Author Nick Hornby on the similarities of Dickens and Prince, as he publishes his new book on the “genius” of the Victorian novelist and the sex-funk pop musician.

On the eve of World Ballet Day, we talk to Pacific Northwest Ballet Principal Dancer, Cecilia Iliesiu, about the new project she has co-founded – Global Ballet Teachers - to make the teaching of ballet more accessible to ballet teachers worldwide. We also hear from Vivian Boateng, a ballet teacher based in Accra, Ghana, who has been taking part in the Global Ballet Teachers project.

Derek Owusu has written a book about his mother, who came to Britain from Ghana. But rather than a prose memoir he has imagined the journey of her life as a long poem titled Losing the Plot. Anthony Anaxagorou also writes about his family, life here and in Cyprus, where they came from, in his new collection Heritage Aesthetics. Rather than interviewing the two writers separately Front Row asked each to read the other's. Derek Owusu and Anthony Anaxagorou join Front Row to discuss their work.

Photo credit for Nick Hornby: Parisa Taghizadeh


Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe
Producer: Kirsty McQuire