DanceWorks: The Dying Swan

Curated and created through an innovative partnership with the world leading dance house, Sadler’s Wells, these artist-led films give viewers a unique insight into the world of contemporary and classical dance in Britain today.

Each film takes us behind the scenes with an extraordinary dancer at different points of their careers and from diverse backgrounds and styles. We follow their process as they create new work and explore ideas and themes that inspire them through dance pieces, which will be showcased in extended sequences within the films.

The Dying Swan

Using the lyrical and elegant metaphor of a ballet classic about death, this film explores how a dancer fights age, the deterioration of the body over time and fear of retirement.

Former Royal Ballet principal Zenaida Yanowsky, plans to overcome knee surgery and fight her body back to fitness so as to perform a swansong, one of ballet’s best-known of solos, The Dying Swan.

For Zenaida, this is one of her last public performances before drawing the curtains on an acclaimed classical ballet career. The film also features an encounter between Zenaida and a current rising star of the Royal Ballet, Russian dancer Natalia Osipova, as they exchange reflections on The Dying Swan routine.

Part of BBC Four's Dance Season

• Producer: Bia Oliveira for Sadler’s Wells
• Director: Glen Milner for ClearStory
• Commissioning Editor: Emma Cahusac for BBC Arts
• Executive Producer: Molly Milton and Russell Barnes for ClearStory
• Executive Producer: Alistair Spalding for Sadler’s Wells

Publicity contact: MC4/SRB