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Royal Ballet honoured with the QEII Award

Wayne Sleep and Darcey Bussell among guests at gala dinner at Claridge’s

Ben Hewis
London London's West End

On 4 September 2014, the Royal Academy of Dance awarded its highest honour – the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Award – to The Royal Ballet, 60 years after the award’s inauguration. To celebrate this benchmark in ballet history, the award was presented during a gala fundraising dinner for the Genée.

Guests in attendance included Darcey Bussell CBE, Wayne Sleep OBE, Wayne McGregor CBE, Lady Gabriella Windsor and 17 Royal Ballet Principal dancers, as well as other respected guests of the dance world.

Collecting the award, Kevin O’Hare, artistic director of The Royal Ballet, says: ‘On behalf of everyone associated with The Royal Ballet, I would like to say what a great honour it is that the Company has been chosen as recipient of The Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Award this year. 2014 marks the sixtieth anniversary of the presentation of the first award to our founder, Dame Ninette de Valois in 1953 and it is particularly appropriate that during the evening funds will be raised for the Genée International Ballet Competition, which does so much to discover and encourage the finest young dancers and potential stars of the future from around the world.’