The Dance Section of the Critics’ Circle has announced the nominations for the National Dance Awards for performances between January 1 and December 31, 2025.
The short-list is drawn up from recommendations made by the members of the Dance Section, who this year put forward 379 companies, choreographers, performers and other creative artists across all the categories, up from 365 in 2024.
Once again, The Royal Ballet has most nominations with 14 on the short-list. English National Ballet and London City Ballet have four, followed by Company Wayne McGregor, New Adventures, Northern Ballet and Scottish Ballet each with three. There are ten nominations for overseas companies who visited the UK in 2025.
Photo Tristram Kenton
The winners will be announced at a ceremony to be held on June 15 The Coronet Theatre in London. The event will also play host to the De Valois Award for Outstanding Achievement for which there are no prior nominations.
Chair of the National Dance Awards, Graham Watts, says, “It’s pleasing that once again there is significant diversity to the award nominations with flamenco, contemporary, musical theatre and south Asian dance all represented, although ballet continues to dominate.”
here with Alina Cojocaru in Consolations & Liebestraum by Liam Scarlett
Photo ASH
The nominations:
Best Male Dancer
Harry Alexander
Matthew Ball
William Bracewell
Gareth Haw
Joseph Taylor
Best Female Dancer
Rebecca Bassett-Graham
Cordelia Braithwaite
Lauren Cuthbertson
Sangeun Lee
Marianela Nuñez
here with Lorenzo Trossello and Gareth Haw in David Dawsons Four Last Songs
Photo ASH
Stef Stefanou Award for Outstanding Company
English National Ballet
Lyon Opera Ballet
National Ballet of Japan
New Adventures
The Royal Ballet
Best Midscale Company
balletLORENT
Company Wayne McGregor
National Dance Company Wales
Phoenix Dance Theatre
Scottish Dance Theatre
by Alexei Ratmansky
Photo ASH
Best Independent Company
London City Ballet
Russell Maliphant Dance Company
Protein Dance
Thick & Tight
Yorke Dance Project
Best Classical Choreography
Sophie Laplane for Mary, Queen of Scots
Manuel Liñán for Muerta de Amor
Cathy Marston for Against the Tide
Mthuthuzeli November for Fools
Alexei Ratmansky for Pictures at an Exhibition
Best Modern Choreography
Kyle Abraham for An Untitled Love
Kim Brandstrup for Breaking Bach
Crystal Pite/Simon McBurney for Figures in Extinction
Russell Maliphant for In a Landscape
Noé Soulier for In the Fall
Emerging Artist Award
Liam Francis (as choreographer)
Kayla Mak (as dancer)
Marco Masciari (as dancer)
Georgia Tegou (as choreographer)
Arthur Wille (as dancer)
nominated for the Emerging Artist Award, in Human by Yannick Lebrun
Photo Rosalie O’Connor
Outstanding Female Modern Performance
Rebecca Bassett-Graham in Deepstaria
Cordelia Braithwaite as Victoria Page in The Red Shoes
Ching-Ying Chien in Thikra
María del Mar Suárez/La Chachi in Random Taranto
Latoya Mokoena in the title role as Salomé
Outstanding Male Modern Performance
Phillip Attmore as Jerry Travers in Top Hat
Paris Fitzpatrick as Jimmy in Quadrophenia
Conor Kerrigan as Tommy Shelby in Peaky Blinders
Edward Watson as George in A Single Man
Malachi Welch as Bob Cratchit in Ebony Scrooge
Photo Johan Persson
Outstanding Female Classical Performance
Sara Baras in Vuela
Lauren Cuthbertson as Tatiana in Onegin
Yu Kurihara in the title role as Cinderella
Roseanna Leney in the title role as Mary, Queen of Scots
Marianela Nuñez in Symphony in C
Photo Sofia Wittert
Outstanding Male Classical Performance
Matthew Ball in Against the Tide
William Bracewell in Against the Tide
Ryoichi Hirano in the title role as Onegin
Harvey Littlefield as Younger Elizabeth in Mary, Queen of Scots
Joseph Taylor as Rochester in Jane Eyre
Outstanding Creative Contribution
Jamiel Devernay-Laurence (Producer)
Chloe Lamford (Set Design)
Fabiana Piccioli (Lighting Design)
Maria Seletskaja (Conductor)
Vasko Vassiliev (Violinist)
The nominees for Best Dance Film and Best Short Dance Film will be announced in early May.