Sadler's Wells: Shortlist announced for new dance prize

Maisie Smith-Walters - BBC News
·3 min read
Marco da Silva Ferreira's CARCAÇA is among the nominees for the Rose Prize
Marco da Silva Ferreira's CARCAÇA is among the nominees for the inaugural Rose Prize [JOSÉ CALDEIRA]

Sadler's Wells theatre has launched a global dance award which organisers hope will raise the industry's profile.

The first shortlist of entries includes acts from Brazil, France and the US, and features several different genres.

In early 2025, the nominated works will be performed across venues around London over a two-week period.

Sadler's Wells CEO Sir Alistair Spalding hopes the award will "do for dance what the Turner Prize has done for visual arts".

While the film, art, literary and theatre industries have several awards ceremonies, the dance industry does not have as many which cut through with the general public.

Organisers hope that will change with the introduction of the inaugural Sadler's Wells prize, which is split into two categories.

The Rose will recognise established choreographers presenting a full-length performance of 50 minutes, while the Bloom is for emerging choreographers with a maximum of 10 years' experience - and will be awarded every two years.

The Rose Prize Shortlist:

  • An Untitled Love by Kyle Abraham

  • CARCAÇA by Marco da Silva Ferreira

  • Larsen C by Christos Papadopoulos

  • Encantado by Lia Rodrigues

The Bloom Prize Shortlist:

  • Sepia by Stav Struz Boutrous

  • Maldonne by Leïla Ka

  • Beings by Wang Yeu-Kwn

The prize money for the Rose is £40,000, while the winners of the Bloom will receive £15,000.

Lia Rodrigues's Encantado dance feature colourful blankets
Lia Rodrigues's Rose-nominated work Encantado is inspired by notions of enchantment [Sammi Landweer]
Yeu-Kwn's nominated work, Beings
Taiwanese choreographer Yeu-Kwn's nominated work, Beings, reflects the fragility of intimacy based on his experiences during Covid [You-Wei Chen]

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's World At One on Monday, also International Dance Day, Sir Alistair explained a donor had approached him asking to fund the prize.

He continued: "We are bringing all these artists to London, that's one of the main things, that people can actually see the work. They will all come to London in January 2025... it's a very generous gift."

Choreographer Akram Khan said Sadler's Wells decision to launch the prize was "extremely important".

He told presenter Sarah Montague: "It's going to be such a varied audience, and that's what's really exciting."

"Usually when dance is celebrated, usually it's because of the dancer or he production, but what's interesting here is it's celebrating the choreographers."

The shortlist was decided by a panel or 14 nominators, made up of presenters, artists, producers and writers from North America, South America, Africa, Europe, East Asia, South East Asia and Australasia.

When the prize was first announced, Sir Alistair said: "Prizes like the Booker, Oliviers, and Turner have all managed to attract media and public attention, which raise the profile of the art forms they feature.

He said the intention was to create a "similar prize" for dance, "which does not currently exist at a scale or stature of these industry-defining prizes".

Tickets for the performances go on sale on Friday 10 May.