The Stage

Deborah Bull to explore dance’s social role in R4 series

Published Thursday 12 January 2012 at 10:47 by Matthew Hemley

Royal Opera House creative director Deborah Bull is to front a five-part BBC series looking at the role dance has played socially in Britain’s history.

Deborah Bull’s Dance Nation will be broadcast on Radio 4, and is being made by independent company Just Radio.

The company said the series will be a “social history of popular dance in Britain” and a “passionate argument that dance is a vital valve for self-expression - especially in times of hardship”.

Producer Hannah Rosenfelder added that the themed episodes will feature personal testimony from a range of dancers. She said one episode is likely to look at pagan dance, with others looking at the African influence on dance in the UK and “the importance of dance in hard times”, such as wartime or recession.

The impact of the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing series on the take-up of dance as a social activity is also expected to be highlighted.

“We want to tell the story of different types of dancing and the social role it has played - the role it has played in our nation’s history. It’s not about performance dance, it’s about popular dance - dance as recreation, self-expression and socialising,” Rosenfelder said.

She added the series will include “dance lessons” from Bull, who is leaving her post at the ROH to become director with King’s Cultural Partners in March.