Northern Ballet wins Fedora - Van Cleef & Arpels dance prize 2025 for Gentleman Jack
The Editor
Northern Ballet’s ground-breaking new full-length production based on the life of Anne Lister has won the FEDORA - VAN CLEEF & ARPELS Dance Prize 2025.
In October 2024 Northern Ballet announced the creation of a major new full-length ballet based on the extraordinary life of 19th century icon Anne Lister, or ‘Gentleman Jack’, the historical Yorkshire figure often referred to as ‘the first modern lesbian’ whose decoded diaries have captivated audiences around the world. Gentleman Jack will open in Leeds before touring to Sheffield, Nottingham, Salford, London, Norwich and Bradford. A co-production with Finnish National Ballet and Opera, they will perform the ballet in Helsinki in April 2028.
Established in 2013, FEDORA is a non-profit association committed to supporting and contributing to the future of opera and dance in Europe by encouraging emerging artists to renew these genres, making them more accessible for a large audience. The FEDORA prizes support artistic projects that promote international collaboration, creativity, social integration and intercultural dialogue. The FEDORA - VAN CLEEF & ARPELS Dance Prize awards productions that reimagine dance for the 21st century, rethinking how ballets are created and who they are created for.
Gentleman Jack was selected as the winner of the FEDORA - VAN CLEEF & ARPELS Dance Prize 2025 from a shortlist of eight dance projects by an independent jury panel of experts. Previous winners include Hofesh Schechter Company, Rambert Dance Company and The Fondazione I Teatri Reggio Emilia.
A carefully selected, majority female, artistic team will ensure that Anne Lister’s story is staged with respect and maximum impact including Sally Wainwright, series-writer of the BBC/HBO TV series Gentleman Jack; choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and New Zealand-based composer Claire Cowan who will create a new score for Gentleman Jack to be played live.
The creative team will explore the narrative of this fiercely independent woman who defied societal norms and expectations, presenting a unique opportunity to tell her story through the powerful medium of dance, pushing artistic boundaries to explore the traditionally gendered language of classical ballet to convey Anne Lister’s complex character.
Artistic Director Federico Bonelli said: “We are thrilled to have been awarded the FEDORA - VAN CLEEF & ARPELS Dance Prize 2025 for Gentleman Jack. I couldn’t be more delighted to have an incredible creative team, led by choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, developing this story for the stage. FEDORA’s recognition highlights what we are trying to do with this ballet, using the artform we love to tell new and different stories, in this instance telling the life of a gay woman who was a trailblazer of her time. Thank you to FEDORA for this award, we cannot wait to bring this story to life”
