The National Dance Awards are presented annually in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

by The Critics' Circle, and are awarded to recognise excellence in professional dance. They are widely regarded as the most prestigious award presented for dance in the UK, and are considered to be the equivalent of the

Laurence Olivier Awards The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known as ...

, which are presented for general theatre.

Overview

The National Dance Awards (NDAs), were first presented by The Critics' Circle at the

Coliseum Theatre The London Coliseum (also known as the Coliseum Theatre) is a theatre in St Martin's Lane, Westminster, built as one of London's largest and most luxurious "family" variety theatres. Opened on 24 December 1904 as the London Coliseum Theatre o ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, in 2001. The key sponsor of the event was the late Richard Sherrington and an award is now presented in his name every year. Since the first ceremony, the awards have also been hosted by the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...

and

Sadler's Wells Theatre Sadler's Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue in Clerkenwell, London, England located on Rosebery Avenue next to New River Head. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683. It consists of two performance spaces: a 1,500-seat ...

, with both organisations providing sponsorship for the event. Since the 2011 awards, the ceremony has been held at

The Place The Place may refer to: * The Place (London) The Place is a dance and performance centre in Duke's Road near Euston in the London Borough of Camden. It is the home of London Contemporary Dance School and the Robin Howard Dance Theatre, and former ...

. Artwork for the awards was created by Deborah MacMillan, widow of the late

Sir Kenneth Macmillan Sir Kenneth MacMillan (11 December 192929 October 1992) was a British ballet dancer and choreographer who was artistic director of the Royal Ballet in London between 1970 and 1977, and its principal choreographer from 1977 until his death. Ea ...

Categories

The awards are judged by the critics and journalists who see and review dance companies in performance on a daily basis. There are 11 awards for performances over the preceding year. For most of the awards there are four nominations made in each category. *Award for Outstanding Achievement *Award for Outstanding Company *Best Independent Company *Best Choreography (Classical) *Best Choreography (Modern) *Award for Best Female Dancer *Award for Best Male Dancer *Outstanding Female Performance (Modern) *Outstanding Male Performance (Modern) *Outstanding Female Performance (Classical) *Outstanding Male Performance (Classical) *sportsmanship *creativity There are two additional awards for which nominations are not announced in advance: the

Ninette De Valois Dame Ninette de Valois (born Edris Stannus; 6 June 1898 – 8 March 2001) was an Irish-born British dancer, teacher, choreographer, and director of classical ballet. Most notably, she danced professionally with Serge Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, ...

Award for Outstanding Achievement and the Jane Attenborough Industry Award.

External links

National Dance Awards websiteThe Critics' Circle website
2000 establishments in the United Kingdom Awards established in 2000 {{dance-stub