The Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Award is an honour presented annually by the

Royal Academy of Dance The Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) is a UK-based examination board specialising in dance education and training, with an emphasis on classical ballet. The RAD was founded in London, England in 1920 as the Association of Teachers of Operatic Danci ...

, to people who have made a significant contribution to the ballet and dance industry. The award was instituted by Dame Adeline Genee in 1953, to mark the coronation of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

and her appointment as Royal Patron of the Academy. The first winner of the award was

Dame 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, ...

, founder of the

Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded ...

Birmingham Royal Ballet Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB) is one of the five major ballet companies of the United Kingdom, alongside The Royal Ballet, the English National Ballet, Northern Ballet and Scottish Ballet. Founded as the Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet, the co ...

and

Royal Ballet School The Royal Ballet School is a British school of classical ballet training founded in 1926 by the Anglo-Irish ballerina and choreographer Ninette de Valois. The school's aim is to train and educate outstanding classical ballet dancers, especially ...

. The award has since been presented to a number of notable people, and is recognised as the highest honour awarded by the Academy.

Winners

The award was shared in 1963, 1966 and 2009, and in 2014 was awarded to a

ballet company A ballet company is a type of dance troupe that performs classical ballet, neoclassical ballet, and/or contemporary ballet in the European tradition, plus managerial and support staff. Most major ballet companies employ dancers on a year-rou ...

, rather than an individual. The full list of winners i
available at the RAD website.
*1954 -

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 ...

*1955 -

Tamara Karsavina Tamara Platonovna Karsavina (; 9 March 1885 – 26 May 1978) was a Russian prima ballerina, renowned for her beauty, who was a principal artist of the Imperial Russian Ballet and later of the Ballets Russes of Sergei Diaghilev. After settling ...

*1956 -

Marie Rambert Dame Marie Rambert DBE (born Cyvia Rambam; 20 February 188812 June 1982) was a Polish-born English dancer and pedagogue who exerted great influence on British ballet, both as a dancer and teacher. Early years and background Born to a liberal ...

*1957 -

Anton Dolin Anton Dolin may refer to: * Anton Dolin (ballet dancer) (1904–1983), English ballet dancer and choreographer * Anton Dolin (film critic) Anton Vladimirovich Dolin (; ) is a Russian film critic, journalist, radio host, blogger and podcaster. ...

*1958 -

Phyllis Bedells Phyllis Bedells (9 August 1893 – 2 May 1985) was a British ballerina and dance teacher. Early life Ethel Phyllis Bedells was born in Knowle, Bristol. Her father was a clerk for the Bristol Gas Company; both parents were musical. Her fat ...

*1959 -

Frederick Ashton Sir Frederick William Mallandaine Ashton (17 September 190418 August 1988) was a British ballet dancer and choreographer. He also worked as a director and choreographer in opera, film and revue. Determined to be a dancer despite the oppositio ...

*1960 -

Robert Helpmann Sir Robert Murray Helpmann (né Helpman) (9 April 1909 – 28 September 1986) was an Australian ballet dancer, actor, director, and choreographer. After early work in Australia he moved to Britain in 1932, where he joined the Vic-Wells Ballet (no ...

*1961 -

Ursula Moreton Ursula Moreton (13 March 1903 – 24 June 1973) was a British ballerina and teacher, director of the Royal Ballet School from 1952 to 1968. Early life She was born in Southsea on 13 March 1903. Career Dancer Moreton studied with Cecchetti and debu ...

*1962 -

Cyril Beaumont Cyril W. Beaumont OBE (1 November 1891 – 24 May 1976) was a British dance historian, critic, technical theorist, translator, bookseller, and publisher. Author of more than forty books on ballet, he is considered one of the most important danc ...

*1963 - Phillip J. S. Richardson (posthumously) *1963 -

Alicia Markova Dame Alicia Markova Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, DBE (1 December 1910 – 2 December 2004) was a British ballerina and a Choreography (dance), choreographer, director and teacher of classical ballet. Most noted for her ...

*1964 - Kathleen Gordon *1965 -

Peggy van Praagh Dame Margaret van Praagh (1 September 1910 – 15 January 1990) was a British ballet dancer, choreographer, teacher, repetiteur, producer, advocate and director, who spent much of her later career in Australia. Early life Peggy van Praagh ...

*1966 - Serge Grigorieff *1966 -

Lubov Tchernicheva Lubov Tchernicheva (Любовь Павловна Чернышёва; 1890–1976) was a Russian ballet dancer. She danced with the Ballets Russes from 1911 to 1929, and continued dancing professionally into her sixties. Early life Lubov Pavlo ...

*1967 - Lydia Sokolova *1968 -

Stanislas Idzikowski Stanislas Idzikowski (1894 – 12 February 1977) was a Polish dancer and ballet master, active in England, and with such historic companies as Pavlova's, Ballets Russes, and Vic-Wells. During his performance career, 1910-1933, he became famous fo ...

*1969 - John Hart *1970 -

John Gilpin John Gilpin was featured as the subject in a well-known comic ballad of 1782 by William Cowper, entitled '' The Diverting History of John Gilpin''. Cowper had heard the story from his friend Lady Austen. Gilpin was said to be a wealthy drap ...

*1971 - Louise Browne *1972 - Ruth French *1973 -

Norman Morrice Norman Alexander Morrice (10 September 1931 – 11 January 2008) was a British dancer, choreographer and artistic director of both Ballet Rambert from 1966 to 1974 and the Royal Ballet from 1977 to 1986, two of the UK's major ballet companies. E ...

*1974 -

Brian Shaw Brian or Bryan Shaw may refer to: Sports * Brian Shaw (basketball) (born 1966), American basketball coach and former player * Bryan Shaw (baseball) (born 1987), American baseball player * Brian Shaw (ice hockey, born 1962), Canadian ice hockey pl ...

*1975 - Robin Howard *1976 -

Pamela May Pamela May OBE (30 May 1917 – 6 June 2005) was a Trinidad-born British dancer and teacher of classical ballet. Most noted as one of the earliest members of The Royal Ballet, she was regarded as a versatile dancer; dancing all the established 1 ...

*1977 - Winifred Edwards *1978 -

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 ...

*1979 -

Arnold Haskell Arnold Lionel David Haskell CBE (19 July 1903, London – 14 November 1980, Bath) was a British dance critic who founded the Camargo Society in 1930. With Ninette de Valois, he was influential in the development of the Royal Ballet School, lat ...

*1980 -

Glen Tetley Glen Tetley (February 3, 1926 – January 26, 2007) was an American ballet and modern dancer as well as a choreographer who mixed ballet and modern dance to create a new way of looking at dance, and is best known for his piece ''Pierrot Lunair ...

*1981 -

Michael Somes Michael George Somes CBE (28 September 191718 November 1994), was an English ballet dancer. He was a principal dancer of The Royal Ballet, London, and the frequent partner of Margot Fonteyn. Early years Somes was born in Horsley, Gloucestersh ...

*1982 -

Merle Park Dame Merle Park, (born 8 October 1937) is a British ballet dancer and teacher, now retired. As a prima ballerina with the Royal Ballet during the 1960s and 1970s, she was known for "brilliance of execution and virtuoso technique" as well as for ...

*1983 -

Rudolf Nureyev Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev (17 March 19386 January 1993) was a Soviet-born ballet dancer and choreographer. Nureyev is widely regarded as the preeminent male ballet dancer of his generation as well as one of the greatest ballet dancers of all ...

*1984 -

Leslie Edwards Leslie Edwards may refer to: * Leslie Edwards (dancer) (1916–2001), British ballet dancer and ballet master * Leslie Edwards Jr. (1925–2019), member of the Tuskegee Airmen See also * Harold Leslie Edwards (1893–1951), Canadian World W ...

*1985 -

Antony Tudor Antony Tudor (born William Cook; 4 April 1908 – 19 April 1987) was an English ballet choreographer, teacher and dancer. He founded the London Ballet, and later the Philadelphia Ballet Guild in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., in the mid-195 ...

*1986 -

Rudolf Benesh Rudolf Benesh (16 January 1916 – 3 May 1975) was a British mathematician who created the '' Benesh Movement Notation'' for dancing. Biography Rudolf Benesh was son of a Czech father and an Anglo-Italian mother. He worked as a mathematician ...

*1986 -

Joan Benesh Joan Benesh (née Rothwell; 24 March 1920 – 27 September 2014) was a British ballet dancer who, with her husband Rudolf, created the Benesh Movement Notation, which is the leading British system of dance notation. Early life, education, and ma ...

*1987 -

Peter Darrell Peter Darrell (''né'' Skinner; 16 September 1929 – 2 December 1987) was an English ballet dancer, choreographer, and founder of the Scottish Ballet. For almost four decades Darrell was one of the most productive and imaginative talents in Br ...

*1988 -

John Lanchbery John Arthur Lanchbery OBE (15 May 1923 – 27 February 2003) was an English-Australian composer and conductor, famous for his ballet arrangements. He served as the Principal Conductor of the Royal Ballet from 1959 to 1972, Principal Conductor o ...

*1989 - Mary Clarke *1990 - Peter Wright *1991 - Ivor Forbes Guest *1992 -

Clement Crisp Clement Andrew Crisp OBE (21 September 1926 – 1 March 2022) was a British dance critic. He served as dance critic for the ''Financial Times'' from 1956 to 2020. Life and career Crisp was born in Romford, Essex, in 1926, although for many years ...

*1993 -

Julia Farron Julia Farron (born Joyce-Margaret Farron-Smith; 22 July 1922 – 3 July 2019) was an English ballerina, best known as one of the earliest and all-time youngest members of The Royal Ballet, the leading ballet company based at the Royal Opera ...

*1994 -

Anthony Dowell Sir Anthony James Dowell (born 16 February 1943) is a retired British ballet dancer and a former artistic director of the Royal Ballet. He is widely recognized as one of the great ''danseurs nobles'' of the twentieth century. Early life and tr ...

*1995 -

Beryl Grey Dame Beryl Elizabeth Grey (née Groom; 11 June 1927 – 10 December 2022) was a British ballet dancer. Early life Beryl Elizabeth Groom was born in Highgate, London on 11 June 1927 to Annie and Arthur "Bob" Groom. She was an only child. She beg ...

*1996 -

Irina Baronova Irina Mikhailovna Baronova FRAD (; 13 March 1919 – 28 June 2008) was a Russian ballerina and actress who was one of the Baby Ballerinas of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, discovered by George Balanchine in Paris in the 1930s. She created ...

*1998 -

Anya Linden Anya Linden, Baroness Sainsbury of Preston Candover (''née'' Ann Eltenton; 3 January 1933) is an English retired ballerina and patron of the arts. Early life and family Linden was born in Manchester, the daughter of physicist George C. Elt ...

, Lady Sainsbury *1999 -

Maina Gielgud Maina Gielgud (born 14 January 1945) is a British former ballet dancer and a veteran ballet administrator. She was artistic director of The Australian Ballet from 1983 to 1996. She had a twenty-year career as a dancer in Europe and the United Ki ...

*2000 -

Gillian Lynne Dame Gillian Barbara Lynne (née Pyrke; 20 February 1926 – 1 July 2018) was an English ballerina, dancer, choreographer, actress, and theatre-television director, noted for her theatre choreography associated with two of the longest-runni ...

*2003 -

Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. She was the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth II. Ma ...

(posthumously) *2005 -

John Tooley Sir John Tooley (1 June 1924 – 18 March 2020)Tooley profile
announcements.telegraph. ...

*2007 - Alexander Grant *2009 -

Victor Hochhauser Victor Hochhauser (27 March 1923 – 22 March 2019) was a British music promoter. Early life Hochhauser was born on 27 March 1923 in Košice, Czechoslovakia, the son of David Hochhauser, an industrialist. His grandfather and great-grandfather ...

*2009 - Lilian Hochhauser *2010 -

Rachel Cameron Rachel Cameron (27 March 1924—6 March 2011) was an Australian ballet dancer and teacher. She was one of the leading dancers in early Australian ballet in the 1940s, performing with the The Australian Ballet, Borovansky and Hélène Kirsova, Kir ...

*2011 -

Monica Mason Dame Monica Margaret Mason (born 6 September 1941) is a former ballet dancer, teacher, and director of The Royal Ballet. In more than a half-century with the company, she established a reputation as a versatile performer, a skilled rehearsal d ...

*2012 -

Antoinette Sibley Dame Antoinette Sibley (born 27 February 1939) is a British prima ballerina. She joined the Royal Ballet from the Royal Ballet School in 1956 and became a soloist in 1960. She was celebrated for her partnership with Anthony Dowell. After her re ...

*2014 -

The Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded ...

*2016 -

Matthew Bourne Sir Matthew Christopher Bourne (born 13 January 1960) is a British choreographer. His productions contain many classic cinema and popular culture references and draw thematic inspiration from musicals, film noir and popular culture. Popular ...

*2018 -

Carlos Acosta Carlos Yunior Acosta Quesada (born 2 June 1973) is a Cuban-British ballet director and retired dancer who is director of the Birmingham Royal Ballet. He danced with many companies, including the English National Ballet, National Ballet o ...

*2019 -

Karen Kain Karen Alexandria Kain (born March 28, 1951) is a Canadian former ballet dancer and was the Artistic Director of the National Ballet of Canada from 2005 to 2021. Early training and childhood Kain's mother enrolled her daughter in ballet trainin ...

*2021 -

David McAllister David James McAllister (born 12 January 1971) is a German politician who has been a member of the European Parliament since 2014. He is a member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), part of the European People's Party. He is the current vi ...

*2022 -

Mikhail Baryshnikov Mikhail Nikolayevich Baryshnikov ( rus, Михаил Николаевич Барышников, p=mʲɪxɐˈil bɐ'rɨʂnʲɪkəf; ; born January 27, 1948) is a Latvian and American dancer, choreographer, and actor. He was the preeminent male ...

References

{{Elizabeth II, state=collapsed British dance awards Awards established in 1953 English awards 1953 establishments in the United Kingdom Coronation of Elizabeth II