His Majesty The King has appointed Wayne McGregor CBE a Knighthood in this year’s Birthday Honours List for his pioneering contribution to the field of dance.

Choreographer and Director Sir Wayne McGregor CBE is internationally renowned for progressive innovations in performance that have radically redefined dance in the modern era. Driven by an insatiable curiosity about movement and its creative potentials, his experiments have led him into collaborative dialogue with an array of artistic forms, scientific disciplines, and technological interventions. The startling and multi-dimensional works resulting from these interactions have ensured McGregor’s position at the cutting edge of contemporary arts for over thirty years.

Sir Wayne McGregor CBE: “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.”

Suhair Khan, Chair of the Board, Studio Wayne McGregor: “Wayne is one of the great British creative talents – with a global footprint and an eye always on the future, his polymathic practice has been built on a dynamic confluence of movement, the performing and visual arts, the sciences, spatial practices, and digital technologies. Here at Studio Wayne McGregor, he has created an incubator for choreography and the study of physical intelligence. We are proud to see Wayne’s work and legacy recognised and look forward to the journey yet to come!”

Kevin O’Hare CBE, Director of The Royal Ballet: “Wayne has transformed the dance landscape in his 18 years as Resident Choreographer at The Royal Ballet and all of us are proud to call him a collaborator and colleague. His unrivalled curiosity has led him to create masterpieces that have been celebrated the world over and his collaborative dialogue with artistic, scientific, and technological disciplines puts him at the vanguard of contemporary arts.”

Wayne McGregor is Artistic Director of Studio Wayne McGregor, a creative nexus that pushes the frontiers of physical intelligence through dance, design, and technology. McGregor’s work is rooted in dance, yet encompasses a variety of genres including technology, visual art, film, fashion, opera, and education. Company Wayne McGregor, his own highly skilled, touring company of dancers, was founded in 1993. Company Wayne McGregor is Resident Company at Sadler’s Wells, London.

Since 2006, Wayne McGregor has been Resident Choreographer at the Royal Ballet, the first choreographer from a contemporary dance background to be invited into the role.

In 2021 he was appointed the Director of Dance for La Biennale di Venezia where he continues to programme the world-renowned festival that champions the very best of contemporary dance.

McGregor is also regularly commissioned by, and has works in the repertories of, the most important dance companies in the world, including Paris Opera Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, La Scala Ballet, American Ballet Theater, Bolshoi Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, and Australian Ballet.

McGregor is in demand as a choreographer for theatre (Old Vic, National Theatre, Royal Court, Donmar), opera (La Scala/Royal Opera, ENO, Dutch National Opera), film (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, The Legend of Tarzan, Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Sing, Mary Queen of Scots, The Outrun), and music videos (Radiohead, The Chemical Brothers). ABBA Voyage, the revolutionary concert that launched the Swedish pop sensations back onstage in an outstanding avatar performance in 2022, choreographed by McGregor, continues into 2025.