Dancing On Wheels, a dancing reality show set to premiere on the good ‘ol BBC3 (British’s oft criticized “youth channel,” which must mean it‘s a good channel) will feature six couples, with a wheelchair dancer and a British celebrity counterpart; with celebs like singer Heather Small, gold medalist Mark Foster and rugby legend Martin Offiah. You might not know who any of these people are, but that’s ok. This show is going to be awesome.
The celebs will be paired up with wheelchair dancers, and most of the wheelchair-users will be new to dancing too. After training, they’ll compete a variety of classic ballroom dances, from the Paso Doble to the Cha-Cha-Cha, all performed within the parameters of Wheelchair Dance Sport, a official sport requiring at least one dancer to use a wheelchair. The winning couple will go on to represent the UK at the Wheelchair Dance Sport European Championships in Israel this Fall.
Wow. This actually sounds official. Like it’s a real competition or something, not some pity-party looking for a sympathy vote. LOVE it. Go BBC3 for putting such positive disability imagery out into the world!
And look! Awesome quote time. “This show is a really important project for BBC3,” says BBC3 controller Danny Cohen, “And underlines our commitment to covering disability in a mainstream way following the success of Britain's Missing Top Model last year (which was a pretty awesome disabled modeling reality show and something you should definitely check-out. It's playing on BBC America right now).
And not surprising but still noteworthy, in its promotions for the show, BBC3 has been pimping out the sport, making sure the public knows it’s as glamorous and exciting as ballroom dancing with two able-bodied partners. It’s like they really care how the public perceives us and wants to make sure everyone sees our hip side. Maybe.
Why do you love us so BBC3? Or are you secretly exploiting us like TLC?
- Wheelchair Dancer Breaks in a New Pair of Dancing Shoes
- Discovering Clon: Dancing K-Pop Stars Integrate Wheelchairs with Their Moves
- Marlee Matlin Kicks Up Her Heels on "Dancing with the Stars"
