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Trinity Laban proudly celebrates Sir Wayne McGregor CBE, who has been awarded a Knighthood in this year’s Birthday Honours List for his outstanding services to the field of dance.

His Majesty the King has awarded a Knighthood to world-renowned choreographer and director Wayne McGregor in recognition of his trailblazing innovations in performance that have radically redefined the world of contemporary dance. His work continues to inspire and challenge, pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the creative arts. Wayne joined the staff of Trinity Laban in September 2013 as a development of the partnership with Wayne McGregor | Random Dance. The Academic Board has conferred the title of Professor in recognition of his status as an eminent artist researcher of international distinction.

Wayne McGregor said in a statement: “I am very honoured to be offered a knighthood and grateful to all of the incredible people who have nurtured me for over 33 years in the art form I love – dance. Building a career in the arts, creative thinkers make a vital and significant contribution to public life and to the nation’s economy whilst experimenting, risk-taking and challenging convention. Recognising that the arts matter, this honour reminds us that every young person given access to culture and creative expression has the opportunity to fly.”

Wayne McGregor has directed and choreographed over 160 works throughout his 30 year career, including over forty works for Company Wayne McGregor, which he founded in 1993, and more than twenty works for The Royal Ballet where he has been Resident Choreographer since 2006. He also choreographed the revolutionary avatar concert ABBA Voyage in 2022.

More about Sir Wayne McGregor CBE

Wayne McGregor is a multi-award-winning British choreographer and director, internationally renowned for his physically testing choreography and groundbreaking collaborations across dance, film, music, visual art, technology and science. He is Artistic Director of Wayne McGregor | Random Dance, Resident Company at Sadlerʼs Wells, and Resident Choreographer of The Royal Ballet.

McGregor has created new works for Paris Opera Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, New York City Ballet, Australian Ballet, English National Ballet, NDT1, Rambert Dance Company among others. His works are also in the repertories of the leading ballet companies in the world including the Royal Danish Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, the Bolshoi, Boston Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and the Mariinsky Ballet. He has directed movement for theatre and film including Harry Potter And The Goblet of Fire, and has choreographed music videos including the Grammy-nominated Lotus Flower video for Radiohead, and Ingenue for Atoms for Peace. He has also directed opera for La Scala, Milan and the Royal Opera House, London, and choreographed for plays, musicals, fashion shows and art galleries including site specific installations at the Hayward Gallery, Saatchi Gallery, National Gallery, Canary Wharf, Glastonbury, the Pompidou Centre and for Secret Cinema. In July 2012, he created a large-scale public dance work with 1000 performers, Big Dance Trafalgar Square, part of London 2012 Festival in celebration of the London Olympic Games.

McGregor’s work has earned him three Critics’ Circle Awards, two Time Out Awards, two South Bank Show Awards, two Olivier Awards, two prix Benois de la Danse and a Critics’ Prize at the Golden Mask Awards. In January 2011, McGregor was awarded a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) for Services to Dance.

In 2017, he founded Studio Wayne McGregor at Here East, the first legacy arts building in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The same year, he was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the British Science Association. He became an Arts Foundation Ambassador in 2019, was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Prix de Lausanne in 2021, and received an honorary doctorate from the Royal College of Art in 2023. He is Professor of Choreography at Trinity Laban, President of Elmhurst Ballet School, Vice-President of The Roundhouse, and is part of the Circle of Cultural Fellow at King’s College London. Since 2021, he has also been Director of Dance for the prestigious Venice Biennale.