24 January 2011

English Critics’ Circle highlights Bolshoi Ballet achievements for 3rd time

The Bolshoi Ballet’s triumphant London tour last summer has brought it 3 nominations for the English Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards. And all of them are ours now! Bolshoi Ballet has considered to be the best among foreign companies visited Britain last year. Natalia Osipova has been acclaimed as the best female dancer, and Ivan Vasiliev — as the best male one.

The Bolshoi Ballet has been nominated for Best Foreign Dance Company to have performed in Britain in the past season. (Among its fellow competitors in the finals are the Danza Contemporanea De Cuba and the Mark Morris Dance Group).
Natalia Osipova is again among the finalists in the Best Female Dancer nomination (she will be competing against the Royal Ballet principals Alina Cojocaru and Marianela Nunez).
Ivan Vasiliev has been put forward in the Best Male Dancer nomination ( among the other nominees are Royal Ballet principals Steven McRae and Sergei Polunin).

(We remind readers The Critics’ Circle unites about three hundred, mainly English, critics who regularly write on the art of dance. The awards come in four categories: drama, music, cinema and dance. The dance award (classical and modern) was founded in 2001. To date, the Bolshoi Ballet has garnered this prestigious award four times. In 2007 it was nominated best foreign company to have performed in Britain in 2006. In the same year Alexei Ratmansky carried off the best choreography (classical) prize. And in 2008 the Critics award for best female dancer went to Natalia Osipova, while Ivan Vasiliev won the Spotlight award for classical dancers).

The winners will be announced at the award-giving ceremony, in London, on 24 January 2011.