Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance

Summary

The Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance is an annual award presented by the Society of London Theatre in recognition of achievements in commercial London theatre. The awards were established as the Society of West End Theatre Awards in 1976, and renamed in 1984 in honour of English actor and director Laurence Olivier.

Laurence Olivier Award
for Outstanding Achievement in Dance
Awarded forOutstanding Achievement in Dance
Location England
Presented bySociety of London Theatre
First awarded1977
Currently held byIsabela Coracy for performing in NINA: By Whatever Means (2024)
Websiteofficiallondontheatre.com/olivier-awards/ Edit this at Wikidata

This award was first presented in 1977, as Outstanding Achievement of the Year in Ballet, then was retitled to Outstanding Individual Performance of the Year in a New Dance Production in 1983, before settling on the current title in 1986. With the exception of 1983–1985, when the criteria focused only on an individual dancer, this award`s criteria covers the breadth of a commingled group of specialties, including: dancers, choreographers, designers (individual or combination of costume, visual, set, lighting – in dance, as opposed to the individual Olivier awards for designer categories, which also exist), and artistic directors.

Winners and nominees edit

1970s edit

Year Nominee Category Production
1977
London Festival Ballet Dance company Romeo and Juliet
Maurice Béjart Choreographer/director Ballet of the 20th Century
The Royal Ballet Dance company The Sleeping Beauty
Rudolf Nureyev Dancer/director Nureyev and Friends
1978
Robert Cohan Artistic director London Contemporary Dance Theatre
Christopher Bruce Choreographer Ballet Rambert
Siobhan Davies Dancer Harmonica Breakdown
Lynn Seymour Dancer A Month in the Country
1979
Peter Schaufuss Choreographer La Sylphide
Kenneth MacMillan Choreographer Playground
Ballet Rambert Dance company The Tempest

1980s edit

Year Nominee Category Production
1980
The Royal Ballet Dance company Gloria
Ballet of the 20th Century Dance company Gaîté Parisienne
London Festival Ballet Dance company Sphinx
The Royal Ballet Dance company Rhapsody
1981
Stuttgart Ballet Dance company Forgotten Land
London Contemporary Dance Theatre Dance company Death and the Maiden
The Royal Ballet Dance company Dances of Albion
Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet Dance company Night Moves
1982
Ballet de l'Opéra National de Paris Dance company Le songe d'une nuit d'été
Ballet Rambert Dance company Ghost Dances
The Royal Ballet Dance company Illuminations
The Royal Ballet Dance company L'Invitation Au Voyage
1983
Alessandra Ferri Dancer, The Royal Ballet Valley of Shadows
Patrick Armand Dancer, Ballet Théâtre Français Songs of a Wayfarer
Natalia Makarova Dancer, The Royal Opera The Nightingale
Koen Onzia Dancer, London Festival Ballet The Seasons
1984
David Bintley Dancer, Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet Petrushka
Wayne Eagling Dancer, The Royal Ballet Different Drummer
Patricia Ruanne Dancer, London Festival Ballet Onegin
1985
Yoko Morishita Dancer, Matsuyama Ballet Company Giselle
Stephen Jefferies Dancer, The Royal Ballet The Sons of Horus
Roland Price Dancer, Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet The Sleeping Beauty
Bryony Brind Dancer, The Royal Ballet Young Apollo
1986
Ballet Rambert Dance company 60th Anniversary Season
Bolshoi Ballet Dance company Performances at the London Coliseum
Michael Clark Dancer Individual Impact and Contribution
Irek Mukhamedov Dancer Bolshoi Ballet
Jerome Robbins Choreographer Range of Work
Jorge Salavisa Artistic director The Ballet Gulbenkian
1987
Trisha Brown Dancer/choreographer Season at Sadler's Wells Theatre
London Contemporary Dance Theatre Dance company Season at Sadler's Wells Theatre
Richard Alston Choreographer Pulcinella and Dutiful Ducks
Merce Cunningham Company Dance company Season at Sadler's Wells Theatre
Ichikawa Ennosuke III Kabuki performer The Thousand Cherries of Yoshitsune
1988
Kirov Ballet Dance company Season in London
London Festival Ballet with special mention to Christopher Bruce for his choreography and Koen Onzia for his performances Dance company Swansong and Cruel Garden
Cumbre Flamenca Dance company Season at Sadler's Wells Theatre
Hayden Griffin Designer Still Life at the Penguin Café
London Contemporary Dance Theatre Dance company Arden Court and Shift
Second Stride Dance company Weighing the Heart
1989/90
London Contemporary Dance Theatre Dance company Kim Brandstrup's Orfeo
Nina Ananiashvili and Irek Mukhamedov Dancers Bolshoi Ballet
David Bintley Choreographer Hobson's Choice
Siobhan Davies Choreographer Embarque
The Royal Ballet Dance company The Prince of the Pagodas
Paul Taylor Dance Company Dance company Season at Sadler's Wells Theatre

1990s edit

Year Nominee Category Production
1991
Twyla Tharp and Jennifer Tipton Choreographer and lighting designer In the Upper Room
Siobhan Davies and Dancers Choreographer and dancers Season at Sadler's Wells Theatre
Darcey Bussell Dancer Winter Dreams and Stravinsky Violin Concerto
Kenneth MacMillan Choreographer Winter Dreams
Mark Morris Choreographer Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes
The Phoenix Dance Company Dance company Season at Sadler's Wells Theatre
1992
William Forsythe and The Royal Ballet Choreographer and performance In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated
Adventures in Motion Pictures most promising small dance company to present a West End season Dance company Season at the Royal Court Theatre
Stephen Jefferies Dancer Cyrano
Philippe Genty Director and concept Driftings
Graham Lustig and Henk Schut Choreographer and designer Inscape
Northern Ballet Theatre Dance company Romeo and Juliet
1993
Siobhan Davies Choreographer Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues
David Bintley Choreographer Tombeaux
Lez Brotherston Scenery and costume designer Northern Ballet Theatre's Season at the Royalty Theatre
Joseph Cipolla Dancer The Green Table
1994
London Contemporary Dance Theatre Dance company Season at Sadler's Wells
Darcey Bussell Dancer Ballet Imperial and La Ronde
Sylvie Guillem Dancer Herman Schmerman
Marion Tait Dancer Romeo and Juliet
1995
Peter Mumford Lighting designer Fearful Symmetries and The Glass Blew In
Thomas Edur Dancer The Sleeping Beauty
John MacFarlane Designer The Nutcracker
Nuria Moreno Dancer Cinderella
1996
Siobhan Davies Choreographer The Art of Touch
Deborah Bull Dancer Steptext
Sylvie Guillem Dancer Episodes
Marion Tait Dancer Pillar of Fire
1997
Rambert Dance Company Dance company Season at the London Coliseum
Sue Blane Designer Alice in Wonderland
Viviana Durante Dancer Anastasia and ...Now Langourous, Now Wild...
Thomas Edur Dancer Alice in Wonderland and Giselle
1998
Lez Brotherston Set design and costume Cinderella
Altynai Asylmuratova Dancer Swan Lake
Mark Morris Choreographer L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato
1999
William Forsythe and Ballett Frankfurt Choreographer/artistic director and dance company Season at Sadler's Wells
Trisha Brown Choreographer L'Orfeo
Bill T. Jones and company Choreographer/dancer and dancers We Set Out Early...Visibility Was Poor
Twyla Tharp and company Choreographer/dancer and dancers Season at the Barbican Theatre

2000s edit

Year Nominee Category Production
2000
Jirí Kylián Choreographer/director NDT I's season at Sadler's Wells
Nina Ananiashvili Dancer Don Quixote
Pina Bausch and company Concept and production Viktor
David Bintley and creative team Choreographer, designers, music Edward II
2001
Deborah Colker Choreographer Mix
Matthew Bourne Concept and dramatisation The Car Man
Robert Parker Dancer Shakespeare Suite
Michael Revie Dancer Mozartina
2002
Mark Morris Choreographer/director Mark Morris Dance Group's season at Sadler's Wells
Ushio Amagatsu Concept, direction, choreography and performance Hibiki
Dana Caspersen Dancer Artifact and Eidos:Telos
William Forsythe Choreographer Artifact and Eidos:Telos
2003
Robyn Orlin Choreographer Daddy, I've Seen This Piece Six Times and I Still Don't Know Why They're Hurting Each Other
Pina Bausch Tanztheater Wuppertal Dance company Kontakthof
Chiaki Nagao Dancer Madame Butterfly
Christopher Wheeldon Choreographer Tryst and Polyphonia
2004
Thomas Edur and Agnes Oaks Dancers 2 Human
Carlos Acosta Dancer and choreographer Tocororo - A Cuban Tale
Javier de Frutos Choreographer Elsa Canasta
Rambert Dance Company Dance company Season at Sadler's Wells
2005
San Francisco Ballet Dance company Season at Sadler's Wells
Julien Macdonald Costume designer Shimmer
The Royal Ballet Dance company Sylvia
Rambert Dance Company Dance company Season at Sadler's Wells
2006
Pina Bausch Choreographer Nelken and Palermo, Palermo
Ballet Nacional de Cuba Corps de ballet (dancers) specifically Season at Sadler's Wells
Johan Kobborg Dancer and director The Lesson and La Sylphide
Russell Maliphant Choreographer/dancer PUSH
2007
Carlos Acosta Dancer and producer Season at Sadler's Wells
Steven McRae Dancer Homage to the Queen and Chroma
Marianela Núñez Dancer DGV, The Sleeping Beauty, Acosta season at Sadler's Wells
Wayne McGregor Choreographer Chroma
2008
The Royal Ballet Dance company Jewels
Savion Glover Dancer Live for London
Jonathan Goddard Dancer Performances with Richard Alston Dance Company
Wendy Whelan Dancer Fool's Paradise
2009
Royal Ballet of Flanders Dance company Impressing the Czar
The Royal Ballet Dance company Infra
Savion Glover, Marshall Davis, Jr. and Maurice Chestnut Dancers Bare Soundz

2010s edit

Year Nominee Category Production
2010
Rambert Dance Company Dance company Outstanding Year of New Work
Colin Dunne Dancer Out of Time
Michael Hulls Lighting designer Two:Four:Ten, Afterlight, Ex Machina and Eonnagata
2011
Antony Gormley Visual designer Babel (Words)
John MacFarlane Designer Asphodel Meadows
Yoshie Sunahata (Kodo) Drummer Gnosis
2012
Edward Watson Dancer The Metamorphosis
The Design Team Set, costume, lighting, visual projections Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Tommy Franzen Dancer Some Like It Hip Hop
Sylvie Guillem Dancer 6000 Miles Away
2013
Marianela Núñez Dancer Aeternum, Diana and Acteon and Viscera
ILL-Abilities Dance company Breakin' Convention
Lez Brotherston Set and costume designer The Sleeping Beauty
2014
Michael Hulls Lighting designer Body of work including Ballet Boyz: The Talent
Mark Morris Dancer and choreographer Season at Sadler's Wells
Arthur Pita Choreographer Ballet Black: A Dream Within a Midsummer Night's Dream
Clemmie Sveaas Dancer Witch-Hunt
2015
Crystal Pite Choreographer A Picture of You Falling, The Tempest Replica and Polaris
Rocío Molina Dancer Bosque Ardora
The Elders Project Dance group Elixir Festival
Christopher Wheeldon Choreographer The Winter's Tale
2016
Alessandra Ferri Dancer Chéri and Woolf Works
Javier de Frutos Choreographer Anatomy of a Passing Cloud
Sasha Waltz Choreographer Sacre
2017
English National Ballet Dance company Akram Khan's Giselle and She Said
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Dance company Season at Sadler's Wells
Luke Ahmet Dancer The Creation
2018
Francesca Velicu Dancer Pina Bausch's Le Sacre Du Printemps
Rocío Molina Dancer Fallen from Heaven (Caída del Cielo)
Zenaida Yanowsky Dancer Liam Scarlett's Symphonic Dances
2019
Akram Khan Dancer Xenos
John MacFarlane Designer Swan Lake
Dimitris Papaioannou Choreographer The Great Tamer

2020s edit

Year Nominee Category Production
2020
Sara Baras Choreographer and Dancer Ballet Flamenco Sobras
Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker Dancer Mitten wir im Leben sind/Bach6Cellosuiten
Gisèle Vienne Choreographer Crowd and Dance Umbrella
2021 Not presented due to extended closing of theatre productions during COVID-19 pandemic[A]
2022[A]
Arielle Smith Choreographer Jolly Folly in Reunion
Acosta Danza Dance company De Punta A Cabo in 100% Cuban
NDT2 Dancers Dancers NDT2 Tour
Edward Watson Dancer Wayne McGregor's The Dante Project
2023
Dickson Mbi Choreographer Enowate
Manuel Liñán Choreographer ¡VIVA!
Raquel Meseguer Zafe Dramaturg Ruination by Lost Dog
Catrina Nisbett Dancer Family Honour by Spoken Movement
2024
Isabela Coracy Dancer NINA: By Whatever Means, part of :Ballet Black:Pioneers
Jonzi D Artistic Director Breakin' Convention 2023 International Festival of Hip Hop Dance Theatre
Rhiannon Faith Concept Lay Down Your Burdens
  1. ^ a b Due to late March 2020[1] to late July 2021[2] closing of London theatre productions during the COVID-19 pandemic in England, the 2022 awards recognise productions that launched anytime from February 2020 to February 2022[3]


References edit

  1. ^ Johnson, The Rt Hon Boris, MP (23 March 2020). Prime Minister's statement on coronavirus (COVID-19): 23 March 2020 [transcript] (Speech). Prime Minister's Televised Speech to the United Kingdom. www.gov.uk. London, UK. Archived from the original on 9 June 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2022. From this evening I must give the British people a very simple instruction — you must stay at home.{{cite speech}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ McPhee, Ryan (14 June 2021). "U.K. Postpones Reopening Roadmap; West End Theatres Will No Longer Reopen in Full in June". Playbill. Archived from the original on 14 June 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2022. Step 4 of the roadmap will allow productions to play without capacity restrictions. June 21 was the goal; now, the government is eyeing July 19.
  3. ^ Thomas, Sophie (8 March 2022). "Everything you need to know about the Olivier Awards". londontheatre.co.uk. Archived from the original on 11 April 2022. Retrieved 25 April 2022. Any new production that opened between 19 Feb. 2020 to 22 Feb. 2022 are eligible for categories in the 2022 Olivier Awards. With two years worth of shows set for honours in one year's ceremony, the 2022 Olivier Awards will prove tougher competition than before.
  • London Theatre Guide (2008). "The Laurence Olivier Awards: Full List of Winners, 1976-2008" (.PDF). 1976-2008. The Society of London Theatre. p. 20. Retrieved 30 August 2008.

External links edit

  • Official website