cloud next few days. there is some cloud that will linger. parts of western scotland, northern ireland, a little bit grateful some of you today. if you glimmers of brightness. one or two isolated showers to orkney and the hebrides, and some low cloud towards the west of england and well. forthe towards the west of england and well. for the vast majority, sunny spells this afternoon, attempt is up to 20 degrees in the north—east of scotland, 25 in the south—east of england. freshertoday scotland, 25 in the south—east of england. fresher today than earlier in the week. the humidity returns tonight, and with it lots of cloud up tonight, and with it lots of cloud up in scotland and northern ireland. single figures temperatures to the countryside and the east, but the humidity is building on the west and all of us will see humidity rises through sunday. rain at times later in orkney and shetland in the north—west of scotland but most will have a dry day with sunny spells and it will feel hot for many. 26 in the east of scotland, up to 29 in southern england.

hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: leaders at the g7 summit are expected to agree a joint declaration to try and prevent another global pandemic. for the uk prime minister boris johnson, issues over northern ireland hang over his talks with fellow european leaders. the uk government is considering delaying the lifting of england's remaining coronavirus restrictions by up to four weeks, after a spike in cases involving the india or delta variant. and wales and england fans

are gearing up for their team's chances this weekend in the euros — last night in the opening game, italy beat turkey and a lobsterfisherman in the us describes how he just narrowly escaped being swallowed by a humpback whale. now on bbc news, the travel show. lucy hedges takes a look back at our some of our favourite travel show shimmies on the dance floor, with an energetic south african pantsula. this week on the travel show... yes!

now, if you spent any part of lockdown dancing on your own in the kitchen, this show is for you. 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.

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 handpicked 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 troop? ok, 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! 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. the dance is mostly a show of dads. 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 break dancers 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. so the top ones stay still and the bottom one... 0h. it's all in the thumb, the thumb and the wrist. 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. truly 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 knowm 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 wa ltz.

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. 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 interaction. 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. sadly most of those sumptuous balls have been cancelled again this year, but hopefully they'll be back bigger and better in 2022. 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: you catch us next week ade is back in the travel show van for the second leg of our road to recovery tour across the uk. hey! i'm on ! this time, he is crossing england's biggest county from seaside to countryside to see how the people and places of north yorkshire are recovering from lockdown. believe me, that promises to be a good one, so i do hope you'lljoin us. until then, from me, lucy hedges, and everyone else

here on the show, thanks for watching and goodbye. hello. heat and humidity levels will be on the up again this weekend as we start to see increasing amounts of sunshine across the uk, and through the rest of today and tomorrow, more of you will see skies like we saw earlier in paignton. there will be more cloud, though, continuing today across western scotland, northern ireland, the odd sunnier break, a few isolated lights showers to the north and west of scotland, the vast majority dry. breeze always strongest here, but elsewhere, compared with yesterday, less of a breeze, and so, even though there is a slightly

fresher field compared to what we have had over the past few days, it will still feel pretty warm out there in the sunshine. temperatures up to around 2a, 25 across the south, 19, 20 degrees across some parts of eastern scotland. into this evening and overnight, cloud continues to feed in across parts of scotland and northern ireland, and there will be some rain later in orkney, shetland, and maybe also the hebrides. most will stay dry. clearest skies to england and wales, and, again, it could be a little bit fresher than last night across some parts of central and eastern areas of england. temperatures down into single figures, but humid air fighting back in the west. that's because we've got high pressure established to the south, low pressure towards the south of iceland. that strengthening the south—westerly flow all the way from the tropical mid—atlantic. so, more in the way of tropical air coming ourway. some rain, though, over shetland and certainly later in the hebrides. most will be dry. a bit more sunshine through parts of western scotland and northern ireland, even if it's a little hazy at times. sunny spells for the rest of us, and as humidity levels creep up, so do the temperatures. 28, 29, maybe 30 degrees across some parts of central

and southern england, 26 celsius to the east of scotland. so, if you are heading off to the second test, be prepared for some very strong sunshine overhead in edgbaston. no interruptions to play expected, though, and it will remain hot and sunny through the afternoon for england in their first match at wembley in euro 2020. 28 degrees the high, maybe a little bit more, and that humid feel continues into sunday night, but we will see some rain into parts of scotland and northern ireland. a few thunderstorms may be breaking out further south, as well, butjust notice the temperatures into monday morning — staying in the upper teens. it will be an uncomfortable night to get some sleep in. that humid air lasts across southern and eastern areas as we go into the start of next week, could get even warmer, in fact, for the south—east on monday, but cooler elsewhere, with one or two showers. bye for now.

this is bbc news. i'm ben brown, live in cornwall for the g7 meeting of world leaders. after the ceremonial events of last night, the serious talks get under way. for the uk prime minister, issues over northern ireland hang over his talks with fellow european leaders. meanwhile, the us president's focus will be on forming an alliance of countries to combat the influence of china. the leaders are also expected to draw up a co—ordinated response to the global pandemic — and it's all happening here at the cornish resort of carbis bay. i'm victoria derbyshire.

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