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Mary Brennan describes the goodies in store during a full evening's theme viewing of dance Today's Choice. FINGER on the button - are you ready for some clues? Well . . . It's seriously cool dudes going clubbing. It's ballerinas on pointe. It's Strictly Ballroom and its Torvill and Dean. It's Alexei Sayle giving pointers on party dancing and it's Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev in legendary partnership. And that variety is only a part of the treats in store when - finger on the button - you tune in to Dance Night on BBC2 this evening.
From 6pm through until close-down - and that's around 2am, when A Chorus Line kicks to a high finish - there's an unprecedented stream of programmes celebrating the art and fun of dancing. Previous years have seen one or two festive bon bons - usually mainstream classical works, such as The Nutcracker - tucked into BBC TV schedule. Contemporary dance has popped up, regularly, in their Summer Dance seasons. There have been bold initiatives such as Dance For The Camera - short screen pieces bringing together the complementary movement skills of choreographers and film-makers. And, of course, there's that long-running popular favourite Come Dancing.
But this is a true first: a full evening's themed viewing that brings together a surprisingly diverse and highly entertaining range of dance-y goodies. And, as if to underline the breadth and scope of Dance Night enter - as joint presenters - Royal Ballet star Deborah Bull and comedian Alexei Sayle (who apparently taught dance during his three-year stint as a drama teacher). Both, in fact, do more than just link the programmes. In Dance Ballerina Dance...