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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

The Critics' Circle The Critics' Circle is the national professional body of British critics for books, drama, film, music, dance, visual arts and architecture. It was established in 1913 as a successor to the defunct Society of Dramatic Critics, formed in 1906. The ...

, 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 recognize excellence in professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of West End Theatre Aw ...

, 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 ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, 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 a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

and

Sadler's Wells Theatre Sadler's Wells Theatre is a London performing arts venue, located in Rosebery Avenue, Islington. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site. Sadler's Wells grew out of a late 17th-century pleasure garden and was opened as a theatre buil ...

, with both organisations providing sponsorship for the event. Since the 2011 awards, the ceremony has been held at The Place. Artwork for the awards was created by Deborah MacMillan, widow of the late Sir Kenneth Macmillan.

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 Russ ...

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 {{Europe-dance-stub