Northern School of Contemporary Dance has awarded Honorary Fellowships for 2017 to Wayne McGregor CBE and Gary Clarke, representing the highest award the School can bestow. The prestigious titles were awarded earlier this month to the pair in recognition of their exceptional contribution to the school, contemporary dance as a whole, and to the current cultural landscape.
NSCD’s graduation saw the awards conferred, in addition to performances from graduating students and a prize-giving ceremony. The creation of these awards is a new initiative for the school, which currently provides the only conservatoire-level professional dance training in the North of England, and was recently awarded NPO status from Arts Council England. This new accolade for the school sees it join ranks with arts organisations such as The Royal Ballet, National Theatre and hundreds of other organisations across the country which also breathed a sigh of relief at the end of June.
Wayne McGregor CBE is a multi award-winning British choreographer and director, internationally renowned for his innovative work spanning creative collaborations across dance, film, music, visual art, technology and science. He is Artistic Director of Studio Wayne McGregor and Company Wayne McGregor, his own company of touring dancers, and is also Resident Choreographer at The Royal Ballet.
Award-winning choreographer Gary Clarke graduated from Northern School of Contemporary Dance in 2001 and is regarded as one of the UK’s leading independent dance artists. His work has toured extensively to critical acclaim both nationally and internationally, and his most recent production, COAL, a visceral work that explores the darker side of the mining industry, has earned him a UK National Theatre Award for Achievement in Dance, and a Critics’ Circle National Dance award for Best Independent Company.