2010 Australian Dance Awards shortlist

The shortlisted nominees for the 2010 Australian Dance Awards were announced today with the Australian Ballet, Bangarra Dance Company and Sydney Dance Company each receiving multiple nominations. West Australia had its strongest result to date, receiving six nominations across the nine categories.

The Australian Ballet received five nominations – for ‘Outstanding Achievement in Choreography’ for Reed Luplau’s Bleecker, ‘Outstanding Performance by A Company’ for Concord, Outstanding Performance by a Male Dancer’ (Daniel Gaudiello) and two nominations for ‘Outstanding Performance by a Female Dancer’ (Lucinda Dunn and Lana Jones); Sydney Dance Company received three nominations - for ‘Outstanding Achievement in Choreography’ and ‘Outstanding Performance By A Company’, both for Rafael Bonachela’s We Unfold and ‘Outstanding Performance by a Female Dancer’ (Juliette Barton). Bangarra Dance Theatre received two nominations - for ‘Outstanding Performance by a Company’ for Fire – A Retrospective, and ‘Outstanding Performance by a Male Dancer’ (Daniel Riley McKinley), with Artistic Director Stephen Page also being shortlisted individually for Services to Dance.

The vibrancy of Australia's independent dance scene was evident, with the shortlisting of three first-time nominees in the ‘Outstanding Achievement in Independent Dance’ category – Luke George, Martin del Amo, and Sue Peacock, alongside previous award winner Clare Dyson.

There were two nominees in the category ‘Outstanding Performance in a Stage Musical’ - Shane Jacobson for his performance in Guys and Dolls and Caroline O’Connor for Chicago.

The Australian Dance Awards will take place at the Arts Centre, State Theatre in Melbourne on Sunday 20 June. The major event on the Australian dance calendar will feature performances by some of Australia’s finest dance companies including The Australian Ballet, Bangarra Dance Theatre, Lucy Guerin Inc, Buzz Dance, the newly formed Ludwig from WA (recently seen as guest choreographers on So You Think You Can Dance Australia) and the Northern Territory’s Tracks, who will bring eight young people from the Lajamanu community in the Tanami Desert to perform on this very special night.

The Australian Dance Awards is a celebration of the excellence and variety of the Australian professional dance sector. It is the one night of the year when dance creators, performers, educators and enthusiasts gather together to acknowledge and honour their peers. It is also a not-to-be-missed opportunity for dance lovers to sample some of the best works of the last twelve months.

The 2010 shortlisted nominees are:

SERVICES TO DANCE
Shane Carroll
Ruth Osborne
Stephen Page
Paul Saliba

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN DANCE EDUCATION
Reyes de Lara
Norman Hall
Maggi Phillips
Tasdance

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN YOUTH OR COMMUNITY DANCE
Ausdance WA & Claudia Alessi for the 6th Australian Youth Dance Festival
Restless for Bedroom Dancing
Steps Youth Dance Company for moonwebs & scorched thongs
Steps Youth Dance Company for POWDERMONKEY – The A-maze-ing slumber party

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN CHOREOGRAPHY
Rafael Bonachela, We Unfold [Sydney Dance Company]
Reed Luplau, Bleecker [The Australian Ballet]
Chrissie Parrott, The Garden [Jambird]
Meryl Tankard & Paul White, The Oracle [independent]

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A COMPANY
The Australian Ballet, Concord
Bangarra Dance Theatre, Fire - A Retrospective
Expressions, The House Project
Sydney Dance Company, We Unfold

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN INDEPENDENT DANCE
Martin del Amo, It’s a Jungle Out There
Clare Dyson, The Voyeur
Luke George, Lifesize
Sue Peacock, Questions Without Notice

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE DANCER
Juliette Barton in We Unfold [Sydney Dance Company]
Lucinda Dunn in Nutcracker – The Story of Clara [The Australian Ballet]
Lisa Griffiths in The Curiosities [Sue Healey Company]
Lana Jones in Firebird [The Australian Ballet]

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE DANCER
Daryl Brandwood in Consider the Raven [West Australian Ballet]
Daniel Gaudiello in Dyad 1929 [The Australian Ballet]
Daniel Riley McKinley in Fire – A Retrospective [Bangarra Dance Theatre]
Paul White in The Oracle [Meryl Tankard and Paul White]