Darcey Bussell: Tragedy of all the lost talent

DAME DARCEY Bussell has warned of the talent that will “fall by the wayside” due to the devastating impact of coronavirus on the cultural sector.

The retired ballerina and former Strictly Come Dancing judge lamented the pandemic and the shutdown of the country’s arts industry.

And she warned that the already relatively brief careers of ballerinas may be curtailed further by the enforced period of inaction.

In an interview, she said: “If you think of all those dancers who are near the end of their careers, maybe they’re going to finish those careers earlier than they should do because of this gap.

“There isn’t enough time in a dancer’s career to be able to withdraw temporarily.”

Dame Darcey, inset, added that the situation was “horrible, really scary” and said: “There’s so much talent that’s going to fall by the wayside.”

The ailing cultural sector received a boost earlier this month when the Government announced a £1.57bn support package to protect the future of museums, galleries and theatres. Dame

Darcey welcomed the intervention.

The Music Venue Trust confirmed on Thursday that four music venues are facing closure across Hull and Manchester.

It said hundreds of other venues could also be lost unless urgent action was taken.

The Welly and The Polar Bear in Hull will close, according to the trust. Manchester’s The Deaf Institute and Gorilla will need to find new operators to survive, it added.