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Danceworks

Documentaries

Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media: Arts

ClearStory and Sadler’s Wells present the creative process of dancers and choreographers.

ClearStory and Sadler’s Wells present the creative process of dancers and choreographers as they rehearse new work.

BBC Four HD

Zenaida Yanowsky

Natalia Osipova

Carmen Delgado De Robles

Greg Retter

Glen Milner

Molly Milton

Russell Barnes

ClearStory Ltd

Danceworks: Series 1: The Dying Swan

The Dying Swan

07/05/2018

Series 1

BBC Four - Danceworks, Series 1, The Dying Swan

Zenaida Yanowsky has to fight her body back to fitness so as to perform a swansong.

Former Royal Ballet principal Zenaida Yanowsky has to overcome knee surgery and fight her body back to fitness to prepare for one of her final public performances.

Using the lyrical and elegant metaphor of a ballet classic about death, this film explores how a dancer fights age, the deterioration of the body over time and fear of retirement.

Former Royal Ballet principal, 43-year-old Zenaida Yanowsky, plans to overcome knee surgery and fight her body back to fitness so as to perform a swansong, one of ballet's best-known of solos, The Dying Swan. For Zenaida, this is one of her last public performances before drawing the curtains on an acclaimed classical ballet career. 

The film also features an encounter between Zenaida and current Royal Ballet rising star principal dancer, the Russian-born-and-trained Natalia Osipova.

Danceworks: Series 1

Knowledge, arts, music and culture from the UK and the world.

BBC Four reflects arts, music and culture with an ambitious range of intellectually and culturally enriching programmes, taking an expert and in-depth approach to its subjects.

Artist-led films curated and created through a partnership with Sadler’s Wells.

Curated and created through an innovative partnership with the world leading dance house, Sadler’s Wells, these artist-led films give viewers a unique insight into the world of contemporary and classical dance in Britain today.

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