Awards for Leeds dance building

Posted on November 18, 2011

The purpose-built headquarters of Northern Ballet and Phoenix Dance Theatre has won two major awards in one week.

On November 5, the building won the National Lottery Award for Best Arts Project 2011, announced in a ceremony broadcast live on BBC One, which are chosen by public vote. On November 11, it was awarded the 2011 Civic Building of the Year Award by the Society of Chief Architects for Local Authorities (SCALA), which celebrates the cream of public sector architecture. In October, the building won the Design Excellence Award at the 2011 Insider Yorkshire Property Industry Awards.

Mark Skipper, chief executive of Northern Ballet, said: “This triple success for our new home is recognition of all the hard work and determination that went into creating it. It is a brilliant space that has changed the lives of all the people who work at Northern Ballet and Phoenix Dance Theatre, as well as the hundreds of young people who come here to train with our academies, and the many more who dance with us for fun. It’s open to the public on a daily basis, so if you haven’t seen it yet, please come and visit.”

Picture: the foyer of the new building. Photograph: Jonathan Taylor

Zoe Anderson

Zoë was born in Edinburgh, and saw her first dance performances at the Festival there. She is the dance critic of The Independent, and has also written for The Independent on Sunday, The Scotsman and Dancing Times. In 2002, she received her doctorate from the University of York for a thesis on “Nationhood and epic romance: Ariosto, Sidney, Spenser”. She is the author of The Royal Ballet: 75 Years and The Ballet Lover’s Companion.