Christmas dance on television!

Posted on December 18, 2014

Christmas television traditionally includes some goodies for the dance-lover, from classic movie musicals to new recordings of ballet and dance. We’ve been through the listings with a highlighter pen – here’s what we’ve circled, including The Royal Ballet in The Winter’s Tale (pictured left), Strictly Come Dancing’s grand finale and Christmas special and Carlos Acosta in Tocororo Suite…

Saturday, December 20

Strictly Come Dancing, 6.30pm, BBC1, results show 8.50pm BBC1

It’s the final! Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly (pictured) introduce the show as Simon Webbe and Kristina Rihanoff, Caroline Flack and Pasha Kovalev, Frankie Bridge and Kevin Clifton and Mark Wright and Karen Hauer fight for this year’s glitterball trophy

Satellite and cable

Hollywood: Singing and Dancing, 5.30pm, Sky Arts 1

Film

Mamma Mia!, 5.45pm, ITV3

A starry cast including Meryl Streep, Colin Firth and Pierce Brosnan belt out ABBA songs

Sunday, December 21

Sammy Davis Jr: the Kid in the Middle, 9pm, BBC4

An Evening with Sammy Davis Jr, 10pm, BBC4

Documentary about the Hollywood song-and-dance man, followed by a compilation of his 1960s performances for the BBC

Film

Bugsy Malone, Channel 4, 4.10pm

Musical set in the Prohibition era, with a child cast including a young Jodie Foster, and music by Paul Williams

Monday, December 22

Satellite and cable

The Nutcracker, 8pm, Sky Arts 1

The Royal Ballet dance Peter Wright’s production

Swan Lake at the Painted Hall, 9.50, Sky Arts 1

English National Ballet perform at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich

Film

White Christmas, 11.50am, Channel 4

Bing Crosby croons the famous Irving Berlin song, with more singing and dancing from Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen

Guys and Dolls, 7pm, BBC4

Based on Damon Runyon’s Broadway stories, this exuberant musical has explosive choreography by Michael Kidd and songs including “Luck, be a Lady” and “Sit Down, You’re Rocking the Boat”. Frank Sinatra, Marlon Brando, Vivian Blaine and Jean Simmons star

Dirty Dancing, 10pm, Channel 5

Nobody puts Baby in a corner! Much-loved dance drama starring Patrick Swayze

Tuesday, December 23

Len Goodman’s Big Band Bonanza, 9pm, BBC4

The Strictly judge (pictured with Tim Heath) looks back at the dance bands of World War II. Followed by a repeat of the BBC Prom Battle of the Big Bands

Satellite and cable

Bolshoi Unseen: Don Quixote, 3am, repeated 8am, Sky Arts 2

A 1978 recording starring Nadezhda Pavlova and Vyacheslav Gordeev

The Bolshoi: Dancing for Russia, 10am, Sky Arts 2

Bolshoi Unseen: Giselle, 2pm, Sky Arts 2

A 1991 recording starring Nina Ananiashvili

Les Patineurs, 3.55pm, Sky Arts 2

The Royal Ballet dance Frederick Ashton’s lovely skating ballet

Peter and the Wolf, 4pm, Sky Arts 2

Wednesday 24 (Christmas Eve)

Torvill and Dean: the Perfect Day, 12.35pm, BBC2

Reliving the ice dancing champions’ Olympic gold medal-winning performance

Film

All Stars, 9.25am, ITV

Friends put on a dance show in an effort to save their community centre

Satellite and cable

Bolshoi Unseen: Giselle, 8am, Sky Arts 2

A 1991 recording starring Nina Ananiashvili

Dance Dance Dance: Ghost Tracks, 9.55am, Sky Arts 2

Bolshoi Unseen: Swan Lake, 2pm, Sky Arts 2

A 1976 recording starring Maya Plisetskaya

Les Patineurs, 11am, Sky Arts 2

The Royal Ballet dance Frederick Ashton’s lovely skating ballet

Nuages, 11.30am, Sky Arts 2

Choreographed by Jirí Kylián

Dance Dance Dance, 2.55pm, Sky Arts2

Dance Dance Dance, 5.20pm, Sky Arts 2

Christmas Day

Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special, 5pm, BBC1

Past contestants Lisa Riley, Russell Grant, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Rachel Stevens, Chris Hollins and Louis Smith return to perform panto-inspired routines

The Winter’s Tale from The Royal Ballet, 7pm, BBC4

Edward Watson, Lauren Cuthbertson, Sarah Lamb (pictured, top) and Steven McRae lead the cast in Christopher Wheeldon’s Shakespeare-inspired ballet

Film

The Producers, 12.30am, BBC2

The film of the musical of the film, directed and choreographed by  Susan Stroman, based on her Broadway staging

Satellite and Cable

Bolshoi Unseen: Swan Lake, 3am, repeated 8am, Sky Arts 2

A 1976 recording, starring May Plisetskaya

Bolshoi Unseen: The Nutcracker, 1.30pm, Sky Arts 2

A 1978 recording of Yuri Grigorovich’s production, starring Ekaterina Maximova and Vladimir Vasiliev

Boxing Day

Carlos Acosta’s Cuban Night, 7.30pm, BBC4

A screening of Acosta’s show Cubanía, including Acosta’s own Tocororo Suite and other dances (pictured)

That Day We Sang,9pm, BBC2

Imelda Staunton and Michael Ball star in Victoria Wood’s new musical about a couple who meet as members of the Manchester Children’s Choir and are reunited in adulthood, complete with song-and-dance numbers on the streets of Manchester

Film

On the Town, 11.40am, BBC2

Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen’s directing debut features fabulous location filming in New York, with Kelly, Frank Sinatra and Ann Miller leading the cast.

Singin’ in the Rain, 1.50pm, BBC2

Gotta dance! Gene Kelly, Cyd Charisse, Donald O’Connor and Debbie Reynolds star in the best-loved musical of MGM’s golden age, with numbers including “Make ’em Laugh”, “Good Morning” and of course the title number

Satellite and cable

Bolshoi Unseen: The Nutcracker, 3.15am, repeated 8am, Sky Arts 2

A 1978 recording of Yuri Grigorovich’s production, starring Ekaterina Maximova and Vladimir Vasiliev

Les Patineurs, 5am, Sky Arts 2

The Royal Ballet dance Frederick Ashton’s lovely skating ballet

Bolshoi Unseen: Spartacus, 2pm, Sky Arts 2

Vladimir Vasiliev and Ekaterina Maximova star in Yuri Grigorovich’s ballet

Saturday, December 27

Film

Pal Joey, 10.30am, Channel 5

Rita Hayworth, Frank Sinatra and Kim Novak star in this musical comedy

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, 4.35pm, Channel 5

Directed by Stanley Donen and choreographed by Michael Kidd, this tale of frontiersmen chasing wives has a famously rousing barn dance and a cast that includes New York City Ballet’s Jacques d’Amboise

Satellite and cable

Bolshoi Unseen: Spartacus, 2.40am, Sky Arts 2

Vladimir Vasiliev and Ekaterina Maximova star in Yuri Grigorovich’s ballet

Sunday, December 28

Satellite and cable

Les Patineurs, 10am, Sky Arts 2

The Royal Ballet dance Frederick Ashton’s lovely skating ballet

Peter and the Wolf, 3.20pm, Sky Arts 2

Monday, December 29

Darcey Bussell’s Looking for Audrey, 10.30pm, BBC1

In this documentary, the Strictly judge and former ballerina Darcey Bussell (pictured) looks at the life and career of Hollywood star Audrey Hepburn

Film

The Glenn Miller Story, 12.50pm, Channel 5.

Biopic of the famous dance band leader

Satellite and cable

Dance Dance Dance: Men y Men, 3.55pm, Sky Arts 2

Swan Lake, 7.30pm, Sky Arts 1

Zenaida Yanowsky, Nehemiah Kish and Gary Avis star in The Royal Ballet’s production, filmed in 2012

Tuesday, December 30

Satellite and cable

The Nutcracker, 8am, Sky Arts 2

Roland Petit’s Le Jeune Homme et la Mort, 9.50, Sky Arts 2

Colin Dunne: Sculpting Space, 5.05pm, Sky Arts 2

The Sleeping Beauty, 8pm, Sky Arts 2

Lauren Cuthbertson and Sergei Polunin star in The Royal Ballet’s production, filmed in 2011

Boléro, 10.25pm, Sky Arts 2

The Paris Opéra Ballet perform Maurice Béjart’s ballet

New Year’s Eve

Satellite and cable

The Sleeping Beauty, 2.15am, repeated 8am, Sky Arts 2

Dance Dance Dance: Ghost Tracks, 4.40 am, Sky Arts 2

Dance Dance Dance: Counterpoint, 10.25am Sky Arts 2

Les Patineurs, 10.30am, Sky Arts 2

The Royal Ballet dance Frederick Ashton’s lovely skating ballet

Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake, 2pm, Sky Arts 2

Dance on Screen, 4pm, Sky Arts 2

Dance Dance Dance: the “Black Swan” pas de deux from Swan Lake, 6.50pm, Sky Arts 2

Giselle, 8pm, Sky Arts 2

The Royal Ballet dance Peter Wright’s production

New Year’s Day

New Year’s Day Vienna Concert, 11.15am, BBC2

Zubin Mehta conducts the Musikverein in a programme of waltzes by the Strauss family and others. Includes performances by the Vienna State Ballet. Highlights are repeated on BBC4 today at 7pm

Film

Mary Poppins, 2.10pm, BBC1

Julie Andrews stars as the singing magical nanny, dancing across London’s rooftops with Dick Van Dyke

The Wizard of Oz, 4.10pm, Channel 4

We’re off to see the Wizard! Judy Garland stars as the Kansas girl who wakes up in Technicolor Oz, and needs help from singing and dancing friends to get home

Satellite and cable

Giselle, 8am, Sky Arts 2

Gala from Berlin 2012,  10.05, Sky Arts 2

Romeo and Juliet, 8pm, Sky Arts 2

Lauren Cuthbertson and Federico Bonelli star in The Royal Ballet’s production, with choreography by Kenneth MacMillan

Friday, January 2

Pop’s Greatest Dance Crazes, 9.20pm, BBC3

Robert Webb explores dance crazes

Film

The Sound of Music, 1.45pm, BBC1

Julie Andrews stars as the reluctant nun who becomes governess to a family of singing children, with Rodgers and Hammerstein songs

Kiss Me Kate, 2pm, Sky Arts 2

This musical update of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew has Cole Porter songs and Ann Miller dancing to “Too Darn Hot”.

Streetdance2, 8pm, BBC3

Sofia Boutella is among the dancers preparing for a major contest

Satellite and cable

Romeo and Juliet, 2.15am, repeated 8am, Sky Arts 2

Dance on Screen, 4.45am, Sky Arts 2

From Vienna to Broadway, 11am, Sky Arts 2

La Bayadère, 8pm, Sky Arts 2

Tamara Rojo stars in The Royal Ballet production

Photographs, from top:

Sarah Lamb in The Royal Ballet’s The Winter’s Tale. Photograph: BBC/Royal Opera House/Johan Persson

Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly in Strictly Come Dancing. Photograph: BBC/Guy Levy

Tim Heath with Len Goodman in Len’s Big Band Bonanza. Photograph: BBC/Roger Keech

Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special. Photograph: BBC/Guy Levy

Carlos Acosta and Pieter Symonds in Carlos Acosta’s Cuban Night. Photograph: BBC/Royal Opera House/Bill Cooper

Darcey Bussell’s Looking for Audrey. Photograph: BBC/Matchlight/Marion Milne

Zoe Anderson

Zoë was born in Edinburgh, and saw her first dance performances at the Festival there. She is the dance critic of The Independent, and has also written for The Independent on Sunday, The Scotsman and Dancing Times. In 2002, she received her doctorate from the University of York for a thesis on “Nationhood and epic romance: Ariosto, Sidney, Spenser”. She is the author of The Royal Ballet: 75 Years and The Ballet Lover’s Companion.