Eurovision Young Dancers
Host
Produced in the UK in these years:
Deborah Bull and Wayne McGregor (2001)
Co-hosts
Commentary:
Humphrey Burton (1985-7)
Annette Page (1985)
Monica Mason (1987)
Judith Mackrell and Richard Alston (1989)
Deborah Bull (1999, 2003-5)
Broadcast
BBC2, 16 June 1985, 31 May 1987 and 1 July 1989
BBC Knowledge, 1999 and 24 June 2001
BBC Four, 12 July 2003 and 24 September 2005
Synopsis
Following the success of Eurovision Young Musicians, a parallel competition for young dancers was established in 1985. As with the music contest, some countries televise their national qualifiers.
The rules specified that all genres - classical, contemporary, jazz, hybrid, hip-hop - were allowed, with the exception of folk dance. The competition was open for solo performers and couples, with performances limited to seven minutes. All performers had to be 21 or younger. Novel choreographies were encouraged, and there was sometimes a prize for best new work. On two occasions, separate prizes were awarded for classical and contemporary pieces.
There was a week-long masterclass immediately before the contest, with the best twelve or so entrants progressing to the televised final. The winners were awarded prizes to benefit their future professional careers.
In the UK, the contest never enjoyed the kudos of Young Musician, and was often buried in a dark corner of the schedules. When the UK hosted the contest in 2001, the BBC was unable to transmit the programme live, and the 2005 competition was not broadcast until three months after it took place. Young Dancers was shelved from its scheduled 2007 edition, replaced it with a Eurovision Dance Contest; the prize was next awarded in 2011, and the BBC did not participate.
Champions
| Date | Venue | Winner | Nationality | |
| 16 June 1985 | Reggio Emilia, Italy | Arantxa Argüelles | Spain | |
| 31 May 1987 | Schwetzingen, Switzerland | Rose Gad Poulsen | Denmark | |
| 28 June 1989 | Paris, France | Contemporary - Agnès Letestu Classical - Tetsuya Kumakawa |
France United Kingdom | |
| 5 June 1991 | Helsinki, Finland | Amaya Iglesias | Spain | |
| 15 June 1993 | Stockholm, Sweden | Zenaida Yanowsky | Spain | |
| 6 June 1995 | Lausanne, Switzerland | Jesus Pastor Sauquillo and Ruth Miro Salvador | Spain | |
| 17 June 1997 | Gdynia, Poland | Antonio Carmena San José | Spain | |
| 10 July 1999 | Lyon, France | Katja Wunsche Yohan Stegli |
Germany France |
(joint winners) |
| 23 June 2001 | London, United Kingdom | Dawid Kupinski and Marcin Kupinski | Poland | |
| 4 July 2003 | Amsterdam, Netherlands | Classical - Jerlin Ndudi Modern - Kristina Oom and Sebastian Michanek |
Ukraine Sweden | |
| 24 June 2005 | Warsaw, Poland | Milou Nuyens | Netherlands | |
| 24 June 2011 | Oslo, Norway | Daniel Sarr | Norway | |
| 14 June 2013 | Gdańsk, Poland | Sedrig Verwoert | Netherlands | |
| 19 June 2015 | Plzeň, Czech Republic | Viktoria Nowak | Poland | |
| 16 December 2017 | Prague, Czech Republic | Paulina Bidzińska | Poland |
Trivia
The 1987 contest included an entry from a non-EBU member, Canada.
Web links
See also
BBC Young Dancer, a domestic competition held in 2015.