Welcome to a special edition of the Happy Pod from the BBC World Service.

I'm Valerie Sanderson and we're celebrating International Dance Day,

hearing the stories of dancers and choreographers from across the world, like Roman Alexiev.

He proved doctors wrong. They said that he couldn't walk. He started dancing again.

His strength is unimaginable. He's really, really strong person.

The ballroom dancer who survived a rocket attack then had a film made about his dancing

and his perseverance.

You can mimic a butterfly. You can squat and flail your arms like a chicken. People are like, cool. That looks amazing. You know, it's just anything goes.

The Vietnamese culture of dancing into the wee small hours.

The moment we found out everyone was very excited.

We were all thrilled.

At that very moment, we created a new Guinness World Record,

exclusive to street dance.

Plus, we hear about people breaking world records in dance.

Music in dance.

We're here in the foyer at the Royal Opera House in London, home of the Royal Ballet.

Hundreds of thousands of people come through the doors every year to watch the performances staged here.

International Dance Day has been celebrated for more than 40 years,

and around the world events are put on to celebrate all forms of dance,

raise awareness of its value, and encourage those who are new to it to give dancing a try.

Created by the International Theatre Institute,

every year the organisation selects an outstanding dance personality

...