The National Ballet of Canada has been nominated for two Olivier Awards for Best New Dance Production and Outstanding Achievement in Dance. It’s a first for the company, making the dual nomination even more impressive.
Both nominations revolve around the National Ballet’s tour to London for performances at Sadler’s Wells in October 2024, and the production Frontiers: Choreographers of Canada, featuring Angels’ Atlas by Crystal Pite, Passion by James Kudelka and islands by Emma Portner.
“I am thrilled to learn The National Ballet of Canada has been nominated for two Olivier Awards for the first time in its history. I could not be prouder of this incredible company and the impact our performances had on London audiences. To see our work recognized and celebrated in this way is incredibly humbling. It meant so much to me to bring this program of all Canadian choreographers to Sadler’s Wells, a venue that was my artistic home for many years in my early career,” said Hope Muir, Joan and Jerry Lozinski Artistic Director of The National Ballet of Canada.
The Oliviers
The Olivier Awards are given out by the Society of London Theatre each year. They recognize excellence in professional theatre in various categories. The Awards were originally established in 1976 under the rather more prosaic title of the Society of West End Theatre Awards. They were renamed after iconic British actor Laurence Olivier in 1984.
The 2025 nominees include a peppering of familiar names, like John Lithgow and Adrien Brody, who are both vying for the Best Actor award.
In the Best new dance production category, Frontiers: Choreographers of Canada — Pite/Kudelka/Portner by the National Ballet of Canada at Sadler’s Wells is competing against three other productions. All staged at Sadler’s Wells, they include pieces by the renowned Hofesh Shechter Company, A.I.M by Kyle Abrahams, and another work co-choreographed by Canadian artist Crystal Pite along with Kidd Pivot and Jonathan Young.
Tom Visser is nominated for Outstanding achievement in dance for his lighting design of Angels’ Atlas as part of Frontiers: Choreographers of Canada. Other nominees in the same category include performers Sarah Chun and Eva Yerbabuena.
This year’s Olivier Awards will take place at the Royal Albert Hall in London on Sunday, April 6.
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Anya Wassenberg is a Toronto City Editor at Ludwig Van. She is an experienced freelance writer, blogger and writing instructor.
