Sylvie Guillem and Russell Maliphant have won Best New Dance Production at the 2006 Laurence Olivier Awards for their duet Push.
Dancer Guillem and choreographer-dancer Maliphant premiered their new work Push at Sadler’s Wells last October to rave reviews and it was a sell-out success. Push also won the South Bank Show Dance Award last month.
As Guillem and Maliphant were unable to attend the ceremony, the award was accepted by Sadler's Wells' Artistic Director Alistair Spalding. He received the award from former ballerina Neve Campbell, who is currently appearing in Resurrection Blues and the Old Vic.
Push beat off competition from fellow nominees Constant Speed (Rambert Dance Company), Giselle (Fabulous Beast Dance Theatre) and Zero Degrees (Akram Khan, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Antony Gormley, Nitin Sawhney).
Sylvie Guillem is an internationally renowned dancer whose career has included periods with the Paris Opera, the Royal Ballet, the American Ballet Theater and Milan’s La Scala. She has been recognised with numerous awards in her native France and was made a CBE in the UK in 2003.
Russell Maliphant has long worked with Sadler’s Wells and has choreographed more than 20 works, including pieces for the Lyon Opera Ballet, the Batsheva Ensemble and the Nuremberg Ballet. Maliphant’s Broken Fall won the same Laurence Olivier Award in 2003.
Guillem and Maliphant will return to Sadler’s Wells with the same programme in June 2006, after Maliphant’s full company performs there in April with two new works. Guillem will appear at the Royal Opera House in Romeo And Juliet, also in April.
CB
