NATIONAL DANCE AWARDS 2022

[Jan McNulty]

The nominations for 2022 have been announced today (25th April 2023).

 

https://criticscircle.org.uk/national-dance-awards-2022-announcement-of-nominees/

 

NATIONAL DANCE AWARDS 2022 – ANNOUNCEMENT OF NOMINEES

by Graham Watts | Apr 25, 2023 | Awards, Dance | 0 comments

The 23rd National Dance Awards 
#NDA23 
Announcement of Nominations

The Dance Section of the Critics’ Circle is pleased to announce the short-listed nominations for the National Dance Awards (#NDA23). 

The qualifying period for performances was between 1st January and 31st December 2022. 

The short-listed nominees are taken from nominations made by the members of the Dance section of the Critics’ Circle.

In total there were 387 companies, choreographers, performers and other creative artists nominated (up from 355 in 2021), from which the short-listed nominees are:

DANCING TIMES AWARD FOR BEST MALE DANCER 
William Bracewell (The Royal Ballet)
Jeffrey Cirio (English National Ballet) 
Francesco Gabriele Frola (English National Ballet)
Jonathan Goddard (Freelance artist) 
Brandon Lawrence (Birmingham Royal Ballet) 

BEST FEMALE DANCER 
Francesca Hayward (The Royal Ballet)
Momoko Hirata (Birmingham Royal Ballet)
Fumi Kaneko (The Royal Ballet)
Katja Khaniukova (English National Ballet)
Laura Morera (The Royal Ballet) 

STEF STEFANOU AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING COMPANY
Birmingham Royal Ballet 
English National Ballet 
Nederlands Dans Theater 2 (NDT2)
Scottish Ballet 
The Royal Ballet

BEST MID-SCALE COMPANY
Acosta Danza 
Ballet Black 
Lost Dog 
Mark Bruce Company 
National Dance Company Wales 

BEST INDEPENDENT COMPANY 
Alleyne Dance 
Burrows&Fargion 
Matsena Productions 
Rhiannon Faith Company 
Thick and Tight 

BEST CLASSICAL CHOREOGRAPHY 
William Forsythe for Forsythe Evening (English National Ballet)
Jess and Morgs for Coppélia (Scottish Ballet)
Crystal Pite for Light of Passage (The Royal Ballet) 
Alexei Ratmansky for Giselle (The United Ballet of Ukraine)
Christopher Wheeldon for Like Water for Chocolate (The Royal Ballet)

BEST MODERN CHOREOGRAPHY 
Ivan Blackstock for Traplord (Sadler’s Wells x 180 Studios/ The Factory/Altruviolet)
Ben Duke for Cerberus (Rambert) 
Ben Duke for Ruination (Lost Dog)
Aakash Odedra and Hu Shenyuan for Samsara (Aakash Odedra Company)
Benoit Swan Pouffer for Peaky Blinders:
The Redemption of Thomas Shelby (Rambert) 

EMERGING ARTIST AWARD 
Musa Motha (Dancer, Rambert)
Jake Roxander (Dancer, ABT Studio Company/ABT) 
Beatrice Parma (Soloist, Birmingham Royal Ballet) 
tyroneisaacstuart (Dancer and Musical Artist) 
Rhys Antoni Yeomans (Dancer, English National Ballet) 

OUTSTANDING FEMALE MODERN PERFORMANCE
Anique Ayiboe as The Chosen One 
in Rite of Spring (École des Sables)) 
Jemima Brown as Clorinda in Clorinda Agonistes (Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company)
Zeleidy Crespo in 100% Cuban (Acosta Danza) 
Naya Lovell as Grace in Peaky Blinders: The
Redemption of Thomas Shelby (Rambert) 
Zizi Strallen as Lana in The Car Man (New Adventures) 

OUTSTANDING MALE MODERN PERFORMANCE
Jean-Daniel Broussé as Hades in Ruination (Lost Dog)
Israel Galván in La Consagración de la Primavera (Compañia Israel Galván) 
Musa Motha as Barney in Peaky Blinders: The
Redemption of Thomas Shelby (Rambert)
Guillaume Quéau as Thomas Shelby 
in Peaky Blinders: The 
Redemption of Thomas Shelby (Rambert)
Hu Shenyuan in Samsara (Aakash Odedra Company)

OUTSTANDING FEMALE CLASSICAL PERFORMANCE 
Constance Devernay-Laurence as Swanilda 
in Coppélia (Scottish Ballet)
Francesca Hayward as Tita in 
Like Water for Chocolate (The Royal Ballet)
Fumi Kaneko as Odette/Odile in Swan Lake (The Royal Ballet)
Marianela Nuñez as Natalia Petrovna in 
A Month in the Country (The Royal Ballet)
Maria Pagés in An Ode to Time (Compañia Maria Pagés/Flamenco Festival) 

OUTSTANDING MALE CLASSICAL PERFORMANCE
Manuel Liñán in Viva! (Compañia Manuel Liñán/ Flamenco Festival) 
Bruno Micchiardi as Coppelius in Coppélia (Scottish Ballet)
Vadim Muntagirov as Crown Prince Rudolf 
in Mayerling (The Royal Ballet)
Marcelino Sambé as Pedro in 
Like Water for Chocolate (The Royal Ballet)
Joseph Taylor in the title role of Casanova (Northern Ballet)

OUTSTANDING CREATIVE CONTRIBUTION 
Bob Crowley (Designer, for Like Water for Chocolate)
Roman GianArthur (Composer, for Peaky Blinders: The Redemption of Thomas Shelby) 
Mikael Karlsson (Composer, for Hotel) 
Paco Peña (Director and Guitarist, for Solera)
Joby Talbot (Composer, for Like Water for Chocolate)

The winners will be announced at a live lunchtime ceremony to be held at The Coronet Theatre on Monday, 5th June . The Critics’ Circle is grateful to Anda Winters and the team at Coronet Theatre for their unstinting support. 

The event will also play host to the De Valois Award for Outstanding Achievement for which there are no prior nominations. 

Although there was a wide spread of nominations covering a record 28 separate companies, The Royal Ballet once again tops the list with a total of 14 nominations (down from 17 in 2021), followed by English National Ballet and Rambert (7 each), Birmingham Royal Ballet (5) and Scottish Ballet (4).

In terms of individual productions, The Royal Ballet’s Like Water for Chocolate and Rambert’s Peaky Blinders: The Redemption of Thomas Shelby top the list with five nominations each. 

Announcing the nominations, the Deputy Chair of the National Dance Awards, Debra Craine, said: “There is a rich assortment of dance amongst this year’s nominees. Although ballet still gathers the biggest share of nominations, there is a strong contingent from contemporary dance and flamenco.” 

The Chair of the National Dance Awards, Graham Watts OBE, added: “This has proved to be another strong set of nominations as we got back to a full year of live theatre and dance. The dance critics will have a very difficult job choosing from these outstanding nominees, any one of which would be a worthy winner.” 

The National Dance Awards have been organised by the Dance Section of the Critics’ Circle in each year of this Millennium to celebrate the vigour and variety of Britain’s thriving dance culture. They are presented by the Dance Section of the Critics’ Circle, which brings together over 60 dance writers and critics. They are the only awards given by the body of professional dance critics in the UK. 

The National Dance Awards will be sponsored this year by Stef Stefanou, Harlequin Floors, Tendu, the Ballet Association, London Ballet Circle, The L&M Trust, Lee McLernon, Danza&Danza International, Celeste Fenichel, Assis Carreiro and others to be announced. 

The Awards Committee wishes to express grateful thanks to our sponsors, without whom the event would not be possible; to the body of dance critics across the UK for giving their time to ensure the best possible list of nominees; and, above all, the companies, choreographers and performers for providing such a rich variety of choice. 

To discuss opportunities to sponsor the National Dance Awards contact the Chairman, Graham Watts on graham@g-watts.com or +44 (0) 7710 057252. 


For further information contact:

Graham Watts – Chairman – +44 (0) 7710 057252 – graham@g-watts.com;
Deborah Weiss – Secretary – dnightingaleweiss@gmail.com

Note: The National Dance Awards Committee is: Debra Craine (Deputy Chair), Sarah Crompton, Maggie Foyer, Jonathan Gray, Lynette Halewood, Donald Hutera, Josephine Leask, Bruce Marriott, Emily May, David Mead, Neil Norman, Graham Watts OBE (Chair), Deborah Weiss (Secretary) and Lyndsey Winship 

twitter: @NatDanceAwards 
Instagram: @national_dance_awards 
Facebook: National Dance Awards 

ENDS

[Jan McNulty]

Congratulations to all the nominees!

[Richard LH]

2 minutes ago, capybara said:

The nominees have just been announced on social media.

I think it's best to await Jan's receipt of the official press release in order for us to start this thread with a proper list but it's sooooooo tempting to begin to comment.

Yes indeed...one particular debut is an especially well-deserved nomination!

[Sim]

Much of it is same old, same old as far as I'm concerned.  Anyway, congratulations to the nominees.

[Blossom]

The classical category somewhat baffles me.

 

[Sim]

33 minutes ago, Blossom said:

The classical category somewhat baffles me.

 

Me too.  I would hardly say LWFC is classical.  Likewise Maria Pages, a flamenco dancer.  

 

What also baffles me is that Yasmine Naghdi is overlooked yet again.  She is a beautiful classical dancer, one of the best (IMHO), and yet, and yet.  I think Mr O'Hare is the better judge here.  

[capybara]

Feeling elated at some recognitions, completely puzzled by other inclusions, and downright disappointed by what, for me, are obvious omissions (yes, Sim, Yasmine is very much in my mind here).

 

[Jan McNulty]

The two nominees that have really thrilled me are:

 

Aakash Odedra and Hu Shenyuan for Samsara (Aakash Odedra Company) for best modern choreography and

 

Hu Shenyuan for outstanding male modern performance (in Samsara).

 

Samsara was one of the most memorable performances I saw in 2022.

 

 

[Richard LH]

Light of Passage = Classical Choreography 😂 

Anyhoo, Fumi  Kaneko gets my vote for Outstanding Female Classical Performance 

[Sim]

35 minutes ago, Richard LH said:

Anyhoo, Fumi  Kaneko gets my vote for Outstanding Female Classical Performance 

Mine too.  No question.

 

And Vadim gets my vote for Outstanding Male 'Classical' Performance for Rudolf.

[Sim]

33 minutes ago, Richard LH said:

Light of Passage = Classical Choreography 😂 

Anyhoo, Fumi  Kaneko gets my vote for Outstanding Female Classical Performance 

Forsythe = Classical Choreography??  🙄

[FionaM]

Categories are problematic when the ‘ballet’ companies have such varied choreo in their repertoire.  
 

Those that are ‘en pointe’ like Forsythe and LWFC clearly can’t be performed by non-ballet companies.  I would put LWFC in same ‘narrative ballet’ category as a Mayerling, Manon, R&J and so yes it is ‘classical ballet’ to me.
 

Forsythe is similar to Balanchine. So if the latter is classical ballet (non-narrative) then so is Forsythe.  
 

However … including Light of Passage in ‘classical choreo’ category makes this whole show laughable.  

[Sim]

11 minutes ago, FionaE said:

Categories are problematic when the ‘ballet’ companies have such varied choreo in their repertoire.  
 

Those that are ‘en pointe’ like Forsythe and LWFC clearly can’t be performed by non-ballet companies.  I would put LWFC in same ‘narrative ballet’ category as a Mayerling, Manon, R&J and so yes it is ‘classical ballet’ to me.
 

Forsythe is similar to Balanchine. So if the latter is classical ballet (non-narrative) then so is Forsythe.  
 

However … including Light of Passage in ‘classical choreo’ category makes this whole show laughable.  

Is your description of classical ballet whether the piece is narrative or non narrative?  I was thinking more of the technical aspects, not just being on pointe or not.  Les Sylphides is a purely classical ballet but has no narrative. I do agree with your last sentence though.

[MildConcern]

To add onto the Naghdi praise, she was by some distance my favourite Tita in LWFC. Though I do seem the unlikelihood of nominating her over Hayward, who was Wheeldon's choice for the first cast. 

Edited April 25, 2023 by MildConcern

[Sim]

6 minutes ago, MildConcern said:

To add onto the Naghdi praise, she was by some distance my favourite Tita in LWFC. Though I do seem the unlikelihood of nominating her over Hayward, who was Wheeldon's choice for the first cast. 

Yes....she and Cesar made it into a different ballet for me when I saw that cast.  

[FionaM]

9 minutes ago, Sim said:

Is your description of classical ballet whether the piece is narrative or non narrative?  I was thinking more of the technical aspects, not just being on pointe or not.  Les Sylphides is a purely classical ballet but has no narrative. I do agree with your last sentence though.

Re narrative, not at all.  See my comment re Balanchine (his fully non-narrative ballets like .. Serenade, Jewels) and Forsythe being similar and therefore both are classical ballet, or neo-classical if you prefer.  

[FionaM]

Just now, Sim said:

Yes....she and Cesar made it into a different ballet for me when I saw that cast.  

and Akane Takada and Alex Campbell were fabulous in LWFC too.  

 

I hope we get to see the ballet again soon.  

[Balletfanp]

Well, I echo the praise for Naghdi, she does some blinding performances but unfairly never seems to get nominated.

 

On the flip side, I’m delighted to see Fumi’s two nominations, but also Laura in the mix.

 

And I am thrilled to see Vadim’s nomination for Rudolf. So well deserved, but I wasn’t expecting it given how few official reviews there were for that cast - but more critics must have seen it than it seemed.

[capybara]

1 hour ago, Sim said:

Mine too.  No question.

And Vadim gets my vote for Outstanding Male 'Classical' Performance for Rudolf.

But, since neither Fumi in Swan Lake nor Vadim in Mayerling performed on first nights and/or when the critics had their free tickets, how can either of them ‘win’ when the shortlists are voted on?

In any case, so much of the list relates to modern dance of one kind or another that anything classical or neo classical doesn’t look to stand much of a chance.

 

 

[Guest oncnp]

9 minutes ago, capybara said:

But, since neither Fumi in Swan Lake nor Vadim in Mayerling performed on first nights and/or when the critics had their free tickets, how can either of them ‘win’ when the shortlists are voted on?

 

 

 

Possibly critics see more than first night or free ticket performances?

[alison]

How on earth is anyone supposed to be able to choose the Best Male Dancer out of that lot?!

[Lizbie1]

7 minutes ago, capybara said:

But, since neither Fumi in Swan Lake nor Vadim in Mayerling performed on first nights and/or when the critics had their free tickets, how can either of them ‘win’ when the shortlists are voted on?

 

 

1 minute ago, oncnp said:

Possibly critics see more than first night or free ticket performances?

 

There's one national dance critic who I've seen at the RB a few times mid-run and she hasn't written about the performance afterwards.

 

As I don't know what many critics look like, don't go that often compared to some others here, don't sit in the expensive seats and generally don't spend much time in the bars, I wonder if she isn't the only one.

[alison]

Perhaps the one who was there for Morera's Cinderella debut the other day?  (There may have been others, but I only spotted one I recognised).

[capybara]

6 minutes ago, Lizbie1 said:

There's one national dance critic who I've seen at the RB a few times mid-run and she hasn't written about the performance afterwards.

 

As I don't know what many critics look like, don't go that often compared to some others here, don't sit in the expensive seats and generally don't spend much time in the bars, I wonder if she isn't the only one.

Good points Lizbie1.

[Angela Essex]

Outstanding Creative Contribution: Joby Talbot, Composer LWFC 🎯💯

[Balletfanp]

There was certainly one well known critic who shared her thoughts about Vadim’s performance on Twitter, but when asked (not by me!) if she would be writing a review, said no, she couldn’t as she had already reviewed the opening night cast. Graham Watts also shared his thoughts on social media, but again, had already reviewed the first cast and only wrote a review on Vadim’s cast in a Japanese dance mag (in Japanese!).

 

Also, given that Fumi’s Swan Lake debut was also Bonelli’s final performance, it’s very possible that some critics attended under their own steam, so to speak, simply because of the occasion.

[jmhopton]

Well, quite a varied list. For male dancer, difficult to choose between Brandon Lawrence and Bracewell (don't really know the others) but I think Brandon just about edges it for me because of his terrific Don Q, whether as Basil or the matador and his wonderful stage presence in anything. Similarly, best female dancer for me is touch and go between Laura Morera (who should have been nominated for outstanding performance for her Natalia Petrovna in Month in the Country) and Francesca Hayward who is incredible in anything she does. I'm very surprised that RB Daichi Ikarashi and Marianne Tsembenhoi weren't mentioned as emerging dancers. Of course, the Outstanding Male Classical Performance has to be Vadim as Prince Rudolf in Mayerling. The most incredible and moving performance I've seen in a classical ballet - ever!

[zxDaveM]

10 hours ago, Sim said:

 

What also baffles me is that Yasmine Naghdi is overlooked yet again.  She is a beautiful classical dancer, one of the best (IMHO), and yet, and yet.

 

as we say in the racing world - stewards' enquiry!!!!

[Emeralds]

I assume that the categories are limited to five nominees maximum so if Light of Passage and/or Like Water for Chocolate were to be put in contemporary that would squeeze out some excellent small contemporary dance companies (or maybe both LOP and LWFC would even up not making the cut?) while the classical category is left with only three nominations which might look very empty. Maybe they could consider renaming it “choreography by a classical company” or “choreography for a contemporary company”, which is what I take those categories to mean. 

 

Also, I find the “best male/female dancers” very tricky as there are so many outstanding dancers that five per category is just too few. I’d also have expected a nomination for Yasmine Naghdi in best dancer or best classical performance at some point by now, as she’s very versatile, and has delivered so many performances that were as good as or better than many that were nominated.  

Edited April 26, 2023 by Emeralds

[Jan McNulty]

I am also shocked that Yasmine Naghdi was not nominated.

 

Any awards such as these are subjective so my idea of whom to nominate could well be very different to the next person's but it doesn't make them any less valid.

[Balletfanp]

I always have a problem with the Best Male/Best Female Dancer categories because you always seem to get nominees who may only have danced in one ballet/performance - and that’s not to say that they weren’t brilliant. But surely they should be in the Best Performance categories. I always feel that the Best Male/Female Dancer categories should be for dancers who have performed to a consistent standard in multiple performances all year, not just in one thing.

[Sim]

2 hours ago, Balletfanp said:

I always have a problem with the Best Male/Best Female Dancer categories because you always seem to get nominees who may only have danced in one ballet/performance - and that’s not to say that they weren’t brilliant. But surely they should be in the Best Performance categories. I always feel that the Best Male/Female Dancer categories should be for dancers who have performed to a consistent standard in multiple performances all year, not just in one thing.

Totally agree with this.  Many dancers are wonderful and work very hard all year, giving great performances in multiple ballets.  But if they don't happen to be dancing the one night the critics go, that's it, no recognition at all.  I gave up on awards long ago....Grace Kelly winning the Oscar for The Country Girl over Judy Garland in A Star Is Born, and John Wayne for True Grit over Jon Voigt in Midnight Cowboy, are just two examples that make me see that I am out of kilter with it all!  

[capybara]

1 hour ago, Sim said:

Totally agree with this.  Many dancers are wonderful and work very hard all year, giving great performances in multiple ballets.  But if they don't happen to be dancing the one night the critics go, that's it, no recognition at all.  I gave up on awards long ago....Grace Kelly winning the Oscar for The Country Girl over Judy Garland in A Star Is Born, and John Wayne for True Grit over Jon Voigt in Midnight Cowboy, are just two examples that make me see that I am out of kilter with it all!  

And, actually, no disrespect to her intended, but,  the year she was absent for Cats and only danced R&J (I think), Frankie was named Best (overall) Female Dancer.