Dancers Eleanor Duval and Jonathan Goddard, from Frome-based Mark Bruce Company, have been nominated for the prestigious Critics’ Circle National Dance Award for their leading roles in Mark Bruce Company’s Macbeth, which opened in Frome’s Merlin Theatre in January 2018 before embarking on a critically-acclaimed UK-wide tour.
The award sees professional dance critics nominate dancers, choreographers and other creatives for work presented in the UK over the past year. Eleanor Duval and Jonathan Goddard’s nominations are for ‘Outstanding Female Modern Performance’ and ‘Outstanding Male Modern Performance’, respectively. Winners will be announced in a ceremony to be held in London’s Barbican Centre on 18th February.
Mark Bruce says. “It’s great to see these incredibly talented and dedicated dancers publicly recognised for their work. Their commitment to the art form and to their audience continues to inspire me.”
Nominated dancer, Eleanor Duval, who is also assistant director of the Mark Bruce Company and heads the company’s education programme says, “As an artist, I perform first and foremost for my audience; yet, receiving accolades from the industry and from those writers who provide a critical perspective on what I do, makes me feel proud.”
This is not the company’s first experience with the Dance Critics’ National Dance Awards; in 2014, Mark Bruce Company was awarded ‘Best Independent Company’ while Jonathan Goddard won outstanding male modern performance for his work in the title role in the company’s production of Dracula for the company.
Mark Bruce Company is currently creating a new full-length work, set to tour in 2020.
Above: Jonathan Goddard as Macbeth and Eleanor Duval as Lady Macbeth by Mark Bruce Company – photo by Mark Bruce.