now, if you spent any part of lockdown dancing alone in the kitchen, this show is for you. now, for many of us, dancing offers a shortcut to happiness and escape. over the years on the travel show, we've picked up some pretty nifty dance moves all over the world — and have failed miserably at others. so here, for your entertainment and our eternal embarrassment, are our attempts to remain co—ordinated under pressure and in front of a camera. let's kick off with my trip to south africa back in 2018, when i tried to keep up with a truly talented group of performers who have made news all over the world thanks to an energetic form of dancing known as pantsula. they set the bar a little high for me, though. fast-paced singing. this is pa ntsula. this style of dancing is absolutely incredible. it's fast paced, it's energetic, and it's technical. but for young south africans, it's so much more than this. it's a movement that encapsulates storytelling, fashion and social expression. and just look at those dance moves. my mind is just blown! for via vyndal, everything in their act holds a special significance — from their moves to their costumes. and their clothes are the colours of the national flag. pantsula, it's a local culture. you would never get it anywhere in the suburbs. whatever we do, we're telling our stories, background stories, through dance. from growing up in this poor neighbourhood, the group has gone on to international acclaim. in 2017, director danny boyle hand—picked them to perform at one of new york's most prestigious venues — carnegie hall. we really killed the stage. it was a peak experience, especially because, to be honest, it was our first time on the plane. and being in new york, it was something different. you could tell that we were far away from home. the background of the dance is closely tied to the history of the nation. we're on our way to the biggest township in south africa — soweto. here, the pantsula has a deeply political message. soweto has a reputation for activism. it was home to nelson mandela during apartheid in the years prior to his arrest. pantsula has its roots in the same era. it matched contemporary forms with traditional african dance — an act of cultural defiance against the oppressive white government. talk to me about the kind of social and political messages that you express when you dance. the first political message is to be seen as black people. we are powerful, you know. and the second is we're trying to tell the world that we're still free, but we're still bearing a lot of problems. we still have to push ourselves. and we have to push ourselves, like, 10 times harder than any other individual. and now, the moment of truth. do i have what it takes to become an honorary member of the troupe? 0k, stand here. 0k. it's going to be, one, two, one, two. one, two, one, two. oh, no. yeah. so it's going to be, one, two, one, two. one, two, one, one, two, one, one, two, one. easy! 0k. slow. one, two, one, two. one, two, one, one, two, one, one, two, one. i'm not getting the last bit. come on, focus up here. focus on my feet. i'm not quite there. one, two, one, two, one, two, one, two, one. yes! i'm not good enough tojoin the group. but thank you for teaching me some moves. it's funny, but i get tired watching that again. what amazing performers. in the same year, half a world away in norway, christa larwood discovered a similar level of skill and dedication with a traditional form of dance is still going strong. watch out for the high kicks in this one still. dance company frikar perform around norway and beyond. they are inspired by traditional norwegian roots. they have even come to show me traditional moves in norway's halling dance. traditional violin music. the dance is mostly a show—off dance. many 100 years ago, women also did the dance, but it's mostly boys or men doing the dance, because we want to impress the other men or other women. put the right foot in front of the left, sidewards. believe me, this is harder than it looks. if you jump a bit on each step, one, two, yes, nice? i think i'm getting the hang of it. one, two. nice! back in the old days, they use the ceilings to kick down a coin orjust kick their heels. kick the ceiling? you know, they were smaller houses back in those days. in the 1800s, the military started with competitions, kicking a hat from a stick, and it was about kicking the highest. and then it became incorporated in the halling, the folk dance. i think if i say halling, people say kicking the hat. it is the main goal in the halling. but the dance is the main goal, kicking the hat is sort of topping it. that was good kicking! you have got to admit those high kicks were pretty impressive. christa larwood in norway back in 2018. here is something else to not try at home, especially if you value yourjoints. peruvian scissor dancing dates back over 500 years, and some people claim it is the inspiration behind modern breakdancing. with a heritage like that, we just had to send carmen to investigate in 2017. the origin of the peruvian scissor dance is shrouded in mystery, but many believe the tradition began in the highlands of the andes as an act of worship to the mountain gods. in the 1500s, the dance was performed to show resistance to spanish rule. the movements display the performers�* dexterity. and the scissors represented their resistance to pain. but the conquistadors thought it was inspired by the devil and it was banned. despite the ban, the traditions survived, and the twisting, turning dance moves were passed down from generation to generation. now, its importance in peru's history has been recognised by unesco. and its backbreaking moves would put many breakdancers to shame. although the scissors are not sharp, learning to control them while dancing and leaping can take years. hola! it seems like anything goes, but the one rule is that you absolutely cannot drop the scissors. and i'm going to get a lesson to see how it's done. don't shake hands with those. so the top ones stay still and the bottom one... 0h. it's all in the thumb, the thumb and the wrist. scissors chime. first, i've got to get to grips with the scissors. the aim is to hit the handles together in time to the music. the blunt blades are not connected, so holding them in position is really tricky. there is no way i'm going to be able to do this and coordinate my feet. and it's notjust mastering the scissors. this is the one that makes your knees bleed. does it hurt to do the jumps and land on your back? does it hurt your head, your knees? do you have injuries? is that blood on your trousers? wow, that's dedication. oh, and i'm getting a hat. gosh, as if it's not hard enough! after a few minutes, i'm exhausted. i can't even imagine how hard it would be to do these moves up in the andes, where the thin air makes everything so much harder. these guys are true athletes. it's hard work. some of those moves look truly backbreaking. just amazing. carmen and the scissor dance of peru back in 2017. plenty more for you, so stay with us. henry learns it's all in the eyes in india, and christa leaves the folk music of norway behind to dance the waltz in vienna. in the same way dance can lift your spirits it can also tell a story. and perhaps nowhere as intricately as india, which is where henry headed to meet the kathakali dancers of kerala, who not only use their bodies but their faces to tell a story. to learn more about kathakali, i have come here to meet a man whose family have been performing the dance for the past hundred years here in cochin. mr devan! how are you, good to see you! this is your theatre! central to kathakali is the complex ritual makeup, which turns the performers into supernatural beings, gods and demons. the process of applying the makeup can take many hours, and here in cochin it's applied in front of the audience, and forms part of the performance. there's a singer who sings the stories... the river flowing! and the drummer, who supports. drumbeat. the dancer translates the songs through the movement of eyebrows, eyes, hand muscles, lips, fingers, footwork. and all these stories come from the hindu books, religious books. originally developed as a way of teaching religious scripture to rural audiences, kathakali is now also a big draw for tourists coming here to kerala. i am very curious to know, how do you tell a story with your eyebrows, your cheeks, your lips and your fingers? can you teach me? to start with there, are 2a alphabets in the language, katha kali language. these alphabets are the position of the hand. so how, show me a little segment of how you would use the alphabets to tell the story. please, come. and so with the eye movements, what different types of eye movements do you have? rolling the eyes is getting excited. team those moves with some fancy footwork, and you have a performance — in theory at least. fast drumbeat. laughs. that is very good, very impressive. traditionally, a classic kathakali performance can go on for many hours, sometimes a whole night. but some modern audiences have shorter attention spans, so the artform has had to adapt. you know, the original one, it goes throughout a night, you know everything is in detail, everything is intricate. and nowadays we are condensing it for a 1.5, two hour program. so in a way we do lose our originality. what is done for hours and throughout a night, that is not being shown now. it represents the fire god! but whether the performance is a marathon length all—nighter or something more contained, the highlight of the show is always the appearance on stage of pacha, wearing his traditional green makeup and performing steps choreographed hundreds of years ago to captivate audiences of today. well, we're almost at the end of this week's programme, but we have just got time for one more dance off. so let's take a trip all the way back to 2015, long before social distancing had ever been heard of, and when the bigger the party, the better it was. let's hope we can all return to those times before too long. in the meantime, here's christa trying to master a classic waltz in the run—up to a spectacular ball in vienna. it's just after dawn, but the town hall is already buzzing. preparations are under way for the grand dance event, part of the ball season that takes over vienna each winter. every year, over a50 grand balls take place, and thousands of people descend on the city to get all dressed up and dance the night away. these preparations are for the blumenball, or flower ball, an event for 3000 guests. a team of 250 people have spent a week getting everything ready, and today they are busy decorating the hall with 80,000 flowers. translation: 200 years ago, common people were allowedl to dance for the first time. before that, it was a privilege of the nobility alone. the viennese people were enthralled, and that popularity continues to this day. over 300,000 people attend the city's balls each season. but no two events are the same. they can be anything from grand affairs in the city's imperial palace with formal dress and classical music, to modern dance parties where anything goes. this season of events also represents big business for the city, boosting the viennese economy by around 200 million euros each year. this is perhaps not surprising when the most sought—after events can cost you up to 250 euros just to get the door. well, if you are going to attend one of these grand balls, you can'tjust turn up injeans. you have to look the part. blue danube waltz plays. well, i've got a fancy frock and a lovely hairdo. the only thing left is to polish up my dance skills before the ball. matthias urrisk is in charge of directing the formal opening dance at the ball tonight, which will include a grand waltz. and for you the first step is making the backward step. the viennese waltz is a very famous popular dance. you make two steps in place, two, three, it is our traditional dance, our unofficial national song, the blue danube is a waltz, so we are proud of it. 1,2,3, 2,2,3... laughs. blue danube waltz plays. outside, dusk is falling over the city, and soon after, the guests of the blumenball begin to arrive. the ball opens with a formal performance, then suddenly the floor is crowded with dancing couples old and young, who seem to seriously know their stuff. it's so nice! it makes you want to take up dance lessons. the other ball guests seem equally taken with the romance of the event. i love to go to balls, i like it to dress like a princess, and to dance like a princess. it is a journey into another world, for me. eventually, it's time to stop being a wallflower and put my dance training into action. my terrible dancing! no, no! i onlyjust learned how to do it today! blue danube waltz plays. christa doing a pretty convincing waltz there, it has to be said. now i do hope you have enjoyed this look back with me and we have managed to give you some travel inspiration, and maybe even a few moves for when we can all hit the road again. let's hope it's not too long to wait until then. in the meantime, make sure you catch us next week if you can, when: ade is back in the travel show van for the second leg of our road to recovery tour across the uk. there is another chance to catch up with the family from america who decided to go on the road for the first time with their two autistic boys. they have a lot of fun with theme parks on the theme parks were built with them. they welcome them with open arms and let them enjoy themselves. until then, from me and everyone else here on the show, thank you for watching and goodbye. hello there. it's been an unsettled start to 2022, hasn't it? but wednesday changed all that for many across england and wales. after a frosty and foggy start, we had pictures like this — a beautiful scene in wrexham, hardly a cloud in the sky. it was chilly with it, but further north, we had more cloud. however, it was scotland and northern ireland that had the milder weather, with temperatures topping out at 12 or 13 degrees across eastern scotland and northeast england. now, this was the situation on wednesday, and it's a fairly similar story to close out the working week. high pressure's still with us, a south—westerly feeding cloud and a little bit of patchy drizzle across the far north and west. but under those clearer skies and with very light winds, we will see frost and fog forming once again. so, temperatures potentially down as low as —3 in a few rural parts, the exception, the far north of scotland. yes, it will be frosty, but also, it will be foggy, particularly for parts of england and wales. some of the fog dense in places, and it may well take most of the morning before it slowly lifts into low cloud and hopefully disperses. so, a pretty miserable start, but hopefully improving later on. the cloud, that south—westerly breeze again thick enough for a spot or two of drizzle, but we could see double figures across the far north of scotland, despite the winds gusting in excess of 40—50 miles per hour across the northern isles. so, a blustery afternoon here, light winds, not shifting that fog some time soon. so, temperatures will struggle just a touch — 6—8 degrees across england and wales. as we move out of thursday into friday, the high pressure not moving very far very fast, which basically means we will continue to see a good deal of quiet weather. this weather front again increasing the risk of tonight, patchy rain, nothing particularly significant. fog could be more extensive on friday, and as a result, it could be slow to clear. if that happens, one or two places might not see temperatures climbing out of freezing, but if we get the sunshine coming through again, we're looking at 5—7 to the south, maximum of ten or 11 degrees across the far north. now, as we move towards the weekend, that quite theme will stay with us. a good deal of dry weather. the question is just how much sunshine we will see. welcome to bbc news, i'm simon pusey. our top stories: members of borisjohnson�*s own party call for him to resign as prime minister after admitting he attended a downing street drinks gathering at the height of the uk's covid lockdown. i regret the way the event i have described was handled. i bitterly regret it and wish that we could have done things differently, and i have and will continue to apologise for what we did. prince andrew fails to get a civil case dismissed in the us which accuses him of sexually assaulting a teenage girl. russia and nato hold their first face—to—face talks in two years, as tensions remain high over the buildup of russian troops on the border with ukraine. should he stay or should he go? tennis star novak djokovic waits to find out if he will be deported ahead of the australian open.