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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