News

Third year Trinity Laban student Hannah Connor has made it through to the Category Finals of BBC Young Dancer 2019, the prestitious biennial dance competition that is open to dancers aged 16-21 from across the UK.

Having triumphed in the two preliminary rounds of the competition, the Contemporary Category Final sees Hannah compete in the in front of a panel of industry experts comprising choreographer and former Artistic Director of Scottish Dance Theatre Fleur Darkin, choreographer and Artistic Co-Director of Candoco Dance Company Ben Wright, and Spoken Word Artist and Artistic Director of Jonzi D Projects and Breakin’ Convention, Jonzi D.

The Category Final will be broadcast on BBC Four on Friday 26 April, including behind-the-scenes footage showing Hannah’s preparations for the competition.

Undergraduate student Hannah originally applied for BBC Young Dance in 2015. Now, following three years of specialist higher education training, Hannah is back to showcase her technical and choreographic skills.

Hannah comments –

“I am so excited and grateful to have gotten to this stage of BBC Young Dancer and am looking forward to showcasing the hard work I have put in over the past few months. I have had amazing support from Trinity Laban in preparing for the competition, working with Sara Matthews (Director of Dance) and Ellen van Schuylenburch (Dance Lecturer), along with building my strength for performance in the fitness suite with Khyle Eccles (Strength & Conditioning specialist from Trinity Laban’s Dance Science Department), and working closely with in-house Costume Designer Suzie Holmes to curate bespoke costumes for the performance. I hope to show my versatility as an artist that has been refined during my three years of contemporary training at Trinity Laban.”

Trinity Laban’s Director of Dance Sara Matthews comments –

“Working with Hannah throughout her preparations for BBC Young Dancer has been such a great joy for me. She is immensely hardworking and dedicated, a wonderful person to spend time with and, of course, an exceptionally talented dancer with a very bright future. I’m so thrilled that her success in this competition means that TV audiences will be able to discover all of this for themselves!”

Hannah is currently completing Trinity Laban’s internationally renowned BA (Hons) Contemporary Dance. Our final audition for 2019 entry to this programme on Sat 27 April. To find out more visit our dance auditions page.

Image: Hannah Connor (credit: Tas Kyprianou)