oh gawd 
more shite on at the weekend 
The annual talent show battle between the BBC and ITV may be over. But the Strictly Come Dancing sequins will barely have ceased to sparkle before dance returns to prime-time television (Patrick Foster writes).
The nation?s three biggest broadcasters announced this week that they will all screen dancing competitions in the new year, in what dance aficionados say will be the biggest boost for the medium.
On January 2, the BBC will launch So You Think You Can Dance. The next day Got To Dance, which also offers members of the public the chance to win a ?100,000 cash prize, kicks off on Sky One. ITV will then join the party the next Sunday, with the return of Dancing on Ice.
Caroline Miller, the director of Dance UK, the national association that promotes dance, said: ?There has been a crescendo building to this moment where dancing has become more and more hip.?
In the past four years the number of school pupils choosing to study dance has increased by 83 per cent, with boys representing a third of the increase, according to the Arts Council.
Ms Miller said: ?The medium has been rejuvenated. Everyone?s views of ballroom was that it was staid and boring. But then Strictly Come Dancing came and made it cool for young people to do.?
Ms Miller said that the acceptance of street dance, an improvised form that came from the hip-hop music movement, had helped to increase the popularity of dance. ?People didn?t used to think there was any skill in it,? she said. ?But now it's acknowledged as an urban art form.?
Two of the past three winners of Britain?s Got Talent have been street dance performers. Diversity, the dance troupe who took this year?s prize, beat Susan Boyle to the title. Ashley Banjo, the leader and choreographer of the group, is one of the judges on Got To Dance. He said: ?I always knew that this country has plenty to offer as far as street dancing does, and I?m really happy that more crews are getting out there and being noticed.?
Nigel Lythgoe, who will join Arlene Phillips on the judging panel of the BBC show, said that the television exposure had led to a rejuvenation. ?It brings families together and it allows families to argue because you?re allowed to do that. You?re allowed to have different opinions,? he said.
more shite on at the weekend The annual talent show battle between the BBC and ITV may be over. But the Strictly Come Dancing sequins will barely have ceased to sparkle before dance returns to prime-time television (Patrick Foster writes).
The nation?s three biggest broadcasters announced this week that they will all screen dancing competitions in the new year, in what dance aficionados say will be the biggest boost for the medium.
On January 2, the BBC will launch So You Think You Can Dance. The next day Got To Dance, which also offers members of the public the chance to win a ?100,000 cash prize, kicks off on Sky One. ITV will then join the party the next Sunday, with the return of Dancing on Ice.
Caroline Miller, the director of Dance UK, the national association that promotes dance, said: ?There has been a crescendo building to this moment where dancing has become more and more hip.?
In the past four years the number of school pupils choosing to study dance has increased by 83 per cent, with boys representing a third of the increase, according to the Arts Council.
Ms Miller said: ?The medium has been rejuvenated. Everyone?s views of ballroom was that it was staid and boring. But then Strictly Come Dancing came and made it cool for young people to do.?
Ms Miller said that the acceptance of street dance, an improvised form that came from the hip-hop music movement, had helped to increase the popularity of dance. ?People didn?t used to think there was any skill in it,? she said. ?But now it's acknowledged as an urban art form.?
Two of the past three winners of Britain?s Got Talent have been street dance performers. Diversity, the dance troupe who took this year?s prize, beat Susan Boyle to the title. Ashley Banjo, the leader and choreographer of the group, is one of the judges on Got To Dance. He said: ?I always knew that this country has plenty to offer as far as street dancing does, and I?m really happy that more crews are getting out there and being noticed.?
Nigel Lythgoe, who will join Arlene Phillips on the judging panel of the BBC show, said that the television exposure had led to a rejuvenation. ?It brings families together and it allows families to argue because you?re allowed to do that. You?re allowed to have different opinions,? he said.
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