Winners revealed for Sadler’s Wells’ inaugural Rose International Dance Prize

Christos Papadopoulos and Stav Struz Boutrous have been named the first two winners of Sadler’s Wells’ Rose International Dance Prize, billed as the Olivier Awards of dance.

Greek choreographer Papadopoulos was crowned Rose Prize winner for his production of Larsen C, which was named after the Antarctic ice sheet that broke in 2017.

Meanwhile, Boutrous was awarded the Bloom Prize – which celebrates emerging choreographers with a maximum of 10 years’ experience – for her solo piece Sepia, a reimagining of the conventionally masculine Georgian folk dance Khorumi.

Celebrated stage choreographer Arlene Phillips, musician PJ Harvey and professor Christopher Bannerman were among the jury, who praised the “distinctiveness” of the seven nominated productions, which hailed from countries including Brazil, Israel, Portugal, Taiwan and the US.

Bannerman, on behalf of the jury, also noted commonality across the seven productions, which all enjoyed performances at Sadler’s Wells earlier this year having premiered between October 2021 and July 2023.

“As a body of work, they offer a singular connection with the planet, the time we’re living in,” he said. “They demonstrate how resolutely dance can engage with the world.”

The inaugural awards for dance, which Sadler’s Wells artistic director Alistair Spalding said he hoped would achieve the same stature as the Olivier Awards and the Booker Prize, were presented at the London dance venue on February 8.

Sculptures designed by Es Devlin, made from motion-picture maps of the movements of two dancers, were presented as trophies to the winners.

“Over the last 10 days, Sadler’s Wells has had the pleasure of celebrating and hosting some of the most exciting choreography from across the globe, across a breadth of genres, and I have no doubt that we will look back on this inaugural edition with great pride,” Spalding said.

“We are grateful, above all, for the generous donation that has made this all possible. We believe that dance matters, and that this new prize will have a lasting impact on the future of the art form.”

The Rose International Dance Prize was enabled by a donation to Sadler’s Wells by an anonymous individual who chose the name Rose for the award. The gift will fund 10 iterations of the award over 20 years.