Australian Dance Awards Are Back!

Shortlisted Nominees from 2018 and 2019 Performances

Online Presentation December 8

After a challenging year, Ausdance National has announced the return of the Australian Dance Awards for the first time since 2018.

A new Board elected in 2020 Ausdance are fully committed to supporting the dance and advocating for the dance industry as well as to returning the Australian Dance Awards to the annual dance calendar.

The Australian Dance Awards celebrate the rich diversity and uniqueness of dance in Australia with national companies, performers and collaborating artists, dedicated studio, school and tertiary teachers, regional and remote artists, independents and astounding youth and community dance groups. The annual Awards recognise and honour professional Australian dance artists who have made outstanding achievements that raise the profile and prestige of dance in Australia.

The Australian Online Dance Awards will be presented online by Ausdance National on Tuesday, 8 December 2020 at 7.30 pm AEDT. Lifetime Achievement Awards for 2018 and 2019 will be announced earlier on 26 November. Presenters of the awards will be David McAllister AM (Artistic Director, The Australian Ballet), Wesley Enoch AM (Director of the Sydney Festival), Lucy Durack (musical theatre star), and Ella Havelka (dancer and choreographer, The Australian Ballet).

WATCH VIA THE FACEBOOK THE EVENT HERE: https://www.facebook.com/events/1263726443999569

The shortlisted nominees for this year’s Awards span these achievements across 2018 and 2019 by the Australian dance industry. The selection panel is made up of dance professionals from all states and territories representing educators, independent artists, dance companies, writers and critics, administrators, and youth and community dance specialists.

SHORT LISTED NOMINEES in 11 CATEGORIES:

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN COMMUNITY DANCE
2018
Karma Dance for Bent Hollywood
RIPE Dance for In a Different Space
Emma Saunders for Austinmer Dance Project
Tracks Dance for In Your Blood
2019
Chunky Move, Yellow Wheel, and Tasdance for SIMULCAST
Dance My Story for Dance My Story
Fine Lines for The Right
Transit Dance for Hometown

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN YOUTH DANCE
2018
Ballet Theatre of Queensland for The Little Mermaid
FLING Physical Theatre for Body & Environment
Merge Dance Theatre for Dis/Connect
Stompin for Mirror Mirror
2019
Brooke Leeder & Dancers for RADAR
Emma Saunders for Encounter South
FLING Physical Theatre for My Black Dog
QL2 Youth Dance for Filling the Space

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN CHOREOGRAPHY
2018
Narelle Benjamin & Paul White for Cella
Stephanie Lake for Colossus
Alice Topp for Aurum
Anouk Van Dijk for Common Ground
2019
Rafael Bonachela for Cinco
Stephanie Lake for Skeleton Tree
Garry Stewart for South
Marina Tamayo and Aitor Hernandez Sanzano for Emerald

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN DANCE ON FILM OR NEW MEDIA
2018
Lisa Maris McDonell for Softly Softly
Lucy Doherty for Reminiscence
Richard James Allen & Karen Pearlman for Digital Afterlives
RIPE Dance for In a Different Space
2019
Sophia Bender for Endo Girl
Jen Brown for Sky Song
Claire Marshall for SHIFT
Samaya Wives for Oten

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN COMMERCIAL DANCE, MUSICALS, OR PHYSICAL THEATRE
2018
Circa Contemporary Circus for En Masse
Circa Contemporary Circus for Circa’s Peepshow
The Farm for The Tide
2019
High Kix for Frou Frou to Fruition
Opera Australia for West Side Story
STRUT Dance for SUNSET
The Farm for Throttle

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN INDEPENDENT DANCE
2018
Anything is Valid Dance Theatre for Dust on the Shortbread
Clare Dyson for ALONE TOGETHER
Liz Lea for RED
Vicki Van Hout for plenty serious TALK TALK
2019
Australian Dance Party for From the Vault
Laura Boynes for Wonder Woman
Scott Elstermann for Act 2 Scenes 1-4
Lewis Major for Epilogue

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE DANCER
2018
Narelle Benjamin for Cella
Anca Frankenhaeuser for MIST
Carina Roberts for Dracula by West Australian Ballet
Charmene Yap for Ab(Intra) with Sydney Dance Company
2019
Marlo Benjamin for The Skeleton Tree with Stephanie Lake Co.
Niharika Senapati for Precipice
Alexa Tuzil for Giselle by West Australian Ballet
Josephine Weise for The Dinner Party by Australasian Dance Collective

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE DANCER
2018
Victor Estevez for A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Queensland Ballet
Matthew Lehmann for Dracula with West Australian Ballet
Oscar Valdes for La Sylphide with West Australian Ballet
Kimball Wong for The Beginning of Nature with Australian Dance Theatre
2019
Tyrel Dulvarie for 30 years of 65,000 by Bangarra Dance Theatre
Harrison Elliott for South with Australian Dance Theatre
Ryan Pearson for Stamping Ground with Bangarra Dance Theatre
Andrew Searle for The Line with Co:3 Australia

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A COMPANY
2018
Australian Dance Theatre for The Beginning of Nature
Bangarra Dance Theatre for Dark Emu
Marrugeku for Le Dernier Appel
West Australian Ballet for Milnjiya, Milky Way – River of Stars
2019
Australian Dance Theatre for South
Bangarra Dance Theatre for 30 Years of 65,000
Restless Dance Theatre for Zizanie
STRUT Dance for SUNSET

SERVICES TO DANCE
2018
Erica Rose Jeffrey for her work in establishing Dance for Parkinson’s Australia in 2012 with over 40 class programs now existing around the nation.
Valerie Lawson for her work as a Walkley Award-winning journalist who has devoted much of her life advocating for, and writing about, dance in Australia.
Marina Tamayo for her work as a Spanish dance practitioner who creates opportunities for remote, urban and international community engagement in performance and education.
Paul Wakelam for his work in designing for Australian dance as a collaborator, curator, sponsor and passionate exponent of the boundless relationship between dance and architecture.
2019
Philippe Charluet for over 30 years of filming Australian dance productions from some of the country’s most outstanding companies and choreographers, in particular for his documentation of the work of Graeme Murphy and Janet Vernon in his Heritage Collection.
Mark Dyson for excellence in lighting design, working between the spaces of light, dark and movement, enabling the choreographer to tell powerful stories on stage.
Sidney Saltner for his outstanding contribution to dance over three decades, and for his leadership as a benchmark for other First Nations peoples, enabling enduring social and cultural benefits for young people.

SERVICES TO DANCE EDUCATION
2018
Vicki Attard for her work as a former principal with The Australian Ballet who has since devoted her life to passing on her extraordinary artistic and technical knowledge as a teacher.
Meredith Blackburn for commitment to the value of dance education, challenging students to push boundaries and inspiring generations of young dance artists.
Karen Malek for her inspirational work as a dance teacher for over 40 years, and as the President of the Australian Teachers of Dancing as a pivotal figure in dance education in Australia.
Pepa Molina for her work in bringing a real sense of Flamenco to Australia, making the art form accessible to Australians with her passionate and deep knowledge of the form.
2019
Sheru Bharadwaja for raising the profile of street dance in Australia, promoting an understanding of vernacular styles to dance educators and delivering engaging programs for dancers with disabilities.
Sue Fox for her role as co-writer of state and national arts curriculum documents, including The Australian Curriculum: The Arts, as a founder of the Ausdance Educators Queensland group, and as a key member of the National Advocates for Arts Education.
Katy McKeown for her role as Head of The Australian Ballet’s Education & Outreach Program, delivering high quality equitable dance experiences to children across the country and for the creation of the STEAMDANCE program.
Wendy Smith for her role as one of the pioneers of Skinner Release Technique, and for shaping dancers with a sense of anatomical awareness, so crucial for this pedagogy.