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 European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

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

, 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, 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 and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

, 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 Ope ...

and Sadler's Wells Theatre, 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.

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 {{dance-stub