YDA ALUMNI JACOB O'CONNELL WINS CONTEMPORARY FINAL OF BBC
YOUNG DANCER 2015
The first episode of the BBC Young Dancer 2015 was aired on BBC Four on Friday.
“BBC Young Dancer 2015 is a brand new award for young people that showcases the very best of young British dance talent. Young dancers enter in one of four categories of dance: ballet, contemporary, hip hop and South Asian dance. BBC Young Dancer 2015 culminates in a grand final at Sadler's Wells, when the best dancers in each category will dance against each other for the title.”
The YDA team was absolutely delighted to see Swindon Contemporary Programme alumni Jacob O’Connell win in the contemporary category. Jacob attended the Contemporary Programme here at Swindon Dance from 2008 to 2013 and is now in his 2nd year of full time training at the Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance.
Jacob was mentored by Glenn Wilkinson for the competition and many of you will remember him as the contemporary tutor for the Swindon Contemporary Programme in term 2 and 3 this course and the Exeter Contemporary Programme in 2013. Jacob will now go on to compete in the grand final next month against the winners of the 3 other category finals: Ballet, Hip Hop and South Asian dance.
The next episode (Friday, BBC Four at 8pm) will see 5 young dancers compete in the Hip Hop category. This features YDA Swindon Urban Programme Alumni Jodelle Douglas who graduated from the YDA in July 2013. Jodelle is being mentored Brooke Milliner who is a long term teacher on the YDA and has most recently choreographed for the Urban Programme performances at Dancin’ Oxford. Students on the Urban Programme are currently be taught by Clara Bajado who is the Hip Hop category Final judge and then during the May Intensive they will be working with Kenrick H2O Sandy, Artistic Director of Boy Blue Entertainment who is also due to judge the BBC competition.
We are all very much looking forward to the next episode and hope you will join us by tuning in and watching Jodelle.