One Dance UK Awards recipients announced

On Friday 24 January, individuals and organisations working in the dance sector across the UK came together to celebrate their achievements and inspire one another at the annual One Dance UK Awards.

The glittering evening of celebrations, organised by One Dance UK, the sector support organisation for dance, provided an opportunity to acknowledge the outstanding contributions of those changing lives through dance and those whose exceptional hard work is helping to move the sector forward.

The shortlist and recipients of the awards truly reflected the breadth of incredible work happening in the UK dance sector. The panel of expert judges were inundated with nominations, which they had to whittle down to arrive at a shortlist for each category.

The prestigious Jane Attenborough Award was given to Hakeem Onibudo, Founder and CEO of Impact Dance. For over 29 years, he has been empowering people to find their voice and confidence through dance. He is a teacher, a leader, and a mentor, supporting the personal and professional growth of both young people and adults, trained professionals and beginners. The Jane Attenborough Award is named in memory of the founding Director of Dance UK, Jane Attenborough and honours those working in dance who have made an outstanding contribution to the artform throughout their career.

This year, the event, hosted at the Patrick Studio at Birmingham Hippodrome, spotlighted dance in the Midlands. The ceremony featured breathtaking performances from local dance companies Sampad, Linden Dance Company, and Propel Dance and was hosted by Junior Cunningham, a West Midlands-based freelance dance artist.

Prior to the ceremony, a panel discussion took place with representatives from FABRIC, Serendipity Institute for Black Arts and Heritage, Equity and People Dancing. They discussed dance in the Midlands with a particular focus on the importance of collaboration.

Andrew Hurst MBE, Chief Executive, comments, “All of the nominees are inspiring examples of the dedication and innovation that drives dance in the UK, and we are delighted to be able to celebrate their important work.”

This year's award recipients: 

Health and Wellbeing in Dance Award: Emily Jenkins, Move Dance Feel

Research in Dance Award: Gemma Harman, ResDance

Young People’s Dance Champion Award: Sarah Shorten 

Community Champion Award: Fallen Angels Dance Theatre 

The Dance Spotlight Award: Carolyn Lappin  

The Dance Changemaker Award: Fallen Angels Dance Theatre & Paul Bayes Kitcher  

The Green Dance Award: Magpie Dance

Artistic Innovation in Dance Award: Stopgap Dance Company   

People’s Choice Award: Dance with Sonia Brown

The Bob Lockyer Award for Digital Innovation: Avatâra Ayuso 

The Jane Attenborough Award: Hakeem Onibudo   

We would like to give special thanks to our Silver Sponsor, Harlequin Floors, our Bronze Sponsor, Equity, the Young People’s Dance Champion Award sponsor, the Royal Academy of Dance and the People’s Choice Award sponsor, Performers College. We would also like to thank FABRIC and Birmingham Hippodrome. Without all their generous support, this event would not have been possible.

To view a gallery of images from the night, click on the button below!