22It's a ballroom and it's here that a curious phenomenon
0:40:22 > 0:40:25is manifesting itself.
0:40:25 > 0:40:28For the young people who queue to get in six nights a week
0:40:28 > 0:40:33have all caught a mysterious new disease - disco fever.
0:40:33 > 0:40:35Five, six, seven and...
0:40:35 > 0:40:37MUSIC: Stayin' Alive by the Bee Gees
0:40:40 > 0:40:42For the first time since the arrival of the twist,
0:40:42 > 0:40:46young people went back to dancing lessons in their thousands.
0:40:48 > 0:40:51Oh, you scaredy-cats! Two, three...
0:40:51 > 0:40:54For instance, people go to see Saturday Night Fever, the film,
0:40:54 > 0:40:57and they pick up bits of the dance routines,
0:40:57 > 0:40:58but not the whole routine,
0:40:58 > 0:41:02whereas we've come along here to dance and learn the dance routines properly
0:41:02 > 0:41:04and then we can go to the disco and show everybody
0:41:04 > 0:41:07what we've learned. Other people are just kind of scraping little bits
0:41:07 > 0:41:09together and making their own dance routines up,
0:41:09 > 0:41:12and we can do the right thing straight off.
0:41:15 > 0:41:18Disco was everywhere.
0:41:18 > 0:41:21Across all ages, the idea of learning dance was back.
0:41:21 > 0:41:24MUSIC: Contact by Edwin Starr
0:41:30 > 0:41:33I think we owe a lot to John Travolta for the great
0:41:33 > 0:41:36upsurge in disco dancing, because, certainly in Saturday Night Fever,
0:41:36 > 0:41:39the stars of the film went along to a dance studio
0:41:39 > 0:41:41to practise their steps
0:41:41 > 0:41:45and I think this is something that the children didn't realise before -
0:41:45 > 0:41:49that you went to a dance studio to learn disco dancing.
0:41:49 > 0:41:53They thought you only learned the old-fashioned sort of dancing.
0:41:55 > 0:41:57With a sigh of relief,
0:41:57 > 0:42:01the BBC happily embraced a dance movement that it understood.
0:42:01 > 0:42:04Order and discipline returned to the dance floor.
0:42:06 > 0:42:09Now, figure two are the four hip bumps,
0:42:09 > 0:42:12so we step on to the left foot,
0:42:12 > 0:42:16bumping the left hip four times and presenting their hands outwards.
0:42:16 > 0:42:19Ready, and... a one and two and three and four.
0:42:19 > 0:42:24Step on to the right foot, bumping the right hip
0:42:24 > 0:42:27and presenting the hands upwards, turning to the left.
0:42:27 > 0:42:30Ready, and, one and two and three and four.
0:42:30 > 0:42:32Now let's rehearse that.
0:42:32 > 0:42:36And one and two and three and four and two and two and three and four
0:42:36 > 0:42:40and three and two and three and four and four and two and three and four,
0:42:40 > 0:42:44five and two and three and four and six and two and three and four.
0:42:50 > 0:42:54It's highly unlikely a new Travolta emerged from these lessons.
0:42:59 > 0:43:02Out to harness the rejuvenated enthusiasm
0:43:02 > 0:43:05and fresh techniques brought by disco was a new dance troupe,
0:43:05 > 0:43:09with a style raunchier than anything on TV before.
0:43:09 > 0:43:11There may be things that will make
0:43:11 > 0:43:14those of you with a nervous disposition tremble a little
0:43:14 > 0:43:16before three minutes to nine tonight,
0:43:16 > 0:43:19so what I want you to do now is to kick off your slippers,
0:43:19 > 0:43:23pour yourself a cup of tea, fix yourself a hot buttered Valium
0:43:23 > 0:43:26and off we go with, ladies and gentlemen, Hot Gossip.
0:43:27 > 0:43:29# Super Casanova... #
0:43:31 > 0:43:35The brainchild of Arlene Philips, Hot Gossip seemed out to shock
0:43:35 > 0:43:39and inspire with the latest dance styles and fashion -
0:43:39 > 0:43:42a kind of anti-Pan's People.
0:43:42 > 0:43:46It was a winning formula, and they found fame on their own terms.
0:43:46 > 0:43:51- You consciously set out to be erotic and provocative.- Not consciously.
0:43:51 > 0:43:54And in the way that that sort of first happened, I think
0:43:54 > 0:43:56it had a lot to do with the clothes that we wore,
0:43:56 > 0:44:00because at the time when the first group was formed, we had no money,
0:44:00 > 0:44:03therefore we got costumes from whoever would give us them cheaply.
0:44:03 > 0:44:05One of the boys in the group said
0:44:05 > 0:44:08"Oh, I've got a friend who runs a sex shop
0:44:08 > 0:44:11"and they have wonderful little plastic dresses
0:44:11 > 0:44:14"and little rubber tops and we can have them really cheap."
0:44:14 > 0:44:16I said "Oh, wonderful.
0:44:16 > 0:44:18"Let's get all these costumes and we'll do a number in them."
0:44:18 > 0:44:21And that's how, partly, the sexy image was formed and, also,
0:44:21 > 0:44:24because we were doing commercial dancing in these clothes,
0:44:24 > 0:44:27where you could see every movement of the body.
0:44:29 > 0:44:32Now, you are the Ninette de Valois of this group, if you can call it that.
0:44:32 > 0:44:34Can you teach anybody to dance?
0:44:34 > 0:44:37Well, not always anybody, but I can always have a damned good try.
0:44:37 > 0:44:40- There are basic steps, are there? - Yes, yeah.
0:44:40 > 0:44:42There are basic steps which we particularly call Hot Gossip steps.
0:44:42 > 0:44:45And I could, within a millionth of a second,
0:44:45 > 0:44:47- pick one of them up, could I?- Sure.
0:44:47 > 0:44:50- And you'll lead me gently into it? - I'll lead you very gently.
0:44:50 > 0:44:51Come on this way.
0:44:51 > 0:44:54Grace Jones, thou shouldst be living at this hour.
0:44:54 > 0:44:55LAUGHTER
0:44:55 > 0:44:58Now, you put your left hands on Donna's left shoulder
0:44:58 > 0:45:01and your right hand just rested on her bum gently.
0:45:01 > 0:45:02LAUGHTER
0:45:02 > 0:45:06And Debbie is going to do the same to you.
0:45:06 > 0:45:07LAUGHTER
0:45:07 > 0:45:11- That's it. Now, feet apart, wide apart.- Gently!
0:45:13 > 0:45:15Keep your feet wide apart.
0:45:15 > 0:45:20Now, relax your knees and bend and then get the hips back and forwards
0:45:20 > 0:45:23and back and forward now round and round...
0:45:23 > 0:45:27APPLAUSE
0:45:27 > 0:45:30And again and back and forward and back and forward...
0:45:30 > 0:45:32LAUGHTER
0:45:32 > 0:45:33Round, keep going...
0:45:33 > 0:45:35LAUGHTER
0:45:35 > 0:45:38What fed the fantasy about becoming a dancer like Hot Gossip
0:45:38 > 0:45:41was a new smash hit series from America.
0:45:41 > 0:45:43# Fame
0:45:43 > 0:45:46# I'm gonna live for ever... #
0:45:46 > 0:45:48Fame's clean-cut kids were
0:45:48 > 0:45:52a far cry from Arlene's edgy dancers.
0:45:52 > 0:45:56Based at a school for slightly irritating performing arts students,
0:45:56 > 0:45:59Fame brought back the dream of becoming a professional dancer
0:45:59 > 0:46:01in the public imagination.
0:46:01 > 0:46:03# Light up the sky like a flame... #
0:46:07 > 0:46:10Arlene Philips was already leading the way.
0:46:10 > 0:46:12Since I started Hot Gossip,
0:46:12 > 0:46:15I've always had letters from kids saying "I want to join Hot Gossip.
0:46:15 > 0:46:17"How do I start? How do I begin?"
0:46:17 > 0:46:19But now, with Hot Gossip and Fame
0:46:19 > 0:46:22and Wayne Sleep and everybody else, it's just enormous.
0:46:22 > 0:46:24Every child wants to dance.
0:46:26 > 0:46:30All you needed were the obligatory leg warmers and a leotard
0:46:30 > 0:46:31and you were away.
0:46:31 > 0:46:35The Pineapple Studios in London are where dedicated young dancers
0:46:35 > 0:46:39come, yearning to be stars, and where stage-struck young hopefuls
0:46:39 > 0:46:42strive for the chance of auditioning for West End shows.
0:46:42 > 0:46:44It's also where secretaries turn up in the evenings,
0:46:44 > 0:46:47leaving the dust of city offices behind them for the glitter,
0:46:47 > 0:46:50glamour, sweat and dedication of Pineapple.
0:46:54 > 0:46:58But soon a dance arrived from the streets of New York
0:46:58 > 0:47:00that was to provide an antidote to all the glamour,
0:47:00 > 0:47:03pop socks and choreographed routines.
0:47:07 > 0:47:09Break dancing wasn't a dance you learned in a studio,
0:47:09 > 0:47:12but outside with your friends.
0:47:15 > 0:47:17Improvised, spontaneous and edgy,
0:47:17 > 0:47:21it was an acrobatic dance that not everyone could do.
0:47:21 > 0:47:23In time-honoured fashion,
0:47:23 > 0:47:28this was popular dance that whooshed over the BBC's head.
0:47:28 > 0:47:31Away from the main stage at this GLC-sponsored event, there was
0:47:31 > 0:47:34even a small crowded platform for the beginners' class.
0:47:34 > 0:47:39Though occasionally it looked like it wasn't only the dancing that might break.
0:47:39 > 0:47:41Everyone tried to get in on the act.
0:47:41 > 0:47:44It was the male break dancers who stole the limelight
0:47:44 > 0:47:46with their athletic twists and turns.
0:47:46 > 0:47:48The Prince said he'd like to try
0:47:48 > 0:47:51a few of the easier moves for himself.
0:47:54 > 0:47:56APPLAUSE
0:48:00 > 0:48:04One of his partners offered the Prince a proper course of lessons.
0:48:04 > 0:48:07Later, though, the Royal visitor admitted that break dancing
0:48:07 > 0:48:10isn't something he's tried before. He hasn't quite learned the knack.
0:48:10 > 0:48:13- Have you done it before?- No, I have not.- Will you be doing it again?
0:48:13 > 0:48:15I'm far to old for that sort of thing.
0:48:15 > 0:48:18I shall have to go to an osteopath after this.
0:48:21 > 0:48:25For some commentators, it all looked a bit risky.
0:48:25 > 0:48:28And there's a chance that these youngsters are setting up
0:48:28 > 0:48:31problems in later life.
0:48:31 > 0:48:34The sort of problems that I can envisage
0:48:34 > 0:48:36are spondylosis,
0:48:36 > 0:48:41which is an osteoarthritic condition affecting the spine and which
0:48:41 > 0:48:47will be set up by this swivelling on the mat such as they are doing here.
0:48:51 > 0:48:53As news and current affairs
0:48:53 > 0:48:56were attempting to extract maximum airtime and controversy
0:48:56 > 0:49:01from break dance, in documentary, the BBC found a more nuanced view.
0:49:06 > 0:49:11In 1984, Arena headed to America to shoot a seminal documentary
0:49:11 > 0:49:14about the roots of hip-hop and break dance.
0:49:15 > 0:49:17And so it became hip to hop
0:49:17 > 0:49:20In the land known as Planet Rock
0:49:20 > 0:49:22Where gangs used to fight in the street every day
0:49:22 > 0:49:25Now they began to compete in a different way
0:49:25 > 0:49:28As the DJ's music made the house shake,
0:49:28 > 0:49:30The dancers would begin to break
0:49:30 > 0:49:33Some electric boogie to move like toys
0:49:33 > 0:49:35Others would spin and became B-boys.
0:49:40 > 0:49:44Perhaps for the first time, popular dance was given an authentic voice.
0:49:49 > 0:49:52This was one dance the BBC wasn't going to try and teach you.
0:50:00 > 0:50:03It was a stark contrast to what was still going on in some
0:50:03 > 0:50:05corners of Britain.
0:50:09 > 0:50:12In a decade obsessed with modernity and the new,
0:50:12 > 0:50:15ballroom dancing seemed distinctly old-fashioned.
0:50:15 > 0:50:18MUSIC: Star Wars theme played by dance orchestra
0:50:21 > 0:50:25Competitions had tried to keep with the times,
0:50:25 > 0:50:28costumes grew more and more flamboyant,
0:50:28 > 0:50:30but as TV entertainment,
0:50:30 > 0:50:34the old stalwart Come Dancing was looking very dated -
0:50:34 > 0:50:39no longer the popular entertainment of choice with audiences.
0:50:43 > 0:50:47Ballroom was still a world that fascinated television,
0:50:47 > 0:50:50but now the cameras were focused on the faded glory of the dancehalls
0:50:50 > 0:50:54and the anachronistic world of competitive dancing.
0:51:04 > 0:51:07And this year, to Blackpool came 700 hopeful couples,
0:51:07 > 0:51:10the majority amateurs, sharing one thing -
0:51:10 > 0:51:13- a passionate commitment to ballroom dancing.- Time to get on a bit, dear.
0:51:13 > 0:51:16- Do you want to start getting ready now or not?- OK. In a minute.
0:51:16 > 0:51:19WIND HOWLS
0:51:26 > 0:51:29Even now, the BBC were there to remind the audience that the
0:51:29 > 0:51:34idea of ballroom was to escape from the drudgery of everyday life.
0:51:37 > 0:51:41When you're out on the dance floor, sometimes it goes absolutely
0:51:41 > 0:51:44marvellous and it feels good and I can't explain what it is.
0:51:44 > 0:51:46You do a movement and it goes well,
0:51:46 > 0:51:48the girl feels lovely with you.
0:51:48 > 0:51:50You feel as if you can throw her on the floor and pick her up.
0:51:50 > 0:51:52You know, it's that sort of feeling.
0:51:52 > 0:51:54It tends to take over your life.
0:51:54 > 0:51:56It's something I can't explain, not unless you do it.
0:51:56 > 0:51:58'It's a wonderful life.
0:51:58 > 0:52:01'Why other people don't do it, I just don't know.'
0:52:01 > 0:52:02Good morning, madam.
0:52:02 > 0:52:05- North Thames Gas. I've come about a reported escape.- Oh, yes.
0:52:05 > 0:52:07- Come in.- Thank you.
0:52:14 > 0:52:16They are only going to throw these away,
0:52:16 > 0:52:18so we might as well pick them up.
0:52:18 > 0:52:21Probably half of these have come off our own outfits, anyway.
0:52:21 > 0:52:23Don't you think so?
0:52:24 > 0:52:28One of the longest-running series in British television,
0:52:28 > 0:52:31Come Dancing was gradually shunted later and later
0:52:31 > 0:52:36in the schedules, until it was eventually taken off air in 1998.
0:52:36 > 0:52:42With it, ballroom disappeared from TV for the first time in half a century.
0:52:43 > 0:52:48From all of us here at the Albert Hall, a very good night.
0:52:48 > 0:52:51As ballroom was fading away on the BBC...
0:52:53 > 0:52:57in ballet, the focus remained on the story of ballerinas.
0:53:01 > 0:53:06It was still a parental fantasy for children to become top dancers.
0:53:06 > 0:53:11On the BBC, you, too, could be taught by Alicia Markova.
0:53:11 > 0:53:17As you come up and on this pirouette, don't start too late.
0:53:17 > 0:53:19The next generation of hopefuls
0:53:19 > 0:53:22arriving in the 1980s found themselves on Blue Peter,
0:53:22 > 0:53:25including a very young Darcey Bussell.
0:53:25 > 0:53:28Darcey Bussell is 16. Now, your modern piece is very unusual.
0:53:28 > 0:53:32- Can you describe it?- Well, I'm speaking in it. It's an awful shock.
0:53:32 > 0:53:34- So there's no music?- No music.
0:53:34 > 0:53:37Did you find it unnerving to actually work to that?
0:53:37 > 0:53:41- Yes, it is, actually.- It's a very striking piece, though. Good luck.
0:53:46 > 0:53:49Soon enough, Bussell was taking the ballet by storm.
0:53:52 > 0:53:56But she was a noticeably more accessible prima ballerina
0:53:56 > 0:53:57than her predecessors.
0:54:01 > 0:54:04Darcey was no diva - Britain's leading ballet dancer didn't
0:54:04 > 0:54:09insist on being taken seriously, and Dawn French was eager to oblige.
0:54:11 > 0:54:15In The Vicar of Dibley, Bussell was happy to have fun with her trade.
0:54:15 > 0:54:18This is ballet as everyone had seen it on the Beeb,
0:54:18 > 0:54:21with its perfect dancer and dainty routines -
0:54:21 > 0:54:24versus the rest of us mere mortals.
0:54:25 > 0:54:27LAUGHTER
0:54:43 > 0:54:46The presentation of ballet on the BBC had been changing.
0:54:46 > 0:54:49What had once been a close relationship was becoming
0:54:49 > 0:54:51altogether less cosy.
0:54:53 > 0:54:56In 1996, the BBC broadcast a series called The House,
0:54:56 > 0:54:59a behind-the-scenes documentary
0:54:59 > 0:55:02filmed at Covent Garden - the home of the Royal Ballet -
0:55:02 > 0:55:05where nothing was out of bounds.
0:55:05 > 0:55:09Well, I think this is a really appalling story of incompetence.
0:55:09 > 0:55:14The Opera house can contract a designer for two different
0:55:14 > 0:55:17works in this way at the same time
0:55:17 > 0:55:21and that she can accept commitments that she then can't fulfil,
0:55:21 > 0:55:24I think it's really... It is dreadful.
0:55:24 > 0:55:28Where there had once been awestruck and deferential coverage,
0:55:28 > 0:55:32the focus was now on an organisation that seemed shambolic
0:55:32 > 0:55:34and in some disarray.
0:55:34 > 0:55:36If we don't agree at the end of the day, I think
0:55:36 > 0:55:38they'll just impose a settlement on us.
0:55:38 > 0:55:42People don't know if they're going to be in a job in six months' time.
0:55:44 > 0:55:47Right in the centre of the storm was Darcey Bussell,
0:55:47 > 0:55:51preparing for one of her most important roles.
0:55:51 > 0:55:55Sleeping Beauty was to premiere in front of the American President.
0:55:55 > 0:55:58At the final dress rehearsal, things weren't going well.
0:56:03 > 0:56:06You'd never have seen this in a BBC ballet programme
0:56:06 > 0:56:07in days gone by.
0:56:19 > 0:56:23It seemed like the BBC was perhaps falling out of love with dance.
0:56:28 > 0:56:32But dance was soon to be restored in the BBC's affections -
0:56:32 > 0:56:34and from an unlikely quarter.
0:56:35 > 0:56:40In 2004, a programme was started that would become all-conquering,
0:56:40 > 0:56:43based on a tired old idea in TV dance -
0:56:43 > 0:56:45competition ballroom.
0:56:47 > 0:56:51The BBC took a long, hard look at its time-honoured traditions
0:56:51 > 0:56:52in ballroom dancing,
0:56:52 > 0:56:56centred around the lives and energy of everyday people,
0:56:56 > 0:57:00amateurs committed to perfect performance on the dance floor,
0:57:00 > 0:57:03and decided what it needed was celebrities.
0:57:07 > 0:57:09Rechristened Strictly Come Dancing,
0:57:09 > 0:57:11it had the competition element
0:57:11 > 0:57:12that people had enjoyed since the '50s,
0:57:12 > 0:57:17but it was no longer important that the dancers were any good.
0:57:17 > 0:57:20What was important was that they got better
0:57:20 > 0:57:24and impressed with no prior experience - the fairy-tale ending.
0:57:26 > 0:57:28Judges give us moments of celebration...
0:57:28 > 0:57:34The crowning glory on a spectacular night. That's entertainment.
0:57:34 > 0:57:36..and pantomime villainy.
0:57:36 > 0:57:39Dumbo springs to mind.
0:57:39 > 0:57:41LAUGHTER AND BOOS
0:57:42 > 0:57:46And there on our screens once more were first Arlene...
0:57:46 > 0:57:50Oh, I think I have to say I was right. The boy can dance!
0:57:50 > 0:57:51APPLAUSE
0:57:51 > 0:57:52..and then later Darcey.
0:57:52 > 0:57:55You definitely shook me up. That was so entertaining!
0:57:55 > 0:57:59For 11 years now, Strictly has dominated our screens,
0:57:59 > 0:58:03reaching an audience of up to ten million,
0:58:03 > 0:58:06with success around the world.
0:58:06 > 0:58:09What's more, it's revived the idea of ballroom in the public eye.
0:58:11 > 0:58:14What was once kitsch has now become chic again,
0:58:14 > 0:58:18bringing dance to the nation like never before.
0:58:19 > 0:58:22So, from everyone in the Dancing Club,
0:58:22 > 0:58:24I'd like to say cheerio and goodnight to you all
0:58:24 > 0:58:28as they all come on the floor to shake, twist or hitchhike,
0:58:28 > 0:58:30and here it comes!