The People's Choice Award 2025/26 Survey

1.Please select the nomination you would most like to see receive The People's Choice Award at the next One Dance UK Awards.

All listings, information and quotes are taken from this year's One Dance UK People's Choice Award nominations.

Andrzej Mialkowski

Driven by a passion for making dance accessible and inclusive, Andrzej’s work encourages broad participation and creates valuable opportunities for people of all ages to engage with dance.

One of his most notable achievements is founding Dancing Schools UK. For over 10 years, Andrzej has been determined to give children in primary schools all over Northamptonshire the opportunity to experience, learn and perform ballroom and Latin dance.

Primary schools sign up to take part in the event and training for free, which results in the pupils performing at a local theatre. For many children, the chance to dance on a theatre stage is an opportunity they wouldn’t normally have.

To widen access further, Andrzej founded Step by Step Dance and Arts Foundation, a charity that funds specialist teachers to deliver free dance sessions in schools.

He also runs an annual charity event for adults, Strictly Northampton, which raises funds for the local hospice, Cynthia Spencer and this year for Step By Step Dance and Arts Foundation to provide funding for work in local schools. The initiative builds community, which often results in lasting friendships and a love of dance.

https://www.facebook.com/share/19ktMBbyJ3/?mibextid=wwXIfr
https://www.facebook.com/share/1BffoVJ4fA/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Angela Rippon

In 2024, inspired by her time as the oldest contestant in Strictly Come Dancing’s history, Angela Rippon CBE reignited her lifelong passion for dance with a new mission: to get the nation moving. The result was Let’s Dance! - a joyful, inclusive national campaign designed to make dance accessible to everyone, regardless of age, ability, or background.

Building on a six-decade career that includes presenting Come Dancing (1988–1991) and chairing English National Ballet (2000–2003), Angela’s leadership has turned Let’s Dance! into one of the most wide-reaching and impactful cultural movements in recent years.

Let’s Dance! champions movement as a unifying, life-affirming act.

On Sunday 2 March 2025, the first National Day of Dance demonstrated the campaign’s extraordinary impact:
- 12,400 people took part across the UK, and over 50,000 dance teachers and organisations were invited to host events.
- The campaign reached an estimated 973 million through print media and 160,000+ social media views via Sport & Recreation Alliance channels.
- Hundreds of schools, care homes, and community groups participated using the free Let’s Dance! toolkit.

Through Let’s Dance!, Angela Rippon has reignited national enthusiasm for dance, uniting health, education, and community sectors around a shared belief that dance changes lives.

https://lets-dance.org.uk/

Autin Dance Theatre

Autin Dance Theatre’s outdoor performances and engaging community work, often with underrepresented communities, are exceptional. The company strives to be as inclusive as possible, creating accessible, high-quality dance in public spaces, with genuine care for the people it works with. This year, the team successfully delivered WOW! Fest, a community dance festival in Walsall, bringing together schools and local groups and highlighting professional talent in the region. Johnny Autin works tirelessly to support the dance ecology in the West Midlands and beyond through Autin Dance Theatre, and this deserves recognition.

www.autindt.co.uk

Chess Dillon-Reams

Chess Dillon-Reams has made a significant and profound contribution to the dance industry. She gives her energy freely to so many young people whilst also creating some of the best professional works that I have seen. Her piece ‘mothering’ connected to many people through humour and raw human emotion. It explored and celebrated intergenerational female relationships which exist and allowed all that witnessed the opportunity to reflect on the power of the emotional work that women offer our society.

Chess' work on stage and in the studio is inclusive and welcoming of all. In Brighton, she offers a dance experience and dance training which gives anyone, no matter their experience, the chance to transform their dancing in two years and to strive for the school of their dreams! She not only teaches people how to dance but also how to express and handle their emotions.

@Chessdillon.reams

Courtney Holland

Courtney Holland, founder of First Steps Performing Arts, has made an incredible contribution to the local dance community over the past year. Through her preschool and children’s classes, she has created a nurturing, inclusive environment where young people can develop confidence, creativity, and a love for dance from their very first steps.

Beyond the studio, Courtney has raised the profile of dance within the wider community by running open days, collaborating with schools, and offering opportunities for children who may not otherwise access dance. She shares her journey and her students’ achievements through social media and community outreach, inspiring not only her pupils but also parents and fellow educators.

Her work is characterised by passion, kindness, and determination to show that dance is for everyone. The impact has been clear — growing classes, smiling children, and families who feel part of something special. Courtney truly champions the power of dance to bring people together.

https://www.facebook.com/share/1BB2WfYzAF/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Dance In Gloucestershire

'Gloucestershire Dance Day’ at the Gloucester Guildhall was a joyous celebration of the county's vibrant dance community.

They have proven that communities have the power to create a thriving multi-cultured, accessible dance culture in the heart of Gloucestershire, winning the hearts of all involved.

A triumph and inspiration!

https://www.instagram.com/danceinglos/

Donna Schoenherr, Ballet4Life and Move into Wellbeing

Donna has been a tour de force in the dance community here in Chiswick for so many years now. She not only provides high-quality dance training to the adult dance age range but also specialises in using her skills and love of dance to improve the quality of life and physical wellbeing of those in the community who have Parkinson’s Disease and other movement and physical problems.

All this she does with good humour, skill and compassion. Donna inspires all her students with the great love she has for the world of dance. One could not wish to be in a happier environment; the teachers she has chosen excel in kindness and are committed to giving excellent tuition.

She brings joy and solid dance skills to all who participate and is much respected and loved by the community.

https://www.moveintowellbeing.org.uk/

Hannah Kidd

Hannah teaches at Rambert School on the Pre-Vocational Programme, nurturing a love and technique for contemporary dance in her students. She looks after every student with such care and passion and helps them step into their professional training programmes. Her students feel so lucky to learn from her and have such fond memories of being in a creative studio or stage setting with her. Hannah is a wonderful tutor, very kind and supportive. She has done a particularly wonderful job of improving her students' self-confidence.

https://www.rambertschool.org.uk/about/people/

Joshua Tuifua

Josh is adored by everyone who has the pleasure of being taught by him. Not only is he a Royal Ballet soloist-turned ballet teacher, but his ability to build rapport so quickly with a room of strangers, his understanding of working with beginner dancers, his fun spin on teaching ballet technique, and his wonderful sense of humour are incredibly inspiring. Alongside this, he is brilliant at working with the over-55 demographic and does not hesitate to travel far afield to run masterclasses for mature dancers.

He is incredibly passionate and proactive about making dance inclusive. He is a patron of our over-50s school alongside STEPPS (supporting mental health through dance) and Project Dance, and an ambassador for Prior's Court for complex autism. He is a STAR!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DO25wDADLuM/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Kay Taylor

A passionate advocate, educator, and performer, Kay has dedicated herself to raising the profile of belly dance and ensuring it is recognised as the rich, empowering art form it truly is.

Through her work as the director of Bellydance Now and Farida Dance, Kay has created countless opportunities for dancers across the UK and internationally. In the past year alone, she has continued to run inclusive workshops, residential weekends, and performance projects that welcome dancers of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities.

Kay’s contribution goes beyond teaching. She has worked tirelessly to advocate for belly dance, challenging stereotypes and bringing more visibility to this dance form through public events, festivals.

What sets Kay apart is her deep commitment to accessibility. She offers payment plans, discounts, and volunteer-exchange options so that financial barriers never prevent someone from dancing.

Over the past year, her impact has only grown, and she continues to shine as a role model, advocate, and community builder.

https://bellydance-now.com/
https://faridadance.com/

Magpie Dance

Magpie Dance has been delivering classes, training, workshops and public performances for people (aged 3 years up to 70+ years) with learning disabilities (PWLD) for 40 years. Their mission is to enable PWLD to reach their full personal, social and artistic potential through dance. 

Magpie Dance increasingly place PWLD front and centre of its work, including through its Dancers’ Committee (participants help make strategic decisions alongside the Board), and by providing paid work via its Ambassadors scheme (dancers get paid to help teach work and deliver outreach activities) for learning disabled dancers.

Celebrating 40 years, the aim was to encourage all people, regardless of ability, to take a full and integrated part in the life of the community. By supporting PWLD to play a more active and visible role in society, Magpie Dance helps change perceptions about what their community can achieve – creating better social integration and understanding, benefitting all across society.

Participants gain new skills, communication, friends and confidence. Dancers collaborate with renowned organisations, perform at professional theatres, and help at fundraising events. Everyone at Magpie Dance is empowered to have the confidence to strive in all areas of their life and integrate within the arts community.

www.magpiedance.org.uk

Motionhouse

Founded in 1988 by Louise Richards and Kevin Finnan MBE, Motionhouse pushes the boundaries of dance both artistically and in terms of how it is experienced.

Their latest touring production, Hidden, is a brilliant example of their innovation and impact, creating an immersive world on stage using dance, acrobatics, and cutting-edge digital projections.

Motionhouse reaches 110,000–120,000 people annually through live performances and participation. Their commitment to reaching new audiences means many experience dance for the first time through Motionhouse. Their outdoor work, free of charge to audiences, aims to remove barriers to engagement. Working in public spaces, they transform environments and bring communities together in meaningful shared experiences.

Major outdoor projects like Wondrous Stories reached tens of thousands in person and many more online, showcasing their ability to produce large-scale spectacles that are inclusive, ambitious, and unforgettable.

The company believes in the power of dance to change lives, and in addition to their performance work, Motionhouse runs a wide-ranging and inclusive education and community programme of workshops, training and classes for all ages.

Motionhouse contributes significantly to the sector, offering full-time employment to dancers and exporting UK culture internationally.

The company brings people together, offers access to the arts, and leaves a lasting impact wherever they go.

https://www.motionhouse.co.uk/

Natalie Dodd

Natalie Dodd has dedicated many years to Rambert's Prevocational programme, nurturing and training the next generation of dancers. Through her expertise, passion, commitment, and unwavering dedication, she has inspired countless students and prepared them to thrive in the world of dance. She is a great teacher and is very inspirational.

https://www.rambertschool.org.uk

Parable Dance

Parable Dance CIC is nominated for the People’s Choice Award because of the contribution they have made to the UK inclusive dance community over the past six years.

Based in Brighton and run by a small team, Parable Dance has been working tirelessly to plug gaps in national provision, ensuring that disabled and non-disabled dancers can connect, learn, and thrive within inclusive dance.

This year, Parable Dance launched the Inclusive Dance Directory, the first national online resource of its kind - supported by a fortnightly newsletter that keeps the community connected and informed about inclusive dance opportunities. They have continued to grow their network for emerging inclusive dancers (NEID), offering support to those at the start of their inclusive dance careers. The Inclusive Cuppa Catchup group has become an annual Conference, bringing together artists, teachers, and organisations from across the UK to share practice and strengthen the sector. Alongside this, the Parable mentoring programme is supporting the next generation of inclusive dance leaders, with a focus on sustainability, wellbeing, and lived experience.

Parable Dance is passionate about connecting the inclusive dance community and collaborating with the many companies and artists doing wonderful work around the country, making a significant national impact.

https://parabledance.co.uk

Pirita Tuisku

Pirita Tuisku has dedicated herself to making dance visible, accessible, and inspiring for a broad audience.

As the founder of Groove Back, Pirita has used her experience of 20 years as an international dance artist and educator to break down barriers and bring dance into the lives of people who never thought it was for them.

Through a unique blend of in-person, online, and app-based classes and performance work, Pirita has reached hundreds of individuals across Scotland, Finland, Italy, and Greece. Her work has been especially impactful for adults, who have felt excluded from traditional dance spaces. This year, 60% of new participants either attended the venue for the first time or attended their first-ever dance class.

Pirita’s passion began after a negative early dance experience, inspiring her to create inclusive spaces for all. As a disabled artist with Crohn’s disease, she continues to innovate and inspire. Through teaching, storytelling, and community work, she raises the profile of dance.

Groove Back’s philosophy has resonated with a wide audience, and with a retention rate (61–80%) shows the lasting impact they have on clients’ lives, helping them rediscover their love for movement and community.

https://www.piritatuisku.com

Pragathi Nayak

Pragathi Madhuk embodies what it means to live and breathe dance. Her passion is undeniable as it radiates in every movement and word she speaks about dance. What sets her apart is not only her incredible talent but also her ability to inspire and uplift those around her through her teaching and dedication.

Throughout the past year, Pragathi has been deeply involved in organising and performing at numerous events. Her performances radiate positivity and passion, telling stories that connect hearts and cultures. Pragathi brings together people from all backgrounds through Bollywood and Indian fusion styles, making every performance a celebration of joy, confidence, and identity.

She continues to perform at community events and cultural festivals across London, promoting South Asian culture with grace and authenticity. Her initiative “Vibe Nritya” has become a beautiful platform that motivates others to embrace their individuality through dance and self-expression.

Pragathi’s journey is not just about talent; it’s about resilience, humility, and impact. She truly deserves this recognition for being a positive force in the dance community and for bringing light and inspiration wherever she performs.

https://www.instagram.com/pragathi._nayak?igsh=dXRlbnVudzdxeDc%3D&utm_source=qr

Encuentro Folklórico Mexicano, This is Mexico! UK

Over the last year, the Encuentro Folklórico Mexicano (The Encuentro), a community-driven initiative, has united immigrant Mexican folk dance artists across the UK, fostering cultural pride, visibility, and solidarity through dance and sociocultural practice. By building an inclusive, year-round support network and hosting annual vibrant, didactic, and pedagogical gatherings that celebrate heritage, identity, and resilience, the three co-creators of The Encuentro, Sharon Benítez, Germán Muñoz, and Ana Herrera Antor, have raised the profile of Mexican folk dance in the dance industry, all while empowering immigrant voices and creating space for underrepresented communities in the broader UK arts landscape. This evolving movement exemplifies how dance can be a powerful force for connection, advocacy, and joy.

https://thisismexico.co.uk/encuentro

Tina Vallance

Jaya Dance has consistently made dance inclusive, joyous, and culturally meaningful throughout Norfolk and East Anglia. Through school workshops, birthday and community events, and vibrant public classes, their team brings Bollywood and Bhangra to life for young learners and adults alike. Their award‑winning programmes and dedication to inclusive dance education make them a standout organisation deserving of the People’s Choice Award.

www.jayadance.com

Tip Toe Stage School

This school is entering its 40th year of committed work in the Thurrock and surrounding community. Giving opportunities to individuals and groups that would not normally get these performance opportunities. Making dance and theatre arts accessible to every individual who walks through the door. Taking students from all backgrounds, with differing needs, from all ages, to perform at prestigious venues in London (His Majesty’s Theatre, Sadlers Wells, O2, Theatre Royal, Royal Albert Hall), Disneyland Paris, Broadway: New York and in 2026 they are off to Las Vegas to perform. All members are offered the opportunity to take professional examinations, gaining GQUAL-accredited qualifications. Many have gone into the business as children and adults, forging careers in the performing arts. The school also give back, performing in three shows per year to raise funds for charity alongside local performance groups. The school has gained Mayoral recognition with the community impact award, and the principal gaining a lifetime achievers award.

www.tiptoestageschool.com

Van Huynh Company

Dam Van Huynh has been working in the dance sector for a very long time, and he has demonstrated that his work is still in demand after so many years. He addresses political topics such as LGBTQ, being part of an ethnic minority in the UK and also Black Lives Matter.

Dam is a source of inspiration for young and emerging artists who are creating work while integrating their own take on Dam's language, so he is passing on his knowledge and experience to the next generation.

Being gay and Vietnamese, Dam has been examining the history and everyday life of these two groups, translating his observations into dance. He is a strong advocate of equality and the importance of diversity in our society.

https://www.facebook.com/VanHuynhCompany

Allegiant Youth Dance Company

They are the best contemporary youth programme around for young people going into the dance industry. It is run by two professional and talented individuals who offer a range of opportunities. They teach contemporary techniques and allow creativity all around, and an overall happy and friendly environment for members of the company. They have achieved so much through the years and offer amazing opportunities/training. There is a great deal of success from members of the cohort.

https://www.instagram.com/allegiantyouthdancecompany?igsh=NmF6eDgxNTBzeDJt

Cathy Waller

Cathy has advocated for disabled dancers and artists relentlessly, ensuring they are informed and supported and therefore represented in the sector through her work as an individual and through Decode, an organisation she co-founded to help disabled artists navigate the Access to Work scheme.

Decode supports the Arts and Culture Sector to better understand and utilise Access to Work, through providing one-to-one support and helping people to access essential equipment. Decode offers training and consultancy to employers and staff to help them better understand how Access to Work can be utilised by the disabled people in their workforce.

Their aim is to share knowledge and know-how, so that together we can actively reduce the barriers disabled people face in our sector. As a disabled choreographer herself Cathy has contributed endless hours of her time and energy to ensure people have the resources and money they need and is often the voice of the community consulted at government level to try and prevent people being stripped of their essential access needs.

Her work is key to enabling disabled people to start, continue and progress in their careers, ensuring artists are able to make work and contribute to the arts scene in the UK and beyond.

https://www.cathywaller.com/copy-of-consultancy

Voting closes on 27th November 2025 at Midday.
Voting is subject to One Dance UK T&Cs which can be found on our website