The selection panel for the second Emma Gladstone Award is announced as: Michael Morris (Chair); Marcus Coates, Carolina Courbis, Vicki Igbokwe-Ozoagu and Hemabharathy Palani. Michael Morris is also a board member of the Emma Gladstone Award, each year features a different board member as Chair of the panel.
Applications for 2026/27 will open on Tuesday 1 September with a deadline for submissions of 30 October. The winner will be announced in February 2027.
The Emma Gladstone Awardwas established in February 2025, in recognition of the late Emma Gladstone OBE (1960-2024). Alongside her own exceptional work as a dance producer, programmer and curator, Emma consistently provided opportunities for other producers and programmers to develop their skills, knowledge and networks.
This new Award enables dance producers to expand their horizons by providing £7,000 support towards international travel and related costs, in the interest of forming new perspectives, gaining fresh understanding and developing novel connections. The Award will be made to one recipient per year, enabling them to imagine a specific opportunity particular to their interests and preoccupations.
When applications go live on 1 September. all candidates must submit a CV with a letter of support, and complete a form describing their project, mapping out its timeline and budget. Panelists are seeking transformative, visionary ideas that contribute to the individual’s producing capacity and knowledge.
The Emma Gladstone Award was established by a Board comprising arts professionals, as well as some of Emma’s friends and family: Eva de Blocq van Kuffeler, Matilda Gladstone, Cathy Levy CM, Kate McGrath OBE, Michael Morris MBE, Tom Morris OBE, Freddie Opoku-Addaie and Sir Alistair Spalding.
Netherlands-based dance artist, dramaturg and curator, active in the fields of dance and theatre, Jiaxin Chen was the inaugural recipient of the award.
The selection panel for the second Emma Gladstone Award brings together a distinguished group of artists, producers, and cultural leaders with deep expertise across contemporary dance, international programming, and artistic development.
Marcus Coates creates work that examines how we relate to one another and the wider world, driven by the need for social and ecological change. He develops collaborative processes rooted in empathy and trust, working with members of the public, institutions, and experts from diverse fields including anthropology, ornithology, psychiatry, choreography, and primatology.
Carolina Courbis is a cultural manager and creative producer with over 15 years’ experience in Chile and the UK. She has programmed for major institutions including GAM, Teatro del Lago, The Place, and festivals such as Santiago a Mil, Dance Umbrella, and LIFT. Formerly Programmatic Advisor to Chile’s Ministry of Cultures and Project Manager for the Gabriela Mistral Cultural Center expansion, she currently serves as Head of Institutional Development at GAM.
Vicki Igbokwe-Ozoagu is Founder, Creative Director, and Joint CEO of award-winning dance company Uchenna. Her distinctive style fuses Waacking, Vogue, House, contemporary, and traditional African dance. Acclaimed productions include The Head Wrap Diaries and Our Mighty Groove, which opened Sadler’s Wells East in 2025 and won Best Dance Production at the Black British Theatre Awards. A sought-after choreographer and movement director, she is a Trustee of New Adventures and Director of Empowerment at People Make It Work, and works independently as a leadership coach.
Michael Morris (Chair) co-directed Artangel from 1991 to 2023 with James Lingwood, commissioning landmark works by artists including Laurie Anderson, Jeremy Deller, Steve McQueen, and Rachel Whiteread. He previously produced work by Pina Bausch, Robert Lepage, Robert Wilson, and Brian Eno, and conceived the Olivier Award-winning Shockheaded Peter. An Artistic Advisor to Manchester International Festival (2007–2022) and recipient of an MBE for services to the arts, he also trained and worked in couple therapy. He has served as a Trustee of the Emma Gladstone Award.
Hemabharathy Palani is an award-winning Indian choreographer and dancer whose practice is grounded in Indian classical traditions while integrating ballet, contemporary dance, Kalaripayattu, Yoga, and Capoeira. Her intimate, process-driven choreography explores the Indian female dancing body with musicality, precision, and quiet intensity. Based in Bengaluru, she is Rehearsal Director at Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts and has presented work at the Barbican, Mercat de las Flors, and elsewhere. She was mentored by Jonathan Burrows and Emma Gladstone at Sadler’s Wells Summer University in 2011.
Visit https://www.emmagladstoneaward.com/ for more information.
