Rhythmic Worlds 2011 Montpellier - Gala - We are Gymnastics!

Welcome to Gala Night Montpellier. It's a celebration of the 31st World Rhythmic Gymnastic Championships. It gives us the chance to see the stars of the sport in a different light. And them, the gymnasts, a chance to let their hair down. A taste of musical variety provided by the young men's artistic and rhythmic gymnasts from Montpellier and Antibes. There's a flavour of aerobic gymnasts in this as well. Just a little sense of the versatility of these young athletes. Talking to the participants, they really enjoy this. It's something completely different for them. And it's good to see, great to see, the disciplines interacting like this. Obvious rhythmic connotations. Montpellier and Antibes combining. Two entertainers. And on come the male artistic gymnasts to complement the rhythmic work we've just seen. There we go. Some aerobics, some artistic gymnastics. And really the place is packed to the rafters. There's about 9,000 people in here. And this is thoroughly entertaining them. Look at this. Flares in unison. All the operators working together. Superb. A bit of drama and a touch of romance. These pair's acrobatics. Ludwine Funon and Martin Charat. How close the sport is to dance. And look at the control. So many of the disciplines working together. We've seen rhythmic, we've seen artistic. And this is acrobatics. Superb. Controlled handstand. And the music just puts the finishing touch to the gymnastics. Superb. It's choreography with a difference. A little bit of ballet there. All the drama. And the athleticism. Oh great. So graceful. So elegant. And so precise. Well, a lovely little flick. So from the romance of pair's acrobatics to the vitality of group gymnastics. This is Belarus. They missed out on a medal. But here you can see the grace and elegance. No apparatus. Just demonstrating the need to be able to dance. To be able to choreograph. As many of the elements that you'd see in competition have been adapted just to give us a flavour of how well groups work together in terms of dance and choreography. And how well the lighting works. It's pure entertainment. Pure stage. Fabulous effect. Tumbling next. Fast and furious. Now the origins of this sport date back to the jesters and acrobats of medieval times. These are tumblers from Rennes. Look out for something a bit special. Not a lot of room. Something big in the offing. Let's see. 25 metres that run is. Get a lot of work in. High in the saltos. Crossing and passing each other. And you see the interaction of the disciplines. The light, elegant touches of ribbon rhythmic gymnastics. And on to the power. Flicks, salto over and under. Look at the height that they're getting. It's an inflatable tumbling surface which gives them rebound. The timing has to be spot on. Combining a few dance elements. Tumbling acrobatics all super there. Lovely height. Whip overs, flicks, double salto. Now the big stuff's coming in. Look at the power. Double layered salto. Very difficult work. Look at the acceleration. Powerful through the flick. Double straight. Just about got away with that. Whip over. Full twisting in. Full twisting out. You know this young lady. The superb Daria Kontakova. As you may never have seen her before. One gold and six silver medals. Coming so close. Remember that great competition in the all-around. When she was just five hundredths of a mark away. Here she is. Demonstrating her love and ability for dance. Plenty for the audience to marvel at here. So much of the rhythmic performance depends on projection, emotion. And you can see where it all comes from. Living the dance. Feeling the music. This is really quite beautiful to watch. So much emotion. Captivating from Daria Kontakova. Silver medalists all around. Gold with five balls. Problems with three plus two. But here. Be prepared for something very special. From the Russian group gymnasts. And I know because I've seen these so many times. They put just as much effort into these gala performances. As they do for their competitions. And it shows. Well it's hardly traditional rhythmic apparatus. But they still make it look intriguing. You see lots of the flavor of a group performance. All the patterns swirling across the floor. In this arena. The audience totally enthralled. And now as they say. For something completely different. Melanie Noon and Cesar present. Gymnastics in a wheel. Well. Defying gravity there. Centrifugal force. How to keep your bearings spinning and rotating at that rate. And so accurate. Pick it up before it stops I'm sure. There we are. Cesar. Showing his ability. Oh look at this. Flavor of breakdance within the wheel. Not much room. How unusual. The star of French rhythmic gymnastics. Delphine Ledoux. Working with Laurent Touré. Delphine finished 12th in the all-around. She's on her way to London for the Olympic Games by ride. Gymnastics as a sport. Is about performance. And here we see the influence of art. And musicality. All making them. Fascinating to watch. A bit of breakdance next. This is the French aerobic star. Gregoire Penn. And his group. You can hardly be surprised at their dance ability. Aerobic gymnastics. It's the core of that sport. There'll be some action to come. Breakdance. No problem. For Gregoire and his colleagues. It had to come, didn't it? This amazing young lady. Six gold medals again. When she did it first two years ago. We thought it was impossible to see it again. But she's done it. This is Evgenia Ganeva. Showing here how close the sport of rhythmic gymnastics is. To classical dance. Can you spot the difference? There's no stick attached to that ribbon. She makes it look so easy. But it has to be very difficult to control. Beautiful. World champions three times in a row. Italy. Give us a new slant on a musical ensemble. And you can just imagine the fun. And the invention behind working on these items. The chance really is to let their hair down. But at the same time, hugely impressive. You see all this work without apparatus. You really can see the roots of the sport. And there, magically, appears the ribbon. Lots of variety. All the skill is there. Such a different interpretation. And a fascinating one. There's the conductor. She's not like any conductor I've ever seen. Brilliant. Italy. Here's the moment. It's magical. It captures the spirit and friendship of a sport. It's ticker tape. It's celebration. 54 countries have competed. Thousands of people have watched them. And we, along with them, have been fascinated. By this World Rhythmic Gymnastic Championship. We thoroughly enjoyed it. We just hope you have too.