The shortlist of nominations have been announced by the Dance Section of the Critics’ Circle for their annual National Dance Awards.

Billed as the 2023 awards, although announced in 2024, the qualifying period for performances was between 1 January and 31 December 2023.

311 companies, choreographers, performers and other creative artists were originally nominated, from which the shortlist has now been announced.

The winners will be revealed at a lunchtime ceremony at The Coronet Theatre on 3 June 2024. The event will also announce the De Valois Award for Outstanding Achievement.

The Royal Ballet tops the list with 11 nominations, followed by Birmingham Royal Ballet and New Adventures, both with 5 each, and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, the Flamenco Festival and Tiler Peck and Friends, with 4 each.

The National Dance Awards have been organised by the Dance Section of the Critics’ Circle each year since 2000, to celebrate the vigour and variety of Britain’s thriving dance culture. The Dance Section of the Critics’ Circle is made up of over 60 dance writers and critics.

The National Dance Awards will be sponsored this year by Marquee TV, Harlequin Floors, Stef Stefanou, International Arts and Cultural Projects Ltd, Tendu, the Ballet Association, London Ballet Circle, The L&M Trust, Lee McLernon, Danza&Danza International, Celeste Fenichel, Fern Potter and others to be announced.

The Chair of the National Dance Awards, Graham Watts OBE, said: “This is the best year yet for the diversity of nominations across the dance sector with a rich list from flamenco, south Asian dance, dance and musical theatre as well as the usual plethora of nominees from ballet and contemporary dance; all spread over a record number of companies.”

Matthew Bourne of New Adventures said in a statement: “I am so very proud of my New Adventures family for being nominated for Outstanding Company at this year’s National Dance Awards, and especially to our leading dancers Liam Mower, nominated for his role in Edward Scissorhands, Cordelia Braithwaite for Romeo and Juliet and Paris Fitzpatrick for his two nominations for Romeo and Juliet. My love and congratulations to everyone in my New Adventures family for this very deserved recognition.”

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National Dance Awards – Shortlisted nominations

Best Male Dancer: William Bracewell – Paris Fitzpatrick – Francesco Gabriele Frola – Brandon Lawrence – Vadim Muntagirov

Best Female Dancer: Sara Baras – Jemima Brown – Fumi Kaneko – Tiler Peck – Aishwarya Raut

Outstanding Company: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater – Birmingham Royal Ballet – Nederlands Dans Theater – New Adventures – The Royal Ballet

Best Midscale Company: Acosta Danza – Ballet Black – Ockham’s Razor – Scottish Dance Theatre – ZooNation: The Kate Prince Company

Best Independent Company: Drew McOnie Company – Pett I Clausen-Knight – Russell Maliphant Dance Company – Seeta Patel Dance – Tiler Peck and Friends

Best Classical Choreography: Sara Baras for Alma in the Flamenco Festival – David Dawson for Four Last Songs by English National Ballet – William Forsythe for The Barre Project by Tiler Peck and Friends – Wayne McGregor for Untitled, 2023 by The Royal Ballet – Seeta Patel for The Rite of Spring by Seeta Patel Dance

Best Modern Choreography: Kyle Abraham for Are you in Your Feelings? by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater – Drew McOnie for Nutcracker by the Drew McOnie Company – Kristen McNally for The Limit at The Royal Opera House – Crystal Pite/Simon McBurney for Figures in Extinction (1.0) by Nederlands Dans Theater – Pam Tanowitz for Song of Songs by Pam Tanowitz Dance

Outstanding Male Classical Performance: Gareth Haw in Four Last Songs by English National Ballet – Ryoichi Hirano as Espada in Don Quixote by The Royal Ballet – Brandon Lawrence in Liebestod by Birmingham Royal Ballet – Sooraj Subramaniam in The Rite of Spring by Seeta Patel Dance – Joseph Taylor as Gatsby in The Great Gatsby by Northern Ballet

Outstanding Female Classical Performance: Sara Baras for Alma in the Flamenco Festival – Isabela Coracy as Nina Simone in Nina, By Whatever Means by Ballet Black – Mercedes de Cordoba for Si, Quiero in the Flamenco Festival – Fumi Kaneko as Princess Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty by The Royal Ballet – Tiler Peck for Turn it Out by Tiler Peck and Friends

Outstanding Male Modern Performance: Harry Alexander in how did we get here? by Julie Cunningham & Company – Paris Fitzpatrick as Romeo in Romeo + Juliet by New Adventures – Yannick Lebrun in Dancing Spirit by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater – Liam Mower as Edward Scissorhands by New Adventures – Charlie Stemp as Bobby Child in Crazy For You

Outstanding Female Modern Performance: Cordelia Braithwaite as Juliet in Romeo + Juliet by New Adventures – Jemima Brown in Surge by Tom Dale Company – Aditi Mangaldas in Forbidden by Aditi Mangaldas Dance Company – Dada Masilo as the Chosen One in The Sacrifice for Dance Consortium – Constance Stamatiou in Cry for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

Emerging Artist: Nicole-Lily Baisden, musical theatre artist – Jordan James Bridge, dancer and choreographer – Eric Pinto Cata, artist at Birmingham Royal Ballet – Joshua Junker, choreographer – Sae Maeda, soloist at The Royal Ballet

Outstanding Creative Contribution: Carlos Acosta for the concept of Black Sabbath – The Ballet – Cormac Begley, musician/concertina player in MAM by Teac Damsa – Ravi Deepres, visual artist for UniVerse: A Dark Crystal Odyssey for Studio Wayne McGregor – Cassie Kinoshi – composer Nutcracker for Drew McOnie Company and England on Fire for the Balletboyz – Kate Shipway, pianist for her work at The Royal Ballet.

Best Dance Film and Best Short Dance Film nominations announced at the beginning of May.

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Main photo: National Dance Awards - Critics' Circle

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