The Royal Ballet has triumphed at this year's Critics' Circle National Dance awards, picking up four gongs in the annual critics' pick of the best in UK dance.
Royal Ballet dancers Edward Watson, Martin Harvey and Yuhui Choe won in the best male, classical male and classical female categories respectively, while the company also received the best classical choreography award for commissioning Christopher Wheeldon's Electric Counterpoint.
The English National Ballet also performed well, honoured with the Dance Europe award for outstanding company. The company's principal ballerina, Agnes Oaks, who is set to retire at the end of the season, beat the Royal Ballet's Sarah Lamb and New York City Ballet's Wendy Whelan to the prize for best female dancer.
Although the New York Times recently judged Sadler's Wells to be the most important dance venue in the world, the London theatre only won in the best modern choreography category – a shortlist it dominated – with a new work by Israeli choreographer Hofesh Shechter. Entitled In Your Rooms, Shechter's ambitious three-part production appeared at three of the capital's major dance venues: Sadler's Wells, the Place and the Southbank Centre. Kate Coyne, a regular performer at the Wells, picked up the award for modern female.
The youth-focused Billy Elliot award, created to recognise "the vigour and variety" of British dancers aged 11-16, was awarded to Michael Guihot-Jouffray, a ballet and tap dancer from the June Glennie School of Dance.
Speaking at the ceremony this lunchtime, the patron of the awards, Beryl Grey, said: "This year's nominations demonstrate the scale and diversity of dance in this country and the contribution of exciting visitors to our shores from Russia and China." She added that the success of the awards over the last nine years had "confirmed the huge and ever-increasing popularity of dance in the UK".
The awards are judged by the dance section of the Critics' Circle, bringing together more than 50 dance writers from a variety of publications.
Full list of winners at the Critics' Circle National Dance awards
De Valois award for outstanding achievement in dance
Richard Alston – artistic director, Richard Alston Dance Company
Dancing Times award for best male dancer
Edward Watson – Royal Ballet
Richard Sherrington award for best female dancer
Agnes Oaks – English National Ballet
Dance Europe award for outstanding company
English National Ballet
Best classical choreography
Christopher Wheeldon for Electric Counterpoint - Royal Ballet
Best modern choreography
Hofesh Shechter for In Your Rooms
Patron's award
Northern Ballet Theatre – received by NBT artistic director, David Nixon, from NDA patron, Beryl Grey
Artsworld Presentations award for best foreign dance company
New York City Ballet
Spotlight award: classical male
Martin Harvey – Royal Ballet
Spotlight award: classical female
Yuhui Choe – Royal Ballet
Spotlight award: modern male
Anh Ngoc Nguyen – Wayne McGregor / Random Dance
Spotlight award: modern female
Kate Coyne – Michael Clark Company and freelance
Working Title Billy Elliot award
Michael Guihot-Jouffray
Dance UK industry award
Janet Smith – Scottish Dance Theatre
