Olga Smirnova & Young Gyu Choi Nominated in Dancer of the Year Election Critics' Choice 2022

In the Critics' Choice of leading dance magazine Dance Europe on the 2021-2022 international dance season, the Dutch National Ballet is rewarded with 21 mentions in various categories including Dancer of the Year, Best Company, Director of the Year, Premiere of the Year and Outstanding Dance Performance.

Principals Olga Smirnova and Young Gyu Choi are both nominated in the Dancer of the Year category. In this category, an international jury nominates a total of 12 top dancers from all over the world. All nominees then compete for the Dancer of the Year public award. The public can vote throughout October. In 2020, the first edition of the Critics' Choice was won by Maia Makhateli, principal with the Dutch National Ballet.

Three members of the twelve-member Critics' Choice jury named the Dutch National Ballet Company of the Year and Ted Brandsen Director of the Year.

In the categories Outstanding performance by a female dancer and Outstanding performance by a male dancer, there are honourable mentions for Maia Makhateli in Raymonda and Voorbij Gegaan, Anna Ol in Trois Gnossiennes and Adagio Hammerklavier, for Olga Smirnova in Raymonda, Edo Wijnen in Concertante, Giorgi Potskhisvili in Two Gold Variations and Young Gyu Choi as Abd al-Rahman in Raymonda.

In the Best premieres category, Raymonda by Rachel Beaujean is mentioned no less than three times. Lucifer Studies by Toer van Schayk and Anatomy of Light by Wubkje Kuindersma also get a mention.

Mila Nicolussi of the Junior Company is mentioned as a Name to watch.

The Critics' Choice 2022 was compiled by a 12-member jury of editors writing for Dance Europe and other international (dance) publications. Each member of the jury compiled a personal list including the best dancer, dancers who have achieved excellence, the best company, best director and the best new productions of the past dance season.

All dancers nominated in the Dancer of the Year category will compete for the audience award. The public can vote throughout October by emailing the name of their favourite dancer to media@danceeurope.net, stating their name and/or telephone number. Voting can also be done by sending the same details via text message to +44(0)7542770072.

Photo Credit: Smirnova - Altin Kaftira, Choi - Marc Haegeman