A Channel 4 drama series backed by the BFI Young Audiences Content Fund is to offer paid entry-level industry training to 10 people.
4Skills and the National Film & Television School are partnering with Leeds indie Duck Soup Films for the full-time placements, which will offer mentoring, one-to-one sessions and career planning as well as work on the series.
Dance School [working title] is an 8 x 30-minute coming-of-age drama, funded by the BFI's Young Audiences Content Fund (YACF), that marks C4 Growth Fund-backed indie Duck Soup’s first TV commission.
Created by Theresa Ikoko, the writer of Bafta-winning movie Rocks, and Lisa Holdsworth (Discovery of Witches, Call the Midwife), the series is inspired by true stories from inner-city Leeds, developed through workshopping supported by the YACF.
Centring on a Saturday class at a dance school, it will follow a group of students both in their choreographed routines and in their personal life, and will employ street casting.
C4 head of drama Caroline Hollick said the series will be “a celebration of inspiring and authentic stories that will resonate with our viewers”.
She added: ”It’s important that C4 not only reflects the voices of the nations and regions but also continues to support growth and training to individuals. I’m delighted that by partnering with Duck Soup and the NFTS, 4Skills can open doors to the next generation of emerging talent, ensuring the creative sector remains accessible to all.”
Holdsworth has assembled a diverse writing team for the series, which will be produced by Lisa-Marie Russo and directed by Sara Dunlop.
Dance School will be filmed in and around Leeds this autumn.
