Greek choreographer Christos Papadopoulos on winning the first Rose prize

Christos Papadopoulos won £40,000 in 2025 as the first-ever recipient of the Rose international prize for choreography — and he has already spent most of it on other people.

The Greek choreographer took the top award at the inaugural edition of the prize, which the dance world treats as its equivalent of the Turner prize and the Booker. He beat three other finalists. The judging panel included choreographer and director Arlene Phillips and musician PJ Harvey.

The winning piece, Larsen C, is named after an Antarctic ice shelf. The Guardian describes it as a shadowy, trance-like and glacially paced crescendo of a dance.

Where did the £40,000 go?

Not on designer clothes or exotic holidays. A big chunk went straight to his dancers, "because they are very hardworking and not so well paid – that's the Greek reality," Papadopoulos said.

The rest funded his new production. "I had some holes to fill, you know, in the budget," he said.

It is a candid admission from a prize winner. The inaugural Rose award, judged in February 2025, was billed as a snapshot of dance right now — its vibes, viscerality and, reportedly, the odd boo from the audience. Papadopoulos emerged as the panel's choice from a four-strong shortlist.

What does the win change for him?

Not name recognition, by his own framing — this is contemporary dance, as the Guardian notes. What has changed is reach. Papadopoulos's work is touring worldwide, and the interview itself was conducted over video call from Shanghai, where he was performing.

The production he was touring is My Fierce Ignorant Step, which was heading to its UK premiere. According to the Guardian's listing, that premiere lands at Sadler's Wells in London.

The choreographer's broader theme, as the Guardian frames it, is a return to revolutionary ideals amid what the paper calls galloping global crises. He describes asking the near-impossible of his dancers — an approach he says produces a shared joy in the studio. His reflections on failure, friction and what he calls a forgotten youthquake form the substance of the full Guardian interview.

Whether a single £40,000 prize can shift the economics he describes — dancers in Greece who are "not so well paid" — is another matter. Papadopoulos has done what one winner can: redistributed the money to the people who made the work, and poured the remainder into the next one. Sadler's Wells audiences will judge the result.