- Date: 22 December 2011
- Artform: Dance
- Region: National
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The BalletBoys in Ethiopia. From the More4 Arts documentary - BalletBoyz: Next Generation, Photo: Panayiotis Sinnos
From 10pm on Christmas Day, More4 will broadcast two new dance documentaries representing the latest output from the Arts Council England and Channel 4 partnership More 4 Arts. Established in 2009, More 4 Arts aims to bringing the best of Britain's creative talent, processes and innovation to audiences.
The first documentary, Akram Khan: Homeland (More4, 10pm), follows acclaimed dancer and choreographer Akram Khan as he develops Desh, his latest work performed at Leicester Curve andSadler's Wells earlier this year.
The film follows Khan and his production team at each stage of the creative process. This includes a research trip to Bangladesh as the team gradually develop a visual and sonic celebration of Khan's reconnection with his British and Bangladeshi heritage, creating his most personal work to date.
The second film, Balletboyz: Next Generation (More4, 11:05pm), follows the meteoric rise oftheTALENT, the all male dance company.
Filmed over two years, the documentary explores what it takes to turn eight individual dancers into a formidable new dance company - from first auditions right through to the company's recent performance in Ethiopia.
Balletboyz: Next Generation follows two hugely successful documentary series for Channel 4: Ballet Boyz and Ballet Boyz II The Next Step which charted the early days of theTalent dance company.
The More 4 Arts partnership has already led to many original high quality arts documentaries being broadcast, profiling the Arts Council's investment in the arts and helping to forge new partnerships between arts organisations and independent production companies.
These include the National Theatre (Alan Bennett and The Habit Of Art - winner of a Royal Television Society Award in 2010), Punchdrunk/ENO (The Making of the Duchess of Malfi), Bristol Old Vic (The Making of Swallows and Amazons) and the Royal Ballet/Ballet Boyz co-commission Our Boyz In Havana.
£37,500 of Arts Council funding was invested in Akram Khan: Homeland and £40,000 in Balletboyz: Next Generation. This was match funded by Channel 4.
