ONE DANCE UK AWARDS 2021

Our vision for the One Dance UK Awards in 2021 was to create a celebration that uplifted and championed the achievements across the sector over the past 12 months. For 2021 the awards ceremony was hosted by two-time award winner Tommy Smalls (Shaper/Caper) and filmed on location at MAC Birmingham.

The Awards were built on digital engagement generated in 2020 with a view to implementing a hybrid model which could combine the live and digital elements. Our objectives were to increase the total number of nominations by 5% and for people to engage with the ceremony both during and after the live stream. We did anticipate a lower reach on the live ceremony due to the rise of 'digital fatigue' reported following the height of the pandemic but to attempt to combat this we partnered with One Dance UK organisational member Motionhouse to incorporate a dance performance into the evening, for the first time ever. This was a success and will be included in future Awards ceremonies where possible.

We received a total of 1,070 nominations over 20 categories. However, with the uncertainties of the new COVID-19 variant in late October 2021, we opted to hold an online ceremony with total views of 1,039 on YouTube and 1,300 on Facebook on the evening. We plan to hold live events for future awards ceremonies, and hope to celebrate a broader range of awards recipients in person.

Please note: all COVID-19 guidance and best practices were followed during the filming of the awards.