LBC Gainsbury Award Submission Form for 2026

About the Open Call

Thank you for your interest in the £10,000 LBC Gainsbury Award for 2026. Named in honour of the late Linda Gainsbury, our former Vice-Chair, this biennial Award is designed to support new initiatives in classical ballet. Dance schools, emerging choreographers and ballet companies in the UK are invited to apply for support for projects. Please fill out the form below to apply. Deadline is November 30th 2025. Applicants are free in their choice of subject, music and design but the piece should be in the classical ballet genre. The work should be completed (though not necessarily performed) by the end of 2026. Projects within ballet schools should be designed to develop students’ choreographic talents or enable an emerging choreographer to work with a student group for later public performance. Projects within ballet companies should help develop their in-house emerging classical choreographic talent for live or digital public performance. Individual early career choreographers should have access to professional dancers to work with (not the choreographer him/herself). They should be able to offer a reasonable prospect of the work being performed in the UK for a live or digital public performance. (Please note: the LBC does not provide a venue.) The LBC will consider sponsoring a whole initiative or making a contribution towards a project which is larger scale. While it is possible for the whole amount to go to one recipient, it is more likely that two or more projects will be supported. Our 2026 panel of judges will be led by the LBC President, Dame Monica Mason and includes Stina Quagebeur, Matthew Ball, and Jamiel Devernay-Laurence. The winner(s) will be announced at the LBC AGM in March 2026. We would be grateful if they could offer LBC Members the opportunity to observe the choreographic process or a rehearsal. See past winners for 2024 here and 2022 here. For questions, email the LBC Secretary (info@tlbc.org.uk). Good luck!

What is Offered

The LBC Gainsbury Award offers £10,000 to support new initiatives in classical ballet, aiding the development of choreographic talents and enabling public performance opportunities for new works. It can sponsor a whole initiative or contribute to a larger project. The winner(s) will be announced at the LBC AGM in March 2026 and may be asked to offer LBC Members the opportunity to observe the choreographic process or a rehearsal.

Requirements

Applicants are free in their choice of subject, music and design but the piece should be in the classical ballet genre. The work must be completed (though not necessarily performed) by the end of 2026. For ballet schools, projects should develop students’ choreographic talents or enable an emerging choreographer to work with a student group for later public performance. For ballet companies, projects should help develop in-house emerging classical choreographic talent for live or digital public performance. Individual early career choreographers must have access to professional dancers to work with and be able to offer a reasonable prospect of the work being performed in the UK for a live or digital public performance. The LBC does not provide a venue.

How to Apply

Please fill out the form provided on the website to apply for the LBC Gainsbury Award.