Young Dancer

BBC Young Dancer returns for a second series showcasing the UK's very best young dance talent. Presented by Anita Rani, the competition is for dancers aged 16 - 21 across four categories - Ballet, Contemporary, Street Dance and South Asian Dance. The series follows 20 dancers on their journey through the competition, each of them hoping to follow in the footsteps of Contemporary Dancer Connor Scott, the first ever winner of BBC Young Dancer back in 2015. The series begins with the poppers and lockers of Street Dance as five hopefuls compete for the category title at The Lowry in Salford. Judging them are a panel of leading dance experts - Shobana Jeyasingh, critically acclaimed choreographer and founder of Shobana Jeyasingh Dance company; Tony Adigun, founder and artistic director of Avant Garde Dance Company; and Clara Bajado a dancer, choreographer and lecturer, specialising in house dance and hip hop. For one of the dancers a place in the Grand Final awaits with the opportunity to dance on the main stage at Sadler's Wells. Street dance finalists are: Harry Barnes, Tom Hughes Lloyd, Jodelle Douglas, Kate Morris and Darren Hamilton.

The series continues with the ballet final as five more hopefuls compete for the category title at The Lowry in Salford. Presented by Anita Rani, the competition is open to dancers aged 16-21 across four categories - ballet, contemporary, street dance and South Asian dance. Judging the final is a panel of leading dance experts - Deborah Bull, former principal dancer with The Royal Ballet, Matz Skoog, former artistic director of English National Ballet, and Shobana Jeyasingh, critically acclaimed choreographer and founder of Shobana Jeyasingh Dance company. For one of the dancers a place in the grand final awaits, with the opportunity to dance on the main stage at Sadler's Wells. The finalists are: Ryan Felix, Jade Wallace, Rhys Antoni Yeomans, Uyu Hiromoto and Oscar Ward.

The series continues with the South Asian dance final, as another five aspiring dancers compete for the category title at The Lowry, Salford, presented by Anita Rani. The finalists in this category showcase two of the most popular classical Indian dance styles - Kathak and Bhatanatyam. Judging them is a panel of three of the UK's top dance experts: the choreographer, performer and academic, Chitra Sundaram; performer, teacher and leading exponent of Kathak dance, Kajal Sharma; and general adjudicator - judging across all four BBC Young Dancer categories - the critically acclaimed choreographer and dance producer, Shobana Jeyasingh. For one of the dancers a place in the Grand Final awaits, with the opportunity to dance on the main stage at Sadler's Wells. The finalists are: Akshay Prakash, Jaina Modasia, Anaya Bolar, Shyam Dattani and Anjelli Wignakumar.

With the grand final of BBC Young Dancer just a week away, Anita Rani presents the last of the category finals, with the spotlight firmly on contemporary dance. Connor Scott, the first ever winner of this biennial competition, won through this category two years ago as a wildcard and the line-up promises to be just as strong this year.

London's Sadler's Wells hosts the grand final of BBC Young Dancer 2017, as five outstanding young performers compete for the overall title. Presented by Anita Rani and Ore Oduba with legendary ballerina Darcey Bussell, the evening is a unique opportunity for these young dancers to perform in front many of the UK's leading dance figures. To reach the final, all of them have already won through three selection rounds in either ballet, contemporary, South Asian or street dance. Alongside the winners of those four categories, there is also a place for an additional wildcard. Judging the final are a formidable panel of dance experts - Kevin O'Hare, director of The Royal Ballet, Jasmin Vardimon, choreographer and artistic director of the Jasmin Vardimon Company, Marc Brew, artistic director and choreographer, Kate Prince, choreographer and director of ZooNation, Kenneth Tharp, choreographer, director and former chief executive of The Place, and Nahid Siddiqui, one of the world's finest Kathak dancers and choreographers. For the grand final, each of the dancers has been teamed up with a leading choreographer who has created a brand new solo for them for the occasion. They will also dance a solo from their repertoire and a duet or pas de deux. At the end of the final, one will be named BBC Young Dancer 2017. To date, only one person knows exactly how that feels and he is back to perform a new solo - BBC Young Dancer 2015 Connor Scott. Special guests joining Anita and Darcey for the evening include artistic director of New Adventures, Matthew Bourne, Kenrick Sandy, artistic director of Boy Blue Entertainment, and Shobana Jeyasingh, artistic director of Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company, who was also the chair of the judging panels for the category finals.