The Place

Any UK-based choreographer can enter The Place Prize by submitting a three-minute video outlining an idea for an original dance work of up to 20 minutes in length. 16 entrants will be selected and given everything they need to create their new works: studio time, technical support and a commission fee of £5,000. The successful entrants will also be able to bid for up to £2,000 extra funding for their production costs.

The 16 commissions will be presented at The Place in preview and semi-final performances in September 2010. The work which receives the highest rating as voted by the semi-final audiences will be selected as a finalist, along with three pieces chosen by a panel of dance experts. The four finalists will be funded to re-rehearse their works ahead of finals performances at The Place in April 2011, where they will compete for £10,000 of audience-voted prizes, and a panel of judges will select The Place Prize winner, who will receive £25,000.

This is the fourth edition of The Place Prize, which was created in 2004 as a biennial competition to put Britain’s contemporary choreographers in the spotlight through supporting the creation of their works. It is the biggest single source of commissions for Britain’s independent choreographers, and the works created often remain in artists’ repertoire for years after the competition and are seen around the world. By the conclusion of this latest edition, The Place Prize will have enabled the creation of 76 works and invested over £1million in new dance.

Eddie Nixon, Director of Theatre and Artist Development at The Place, said:
“We’ve made a few changes to this year’s Place Prize. The competition will be tougher, as we’re commissioning four less works, but there’s more money for the selected artists, and more flexibility about the work they create. None of this would be possible without Bloomberg’s continuing support, which is a wonderful endorsement of the vitality of The Place Prize. I’m looking forward to the best edition yet!”

The deadline for online submission of entry videos is Friday 26 February 6pm.

For media enquiries, contact Tim Wood, Director of Communications on 020 7121 1021 or


Editors’ Notes:

For forty years, The Place has explored what dance can do: engaging with audiences and participants, championing the best ideas, and creating inspiring conditions for artists and enthusiasts to realise their potential. The Place combines London Contemporary Dance School, Richard Alston Dance Company and the Robin Howard Dance Theatre, together with pioneering learning, outreach, recreation and professional development projects. Our approaches to participation, education, creation and performance inform each other, respond to today’s world, and embrace risks.

The Place Prize for dance, sponsored by Bloomberg, is a biennial competition for UK-based contemporary choreographers. It has been described as “the Turner Prize of dance”. Uniquely, it funds commissions of works for the competition, as well as awarding £35,000 in prize money. It was established in 2004, and the previous winners are Rafael Bonachela (2004), Nina Rajarani (2006) and Adam Linder (2008). The Place Prize has also commissioned work from Hofesh Shechter (2004), Punchdrunk (2006) and Aletta Collins (2008), and a total of 60 new dance works.

Listings information:

The Place Prize for dance, sponsored by Bloomberg

Entries open: Fri 15 January 2010
Deadline for entries: Fri 26 February 2010
Commissions announced: Wed 28 April 2010
Preview performances: Thu 9, Sat 11, Tue 14, Thu 16 September 2010
Semi-final performances: Sat 18, Tue 21, Thu 23, Sat 25 September 2010
Finalists announced: Sat 25 September 2010
Finals performances: Wed 6 – Sat 16 April 2011
Winner announced: Sat 16 April 2011