National Dance Awards: nominations announced

Posted on November 8, 2013

Nominations for the 14th National Dance Awards were announced today by the dance section of the Critics’ Circle.

Graham Watts, the chairman of the dance section, said: “Last year, it was the turn of hip hop to come to the fore in the National Dance Awards and now, in 2013, it is flamenco that we honour among these nominees, with no fewer than three nominations coming from the highly successful flamenco season presented by Sadler’s Wells.

“There is a distinctly international flavour to the nominations in 2013, with all four Outstanding Company nominees coming from overseas for the first time and more than half of all nominations honouring overseas companies or dancers based overseas.

“The shortlisted nominees come from a long list of over 250 dancers, choreographers and companies and so the final shortlists are already very much the elite of 2013.”

Dancing Times award for best male dancer

Dane Hurst (Rambert)

Vadim Muntagirov (English National Ballet)

Sergei Polunin (Moscow Stanislavsky Ballet and guest with The Royal Ballet)

Edward Watson (The Royal Ballet)

Grishko Award for best female dancer

Maria Kochetkova (San Francisco Ballet)

Natalia Osipova (Mikhailovsky Ballet and guest with The Royal Ballet and Bolshoi Ballet)

Olga Smirnova (Bolshoi Ballet)

Eva Yerbabuena (Ballet Flamenco Eva Yerbabuena)

Stef Stefanou Award for outstanding company

Boston Ballet

Mikhailovsky Ballet

Rosas

San Francisco Ballet

Best classical choreography

Mark Morris (Beaux for San Francisco Ballet)

David Nixon (The Great Gatsby for Northern Ballet)

Alexei Ratmansky (24 Preludes for The Royal Ballet)

Christopher Wheeldon (Aeternum for The Royal Ballet)

Best modern choreography

Guilherme Botelho (Sideways Rain for Alias)

Matthew Bourne (Sleeping Beauty for New Adventures)

Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui (Puz/zle for Eastman)

Russell Maliphant (Fallen for BalletBoyz The Talent)

Outstanding female performance (classical)

Nancy Osbaldeston (for The Ballerina in Petrushka, English National Ballet)

Cira Robinson (in War Letters, Ballet Black)

Akane Takada (for Olga in Onegin, The Royal Ballet)

Yuan Yuan Tan (in RAkU, San Francisco Ballet)

Outstanding male performance (classical)

Jeffrey Cirio (in Plan to B for Boston Ballet)

Israel Galván (for flamenco performances at Sadler’s Wells)

Nicolas Le Riche (in Le Jeune Homme et La Mort, English National Ballet)

Brian Maloney (for Bratfisch in Mayerling, The Royal Ballet)

Outstanding female performance (modern)

Julie Cunningham (in New Works 2012, Michael Clark Company)

Rocío Molina (in Danzaora, Sadler’s Wells)

Clemmie Sveass (in Witch-Hunt, Bern Ballett)

Hannah Vassallo (for Aurora in Sleeping Beauty, New Adventures)

Outstanding male performance (modern)

Nathan Goodman (in Madcap, Richard Alston Dance Company)

Christopher Marney (for Count Lilac in Sleeping Beauty, New Adventures)

Liam Riddick (in Buzzing Round the Hunisuccle, Richard Alston Dance Company)

Paul White (in The Oracle, Meryl Tankard)

Best Independent Company

bGROUP

BalletBoyz The Talent

New Movement Collective

Shobana Jeyasingh Dance

The winners will be announced at a ceremony on January 27, 2013.

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.