The 20th anniversary of the Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards

The first National Dance Awards were presented at the London Coliseum, in 2001 and since then the awards ceremony has been held annually, variously at the major dance venues in London: The Royal Opera House, Sadler’s Wells, The Palace and, for the past three years at the Barbican. The idea of the National Dance Awards was jointly conceived by Mike Dixon and Jeffery Taylor.   This year was the 20th anniversary of the National Dance Awards and Harlequin were proud to become the headline sponsor of the event, in particular for the award of Best Modern Choreography, of which the winner was William Forsythe. Other awards and winners included: Outstanding Female Classical Performance – Katja Khaniukova as Frida in Broken Wings for English National Ballet Outstanding Female Modern Performance – Solène Weinachter as Juliet in Juliet & Romeo for Lost Dog Emerging Artist Award – Stina Quagebeur choreographer, English National Ballet Best Classical Choreography – Alexei Ratmansky Shostakovich Trilogy for San Francisco Ballet Outstanding Creative Contribution – Gavin Sutherland conduction/music director Marquee TV Award for Best Independent Company – Shobana Jeysingh Dance Outstanding Male Classical Performance – Gary Avis as Kulygin in Wintee Dreams for The Royal Ballet Outstanding Male Modern Performance – Jonathon Goddard in The Mother for Alexandra Markvo/ Bird & Carrot Stef Stefanou Award for Outstanding Company – San Francisco Ballet Dancing Times Award for Best Male Dancer – Marcelino Sambé The Royal Ballet Tendu Award for Best Female Dancer – Francesca Haywood The Royal Ballet De Valois Award for Outstanding Achievement – Marion Tait CBE Harlequin would like to say congratulations to all the nominees and winners of this great event.