National Dance Awards nominations

Posted on November 3, 2014

Nominations for the 15th National Dance Awards have been announced. The dance section of the Critics’ Circle, a group of more than 50 dance writers and critics, votes on the awards.

The awards celebrate dance in the UK over the period September 1, 2013 to August 31, 2014. Announcing the nominations, Graham Watts, chairman of the dance section, said: “These shortlisted nominees come from a long-list of almost 400 dancers, choreographers and companies, and so the final shortlist already represents the elite of the last year.”

This year, a new Emerging Artist category was launched, with more than 40 artists nominated for this award. The final awards will also include the De Valois Award for Outstanding Achievement and the Dance UK Industry Award, given in memory of Jane Attenborough. There are no advance nominations for these two awards.

All winners will be announced at a ceremony on January 26, January 2015.

Nominations

DANCING TIMES AWARD FOR BEST MALE DANCER

Jonathan Goddard, Mark Bruce Company, New Movement Collective and HeadSpaceDance

Vadim Muntagirov, English National Ballet and The Royal Ballet

Steven McRae, The Royal Ballet

Edward Watson, The Royal Ballet

GRISHKO AWARD FOR BEST FEMALE DANCER

Alina Cojocaru, English National Ballet

Marianela Nuñez, The Royal Ballet

Natalia Osipova, The Royal Ballet

Diana Vishneva, Maryinsky Ballet

STEF STEFANOU AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING COMPANY

English National Ballet

Mark Morris Dance Group

Northern Ballet

Stuttgart Ballet

Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch

BEST INDEPENDENT COMPANY 

Ballet Black  

HeadSpaceDance

Mark Bruce Company

New Movement Collective

BEST CLASSICAL CHOREOGRAPHY

David Dawson, The Human Seasons for The Royal Ballet

Arthur Pita, A Dream Within A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Ballet Black

Liam Scarlett, No Man’s Land for English National Ballet

Christopher Wheeldon, The Winter’s Tale for The Royal Ballet

BEST MODERN CHOREOGRAPHY

Richard Alston, The Britten Bill – Hölderlin Fragments/Illuminations/Barbican Britten: Phaedra for Richard Alston Dance Company

Mark Bruce, Dracula for Mark Bruce Company

Akram Khan, Dust for English National Ballet

Arthur Pita, Facada in Solo for Two for Ardani Artists

Crystal Pite, The Tempest Replica for Kidd Pivot

EMERGING ARTIST AWARD

Francesca Hayward, dancer, The Royal Ballet

Drew McOnie, choreographer, The McOnie Company

Kevin Poeung, dancer, Northern Ballet

Marcelino Sambé, dancer, The Royal Ballet

Alexander Whitley, choreographer, Alexander Whitley Dance Company

OUTSTANDING FEMALE PERFORMANCE (CLASSICAL)

Alina Cojocaru as Medora in Le Corsaire for English National Ballet

Francesca HAYWARD in Rhapsody for The Royal Ballet

Natalia Osipova in the title role of Giselle for The Royal Ballet

Kristina Shapran as Terpsichore in Apollo for the Maryinsky Ballet

OUTSTANDING MALE PERFORMANCE (CLASSICAL)

Yonah Acosta as Conrad in Le Corsaire for English National Ballet 

Alexander Jones as Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew for Stuttgart Ballet

Vadim Muntagirov as Conrad in Le Corsaire for English National Ballet 

Xander Parish in the title role of Apollo for the Maryinsky Ballet

OUTSTANDING FEMALE PERFORMANCE (MODERN)

Fang-Yi Sheu in PresentPast and Two x Two at Sadler’s Wells

Wendy Houstoun in Pact with Pointlessness

Carys Staton in Still Current for Russell Maliphant Company

Clemmie Sveass in If Play is Play for HeadSpaceDance

OUTSTANDING MALE PERFORMANCE (MODERN)

Miguel Altunaga in Rooster for Rambert

Jonathan Goddard in the title role of Dracula for Mark Bruce Company

Akram Khan in Dust for English National Ballet

Liam Riddick in Illuminations for Richard Alston Dance Company

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.