{{short description|Documentary about ballet dancers}} {{Tone|date=September 2014}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2014}} {{Use British English|date=February 2014}} {{Infobox television | image = | caption = | genre = Documentary | director = Kirsty Cunningham<br />Anna Llewellyn | narrator = Olivia Colman | composer = Mat Davidson | country = United Kingdom | language = English | num_series = 1 | num_episodes = 3 | executive_producer = Peter Dale<br />Emma Loach | editor = Steven Barclay | runtime = 60 mins | company = Rare Day | channel = Channel 4 | first_aired = {{start date|2014|2|6|df=y}} | last_aired = {{end date|2014|2|20|df=y}} }}
'''''Big Ballet''''' is a 2014 British documentary program that follows Wayne Sleep and prima ballerina Monica Loughman<ref>[http://www.waynesleep.org/blog/big-ballet-on-channel-4/ Wayne Sleep Blog - Big Ballet on Channel 4 (11 July 2013)]</ref><ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/features/channel-4s-new-big-ballet-defying-ballets-body-politics-9082776.html Independent - Channel 4's new 'Big Ballet': Defying ballet’s body politics (26 January 2014)]</ref> as they help a troupe of amateur plus-size dancers realize their dream of dancing Swan Lake.<ref>[http://www.channel4.com/programmes/big-ballet/episode-guide Channel 4 - Episode Guide (January 2014)]</ref> The three-episode series, produced by Rare Day<ref>[http://www.rareday.co.uk/projects/big-ballet/ Rare Day - Channel 4 commissions Big Ballet]</ref> and broadcast on Channel 4, premiered on February 6, 2014.
The dancers, referred to in the show as "fat" or "real women", range from UK size 12 to 24 – significantly larger than the norm in classical ballet. Eighteen dancers were selected from a pool of more than 500 applicants to participate in the series.<ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/02/06/channel-4-big-ballet-plus-size_n_4737099.html Huffington Post - Channel 4's Big Ballet: Will Plus-Size Ballerinas Change The Status Quo? (6 February 2014)]</ref>
== Cast == ''Big Ballet'' features Matthew Bourne, Derek Deane, Patricia Doyle, David Plumpton, Tamara Rojo, David Nixon and the English National Ballet.
== Set == It was predominantly filmed at the Northern Ballet;<ref>[http://northernballet.com/?q=blogs/laraine-penson/14-02-13/big-ballet-northern-ballet Northern Ballet - Big Ballet at Northern Ballet]</ref> its final performance was staged at St George's Hall, Bradford<ref>[http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/latest-news/top-stories/leeds-stars-of-big-ballet-show-to-appear-on-channel-4-1-6418379 Yorkshire Evening Post - Leeds stars of ‘Big Ballet show to appear on Channel 4 (5 February 2014)]</ref> in front of 1,500 people.<ref>[http://www.whatsontv.co.uk/tv-guide/20-02-14/big-ballet What's On TV - Big Ballet (20 February 2014)]</ref>
== Episodes == {{Episode table |total_width=70 |overall= |title= |airdate= |viewers= |viewersR={{efn|From BARB}} |episodes= {{Episode list | OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2014|02|06|df=y}} | EpisodeNumber = 1 | RTitle = Episode 1 | ShortSummary = Over 200 auditionees are whittled down to 18 men and women to form the Big Ballet troupe. Can Wayne and Monica harness the dancers' passion, teach classical ballet and put on a performance the likes of which no one has ever seen before? | Viewers = 1.1| }} {{Episode list | OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2014|02|13|df=y}} | EpisodeNumber = 2 | RTitle = Episode 2 | ShortSummary = Wayne and Monica audition the dancers for the parts in Swan Lake and the pressure is on to see who is cast as the lead White Swan and her evil counterpart the Black Swan. Having whittled down hundreds of auditionees to form their unique ballet company, Wayne and Monica – and the dancers – realise the size of the task ahead of them. Monica is a stickler for pure ballet discipline and training. She's set on turning the amateurs into an impressive dance troupe, but with just five months until the curtain goes up, the pressure is on. | Viewers = 1.1| }} {{Episode list | OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2014|02|20|df=y}} | EpisodeNumber = 3 | RTitle = Episode 3 | ShortSummary = The Big Ballet dancers have just five weeks to perfect their own 25-minute version of Swan Lake. But this is not a full-time ballet troupe – classes on evenings and weekends must fit around work and home lives. The pressure on the dancers begins to mount, as the physicality of the task ahead and the enormity of what they have taken on begin to take their toll. Monica and Wayne feel the pressure too; as well as getting the dancers ballet-ready, they have to design a performance of Swan Lake that will confound the critics. The set, the costumes and the music all have to be spectacular. Wayne and Monica have drilled the dancers in basic ballet technique and cast all the roles. After months of training, injury setbacks and nerves, with less than five weeks to go before the dancers perform their supersize Swan Lake in front of an audience of 1500 – including the great and the good of the ballet establishment – can they realise their dream of dancing on stage? | Viewers = 1.2| }} }}
== Adaptation == In 2021, an American series based on ''Big Ballet'' premiered on Fox called ''The Big Leap'', which ran for one season. The show adapted the premise of ''Big Ballet'' into a fictional comedy-drama.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Andreeva |first1=Nellie |title='The Big Leap' Ballet Dramedy Starring Scott Foley and Teri Polo Picked Up To Series by Fox |url=https://deadline.com/2021/04/the-big-leap-series-fox-ballet-scott-foley-teri-polo-1234745548/ |access-date=September 20, 2021 |work=Deadline |date=April 28, 2021}}</ref>
== Notes == {{notelist}}
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == * [http://www.channel4.com/programmes/big-ballet ''Big Ballet''] at Channel 4 * [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBKfErliSueNtuaJ_pKVBE75dHyBwhyYU ''Big Ballet''] at YouTube * {{IMDb title|id=3528894|title=Big Ballet}}
Category:2014 British television series debuts Category:2014 British television series endings Category:Channel 4 documentary series Category:2010s British documentary television series Category:Television shows set in Yorkshire Category:English-language British television shows Category:Dance television shows