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Outlook: Glitter, high kicks and finding freedom

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Moulin Rouge dancers

01/11/2022 GMT

Glitter, high kicks and finding freedom

BBC World Service - Outlook, Glitter, high kicks and finding freedom

The joy that dance brings us in extraordinary and sometimes surprising ways

A tribute to global dance with Cuban ballet dancers who fell in love in exile; throwing shapes in the dark in Melbourne; and kicking the can-can at the Moulin Rouge in Paris.

Three fascinating stories that explore the joys of dance and the lengths we go to, to express ourselves. 

Principal ballet dancers Mayara Piñeiro Contido and Etienne Díez found love in exile after defecting from Cuba. After meeting in a dance class they went on to spend years performing on stage together. Colm Flynn spoke to them in May 2020.

Australia's Alice Glenn and her friend Heidi Barrett turned their living room lights off and danced like no-one was watching. A few years later they had turned dancing in the dark into a global community called No Lights No Lycra. Joel Carnegie spoke to Alice in March 2017.

Britain's Janet Pharaoh was tall for her age and taller than most of her peers. She also loved to dance from a young age. She told Outlook's Laura Thomas how her dancing - and her height - secured her a place in some of France's most iconic dance troupes. Today, she's artistic director at the Moulin Rouge theatre in Paris, home of the world-famous dance cabaret.

Presented by Mobeen Azhar

Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com

(Photo: Moulin Rouge dancers. Credit: Mandar Deodhar)

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