Australian Dance Awards Nominees Named

The 2014 nominees for one of the country’s most prestigious performing arts awards, the Australian Dance Awards, were announced today, giving a clear indication there is no shortage of talent on the national dance scene.

As the professional dance industry’s pre-eminent annual awards program, the Australian Dance Awards recognise and honour dance artists, educators and administrators and feature 11 categories of achievement.

The depth and diversity of talent across the country is evident with finalists hailing from the far reaches of every state and territory, including Townsville’s Dancenorth, Broome’s Dalisa Pigram and the Darwin-based Tracks Dance Company.

The Awards has been running in its current format since 1997 and has become the peak event on the dance industry calendar. In recent years, the Awards toured Australia, being held in Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Canberra. 2014 sees its return to where it began, the Sydney Opera House, produced by Ausdance NSW.

The Awards are judged by a panel of dance professionals representing many different sectors of the industry from all over Australia, following an open public nominations process.

As Chair of the Judging Panel, leading performer and industry icon Robina Beard OAM said the quality of entrants in this year’s awards was inspirational.

“Australian dance is in a fine place,” Beard said. “The talent—both new and established—in our industry is truly outstanding and very encouraging for the future of dance in this country. These annual Awards are a wonderful way to celebrate and acknowledge our thriving sector and its exceptional artists.”

Melbourne’s multifaceted Chunky Move certainly made an impression, with their production Aorta receiving three nominations, The Australian Ballet receiving five, Bangarra Dance Theatre, Sydney Dance Company and Brisbane’s Expressions Dance Company all receiving two nominations each.

The 2014 Australian Dance Awards will be presented at a gala ceremony at the Sydney Opera House on Sunday, November 9. Tickets go on sale August 18. For more information, visit www.australiandanceawards.net.au.

As the Media Partner, Dance Informa is your place for all Australian Dance Awards news. See below for a list of the shortlisted nominees in alphabetic order.

SHORTLISTED NOMINEES

SERVICES TO DANCE

Catherine Baldwin [CEO & Consultant]

Jeff Busby [Photographer]

Nicolette Fraillon [Music Director & Chief Conductor, The Australian Ballet]

Annie Greig [Artistic Director, Tasdance]

SERVICES TO DANCE EDUCATION

Janet Karin OAM [Kinetic Educator, The Australian Ballet School; President, IADMS]

Tanya Pearson OAM [Founder, Tanya Pearson Classical Coaching Academy]

Katrina Rank [Dance researcher, education specialist & community dance leader]

Diana Reyes [Spanish dance teacher and educator]

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN YOUTH OR COMMUNITY DANCE

Buzz Dance Theatre for Look the Other Way WA

QL2 Dance for Hit the Floor Together ACT

STEPS Youth Dance Company & STRUT Dance for Trois Generations WA

Tracks Dance Company for Zombies in the Banyan Tree NT

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN CHOREOGRAPHY

Rafael Bonachela for Emergence [Sydney Dance Company] NSW

Stephanie Lake for Aorta [Chunky Move] VIC

Leigh Warren for Not According to Plan [Leigh Warren Dance] SA

Natalie Weir for When Time Stops [Expressions Dance Company] QLD

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A COMPANY

The Australian Ballet, for Cinderella VIC

Chunky Move for Aorta VIC

Dancenorth & Opera Queensland for Abandon QLD

Sydney Dance Company for De Novo NSW

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN INDEPENDENT DANCE

Nat Cursio for Blizzard VIC

Larissa McGowan for Skeleton SA

Dalisa Pigram for Gudirr Gudirr WA

Aimee Smith for Wintering WA

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE DANCER

Deborah Brown for Brolga [Bangarra Dance Theatre] NSW

Kate Denborough for Flesh & Bone [KAGE] VIC

Leanne Stojmenov for Cinderella [The Australian Ballet] VIC

Rachael Walsh for Giselle [Queensland Ballet] QLD

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE DANCER

Waangenga Blanco for Blak [Bangarra Dance Theatre] NSW

Daniel Gaudiello for Cinderella [The Australian Ballet] VIC

James Pham for Aorta [Chunky Move] VIC

Jack Ziesing for When Time Stops [Expressions Dance Company] QLD

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN COMMERCIAL DANCE OR MUSICAL THEATRE

David Atkins Enterprises for Hot Shoe Shuffle

Timothy Brown for Salon

Rohan Browne for Singin’ in the Rain

Red Hot Rhythm for Rhythm Junkies

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN DANCE ON FILM/NEW MEDIA

The Australian Ballet for Behind Ballet VIC

Rochelle Carmichael for Plucked VIC

Sue Healey for On View NSW

Karen Pearlman & Richard James Allen for ‘…the dancer from the dance’ [Physical TV Company] NSW

UPDATE: Tickets are now on sale! To order your tickets for the 2014 Australian Dance Awards, visit http://goo.gl/N1G6gy. 

Photo: Dancers Jasmin Durham and Jarryd Madden of The Australian Ballet. Photo by Jeff Busby, courtesy of The Australian Ballet.