Jiaxin Chen has been announced as the winner of the inaugural Emma Gladstone Award
Jiaxin Chen, credit Liz Kollau
This new Award enables dance producers to expand their horizons by providing £7,000 support towards international travel and related costs, in the interest of forming new perspectives, gaining fresh understanding and developing novel connections.
“I am so happy to be the first person to receive this award, which will enable me to explore new horizons! The experiences this award will enable will help to shape my thoughts and practice in such a positive way. I am really looking forward to putting the money to good use and want to thank the panel for selecting me.”
Jiaxin Chen
“The Selection Panel highlighted Jiaxin Chen’s alignment with the award’s curatorial focus, the clarity of her burning questions, and the potential for her project to foster institutional and freelance knowledge exchange. We wish Jiaxin all the success with this research, and look forward to learning of the outcomes.”
Jiaxin Chen
Jiaxin Chen is a Netherlands-based dance artist, dramaturg, and curator active in the fields of dance and theatre. Her practices are rooted in a critical awareness of identity and contextuality. She approaches vulnerability as a shared space for dialogue and collective reflection, and uses the theatre space as a place to question systems, build connection, and to imagine otherwise. Jiaxin has worked with Dansateliers (Rotterdam) as an in-house dramaturge, curated for Korzo (Den Haag) and Maaspodium (Rotterdam) and is currently curating dance and theater at Stadsschouwburg Utrecht. She was a part of the Day on Dramaturgy 2023 at Theatre Sevelin 36 (Lausanne) and was selected for the Spring Forward Startup Forum 2025, a programme for emerging dance presenters throughout Europe.
The Emma Gladstone Award
Emma Gladstone OBE, credit Hugo Glendinning
The Emma Gladstone Award was established in February 2025, in recognition of the late Emma Gladstone OBE (1960-2024). Alongside her own exceptional work as a dance producer, programmer and curator, Emma consistently provided opportunities for other producers and programmers to develop their skills, knowledge and networks.
The 2025-26 selection panel
The selection panel for the inaugural Emma Gladstone Award included: Independent Dance Producer/Advisor/Mentor and NAC Dance Producer Emerita Cathy Levy (Chair); Choreographer, Teacher, Writer and Creative Director Gregory Maqoma; Founder and Creative Director of Uchenna dance company and Lighter Leadership™ Coach Vicki Igbokwe-Ozoagu, Founder and Director of Fengling Productions & Co-Founder and Producing Director of Akram Khan Company Farooq Chaudhry OBE and Artistic Director of Dansens Hus Norway Stine Nilsen. Cathy Levy is also a board member of the EGA, and future years will feature different board members as Chair of the panelists who will change on an annual basis.
The Emma Gladstone Award was established by a Board comprising arts professionals, as well as some of Emma’s friends and family: Eva de Blocq van Kuffeler, Matty Gladstone, Cathy Levy CM, Kate McGrath OBE, Michael Morris MBE, Tom Morris OBE, Freddie Opoku-Addaie and Sir Alistair Spalding.