Northern Ballet beats Paris and Hamburg to prestigious award

Northern Ballet's production of The Great Gatsby. Picture by Bill Cooper

The company, based in Quarry Hill, was named the best in Europe at the inaugural Taglioni European Ballet Awards.

Northern Ballet was nominated for the accolade alongside Hamburg Ballet and Paris Opera Ballet.

Premier dancer Kenneth Tindall was also nominated in the category of best young choreographer.

The winners of the competition, named after Italian ballerina Marie Taglioni, were chosen by an expert panel comprising of journalists from Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and the UK.

Artistic director David Nixon OBE, who accepted the award on behalf of Northern Ballet, said: “It’s a huge honour to accept this award on behalf of everyone at Northern Ballet.

“I am so pleased that the hard work and exceptionally high standards of the company have been recognised in this way.

“To have been nominated alongside the Hamburg Ballet and Paris Opera Ballet, two companies I admire so much, only adds to the sense of achievement.

“Northern Ballet is passionate about creating new full-length ballets and touring these as widely as possible.

“We are committed to reaching audiences who otherwise might not have access to high quality dance.”

Northern Ballet recently announced its new production will be 1984, a dance adaption of George Orwell’s masterpiece, which will premier at West Yorkshire Playhouse in September 2015.