New Adventures Choreographer Award 2013

Matthew Bourne's New Adventures Choreographer Award has enabled three dance prize winners to share a prize fund of more than £40,000. Dreamt up and founded by iconic choreographer-director Bourne who discovered dance a little later in life. The Award will see three winners - John Ross, Sally Marie and Caroline Finn - share the prize. Bourne said the standard of this year's entries was so high that he created three distinct awards to recognise the talent. The winners were selected from almost 100 applicants and six finalists who applied for the bi-annual award, set up by Bourne's New Adventures company to mark his 50th birthday in 2010. The charitable arm of Bourne's New Adventures provides the three winners with mentoring assistance as well as support with budgeting, management, contracting and fundraising, with Bourne proud to support them in the next steps of their careers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRixTncT2QI John Ross trained as a dancer at the Scottish School for Contemporary Dance and consequently graduated from The Place in London in 2011. Ross was given the showcase award and will be mentored and supported over the next 12 months. There will be a showcase performance of his new work in 2014 in order to ultimately demonstrate the benefits of receiving such a prestigious award. Choreographer Caroline Finn, who trained at New York's prestigious Julliard School was allocated the commissioning award, giving the Munich-based British dancer the chance to create a new work for Leeds-based company, Phoenix Dance Theatre, which will tour the UK in 2015. Sally Marie won the special award and will be given assistance to develop, promote and programme her work over a 12-month period. Since 2008, Marie has been voted Best Female Performer twice by Dance Europe and incidentally twice nominated as Best Female Performer, as well as receiving a spotlight award for new talent by The National Critics' Dance Circle.