• Twenty Category Finalists from around the UK announced today across Ballet, Contemporary, South Asian Dance and Street Dance
• All Category Finalists to be mentored by leading dance practitioners as they prepare for the Finals
• Category Finals judging panel announced featuring distinguished figures from across the world of dance
• Category Finals to be broadcast on BBC Four in March and April 

Dancers aged 16-21 from across the UK were selected through two preliminary rounds to compete in four Category Finals: Ballet, Contemporary, South Asian Dance and Street Dance.

One winner from each category will be selected to receive a trophy, £1,000 towards further dance studies and a place in the Grand Final - together with at least one ‘wild card’ from across the Category Finals who impressed the judges with their potential despite not winning their category.

The Category Finals will be broadcast on BBC Four throughout March and April, before the Grand Final, which will be broadcast live from Sadler’s Wells on BBC Two, on 22 April.

Category Finalists
Ballet

• Ryan Felix, 16 (West Midlands)
• Uyu Hiromoto, 19 (Argyll)
• Jade Wallace, 19 (Derbyshire)
• Oscar Ward, 18 (Nottingham)
• Rhys Antoni Yeomans, 18 (London)

Contemporary

• Joshua Attwood, 19 (Nottingham)
• Nafisah Baba, 20 (London)
• Jacob Lang, 20 (Kent)
• Nora Monsecour, 20 (Belgium/Leeds)
• John-William Watson, 18 (Leeds)

South Asian

• Anaya Bolar, 19 (Birmingham)
• Shyam Dattani, 19 (Middlesex)
• Jaina Modasia, 21 (Watford)
• Akshay Prakash, 21 (London)
• Anjelli Wignakumar, 20 (London)

Street Dance

• Harry Barnes, 19 (Wirral)
• Jodelle Douglas, 21 (Cardiff)
• Darren Hamilton, 21 (Glasgow)
• Tom Hughes Lloyd, 18 (Wrexham)
• Kate Morris, 17 (Maesteg)

Some of the leading names across dance have come together to provide mentorship to the category finalists, in sessions which will be seen as part of the BBC Four programmes.

The category mentors are: former Royal Ballet Principal Viviana Durante and Artistic Director of Northern Ballet David Nixon for Ballet; Rambert dancer and choreographer Miguel Altunaga and performer and co-founder of Alleyne Dance, Sadé Alleyne for Contemporary; dancer and Artistic Director Mira Balchandran Gokul and dancer, choreographer and Artistic Director, Sonia Sabri for South Asian; Hip Hop DJ and dancer, DJ Renegade and dancer, actor and choreographer Rhimes Lecointe for Street.

Judging the Category Finals is a distinguished jury, made up of former Royal Ballet Principal and Royal Opera House Creative Director Deborah Bull and former Principal Dancer and Artistic Director of English National Ballet Matz Skoog for Ballet; choreographer, director and founder of Mark Bruce Company, Mark Bruce and choreographer, dancer and Artistic Director of Phoenix Dance Theatre Sharon Watson for Contemporary; Kathak performer and teacher, Kajal Sharma and choreographer, performer and educator Chitra Sundaram for South Asian; choreographer, dancer, curator and Artistic Director of Avant Garde Dance Tony Adigun and dancer, co-founder of Septième SenS and house dance teacher Clara Bajado for Street.

TV Broadcast Information

• Friday 24 March, BBC Four - Street Dance Category Final
• Friday 31 March, BBC Four - Ballet Category Final
• Friday 7 April, BBC Four - South Asian Category Final
• Friday 14 April, BBC Four - Contemporary Category Final
• Saturday 22 April, BBC Two - GRAND FINAL (live)

Each of the four BBC Four programmes will focus on an individual Category Final, going behind the scenes as the young dancers prepare for their performances with the help of teachers and mentors. The programmes will also feature highlights of the dancers’ performances and thoughts from some of Britain’s foremost dance experts, providing an insight into what it takes to succeed in such a competitive and pressurised discipline.