麻豆约拍

There’s nothing more terrifying than a blank sheet of paper – and that’s what I was faced with. A bit over a year ago, I had the extraordinary good fortune to be offered the job of running 麻豆约拍 Four. I was truly delighted at the prospect, but after the champagne had fizzed AND the kind emails had run dry, and I’d bought myself a 麻豆约拍 Four keyring and mug (yours for a fiver apiece from the 麻豆约拍 shop should you so desire), there I was: faced with that blank sheet of paper. There was plenty of fabulous stuff from my predecessors laid out for 2014, but 2015? Well that was a different story.

I knew I wanted to try and do something BIG. 麻豆约拍 Four might be a small channel in the grand scheme of things, but over its life it has made a name for bold and innovative programming. And I also knew I wanted the channel to embrace the Arts, and with real passion and verve. 麻豆约拍 Four is unique in British broadcasting for its commitment to celebrating the very best of British and global culture and that’s a tradition I was (and am) determined to continue. 

But how? There were already some lovely ideas that Jan (Younghusband – Head of Commissioning for Music) and her team had come up with, but was there a way that we could bring them together under a bigger banner, and could that even shape our creative thinking into the year ahead? 

And then I began to wonder, what are the most universal arts of all? What are the ones that everyone loves, that can stir and fire even the most hardened of souls, and, even more importantly, that we all feel we might even be able to have a go at ourselves? Under a sputtering shower-head I’m pretty sure my rendition of Life on Mars is a thing of harmonious wonder (much as family Harrison may disagree), and on the rare occasions I’m now allowed near a dancefloor - basically weddings and, er, weddings - my moves are without doubt like Jagger (although here I fear family Harrison may move from tactful disagreement to outright hilarity)...

… Perhaps, I wondered, 麻豆约拍 Four could spend 2015 making a bit of a Song and Dance?

For Song and Dance are, I think, the most democratic of arts. We have all had a go with varying degrees of success.  But Song and Dance are also arts that are extraordinary to see performed, and the greater the skill, the greater that pleasure is.

And so was born 麻豆约拍 Four’s Year of Song And Dance; a year of programmes that has become not only a celebration of some of the greatest performers in the UK and worldwide, but also a fabulous opportunity for supporting a whole new generation of talent.

We’ve got the fabulous competition coming up this spring, which celebrates a new generation of performers across Ballet, Contemporary, Street and South Asian dance. And we’ve got in the summer, an extraordinary award that celebrates the very best in new classical singing talent.

We’ve also got terrific programmes and series across the year from some of the world’s biggest names in Song and Dance. Amongst many others, we’ve got Tony Papanno, Music Director of the Royal Opera, unpacking the extraordinary story of the Classical Voice in a new three-part series The Golden Age of Singing. David Bintley, Artistic Director of the Birmingham Royal Ballet will be telling the tale of the very birth of Ballet – at the court of Louis XIV - in The King Who Invented Ballet, and Alistair Spalding of Sadlers Wells and the dance group Laban will recreating an entire century’s worth of innovation in dance in The History of Contemporary Dance. We’ve even got Petula Clark telling the story of French chanson in The Story of French Music.

And if that wasn’t enough, we’ve got some extraordinary performances including pieces from The BalletBoyz – one of the most innovative dance companies working today - and Wim Wender’s award-winning film Pina, based on the life and work of German choreographer Pina Bausch.

But what’s been even more fun than making a Song and Dance on 麻豆约拍 Four is discovering how much the rest of the 麻豆约拍 has wanted to join in too. 麻豆约拍 Two are coming onside with an fascinating account of the first London performance of one of the world’s favourite operas La Traviata in La Traviata and the Women of London, Radio 3 are joining with us in our season on the Classical Voice, and Radio 1Xtra, Radio 2 and Radio 3 are helping to support Young Dancer of the Year.

But heartfelt thanks are due in turn - for one idea could never have filled that blank sheet of paper on its own. Without the work, creativity, passion and support of countless individuals, from 麻豆约拍 production and multiple independent production companies, to partners and colleagues across the 麻豆约拍 (and most particularly Jan and her team), 麻豆约拍 Four’s Year of Song and Dance would never have been able to take its first tentative step, or sing its first querulous note…

I hope you will enjoy.

Cassian Harrison is Channel Editor, 麻豆约拍 Four

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