Imagine: Save the Last Dance For Me, Tuesday 10.35pm, BBC1

Save The Last Dance For Me © BBC

The prospect of BBC bigwig Alan Yentob fumbling with his spectacles while wittering on about a cutting-edge contemporary dance troupe is usually the sort of thing which has me grappling for the remote control quicker than you can bellow “Isadora Duncan”. But against all odds, Save the Last Dance for Me is actually well worth an hour of your time.

The documentary follows the progress of dance group Company of Elders over six short weeks as they prepare for a high-profile performance at Sadlers Wells theatre. It’s no mean feat, for as their name suggests the group has a rather impressive average age of 79. While most OAPs are busying themselves elsewhere up to their cardigans in “bingo and cups of tea and biscuits”, as one dancer puts it, this group of oldies are flouncing around with abandon in the name of art.

The Company of Elders is funded by Sadlers Wells, the spiritual home of all things contemporary dance, and it’s easy to see why. As well as being “utterly disarming performers” as ballet bigwig Richard Austin puts it, the troupe also acts as an opportunity to socialise and bolster confidence. Every dancer has a story to tell, from 85-year-old Geoff who dances most days of the week, to Alison, the 61-year-old baby of the group, who took six years to recover after suffering a severe brain tumour. She couldn’t walk for 15 years – now, with the support of the company, she’s performing all over Europe.

At times it all goes a little bit “drama workshop” – as some of the interpretations of World War II air-raids, requested by choreographer Chris Tudor, demonstrate – but at others it’s utterly inspired, a plastic surgery-themed performance in front of some East London arty types in Bethnal Green being a case in point. Most of all, its message – that age shouldn’t be a barrier to fulfilling your dreams and potential – is inspiring.

by Stewart Turner, Monday 22 June 2009

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