Contemporary Dance Weekend, BBC Four

The vain presenter of a flagship doc can't entirely ruin a night's banquet

by Ismene BrownSaturday, 02 July 2011

A night in with contemporary dance on telly: Too much explanation

Yesterday was a day when male physicality and the science of movement preoccupied - when you watch Rafa Nadal or Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, you can’t help thinking about the contrasts of grace that achieve the same athletic needs; Nadal the pouncing cheetah, the rich, weighty speed of Tsonga. Thing is, when you watch programmes about the greatness of tennis, they don’t try to persuade you that it’s just as good to watch if you yourself learn to play and get it filmed for the public's delight.

The let’s-all-love-each-other creed has turned contemporary dance into an official government tool for social integration

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Permalink Submitted by Emma C (not verified) on Sun, 03/07/2011 - 11:58

Thank you for articulating about C Hazlewood exactly how I've felt for so long about him doing music on telly....please will the Beeb desist from engaging this fatuous, self-congratulating piece of wallpaper

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Permalink Submitted by Emma S (not verified) on Tue, 05/07/2011 - 11:15

Get a life Ismene. You have spent too long in the dark looking at thin bodies. The fact is the more you know about an art form the most you can get from it. In dance, which is essentially about the power of what cannot be said, to have - oh so very occassionally - some spoken explainations to help people into it is no bad thing. Hazelwood did not dismiss ballet, nor did he imply that skill was not needed at any point. You seem to conflate the idea of more people enjoying modern dance with falling artistic standards. Time to wake up and look around you.

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Permalink Submitted by Dea Montes (not verified) on Tue, 05/07/2011 - 13:23

It was the BBC, not Sadler's Wells, who were too terrified to broadcast Eternal Damnation - Javier's Diaghilev tribute. The piece was filmed and awaits a less cowardly regime.

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Permalink Submitted by Rob (not verified) on Wed, 06/07/2011 - 10:23

I don't always agree with you IB but I'm definitely with you on this one. Hazlewood's documentary must surely have put some people off contemporary dance for life. I'd love to know what people in the dance world made of it.

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