Nominees for Australian Dance Awards Announced

The nominees for one of the country's most prestigious performing arts awards, the Australian Dance Awards (ADA), were today announced. Celebrating twenty years in 2017, the Awards are the pre-eminent event on the dance industry calendar. They recognise and honour dance artists, educators and administrators in 12 categories of achievement.

Presented by Ausdance Victoria and Arts Centre Melbourne, the Awards are judged by a panel of dance professionals representing numerous sectors of the industry, following an open public nominations process, managed by Ausdance National.

Michelle Silby, Executive Director Ausdance Victoria and NSW, said, "Ausdance Victoria is thrilled to be presenting the Australian Dance Awards in 2017. The Awards ceremony is an important celebration of the astonishing work that occurs both on and off the stage in dance across Australia. We're putting together an amazing array of performances and we can't wait to welcome everyone to Melbourne. With the National Dance Forum following the Awards, September is the month to celebrate dance in Melbourne!"

Nominations were spread across the country, highlighting the depth and diversity of the national dance scene, with The Queensland Ballet and The Australian Ballet receiving three nominations each, and Melbourne's Chunky Move and Lucy Guerin Inc, Townsville's Dancenorth and the Darwin-based Tracks Dance Company all receiving two nominations each. The Lifetime Achievement Award and Hall of Fame recipients will be announced in August.

In recent years, the Awards have toured Australia, taking place in a different state each year; 2017 sees Melbourne host the event for the first time in seven years. The gala ceremony takes place at the Arts Centre Melbourne on Sunday 24 September, hosted by cabaret star Yana Alana and dance sensation and 2017 ADA-nominee Benjamin Hancock, with performances from Stephanie Lake Company, Raw and Rugged Dance Crew, The Australian Ballet and more. Tickets are on sale now.

Open concurrently with the Awards is Ancestors and Anecdotes, 40 years of Australian Contemporary Dance, an exhibition that pays homage to the invaluable work of Australia's dance pioneers and the manner in which their legacy endures today. Opening 21 September at Lulu Gallery in North Melbourne, the exhibition is focused on five legendary dance pioneers, Carole Johnson, Cheryl Stock AM, Margaret Lasica (via the perspective of her daughter Shelley), Shirley McKechnie AM and Elizabeth Cameron Dalman OAM.

Shortlisted Nominees

AWARD FOR SERVICES TO DANCE

Ben Cobham

Nicolette Fraillon AM
Jennifer Irwin
Philip Piggin

AWARD FOR SERVICES TO DANCE EDUCATION

Sally Chance
Lesley Graham

Katrina Rank
Kim Walker

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN COMMUNITY DANCE

Liz Lea & collaborators - Great Sport!

Country Arts SA - Dance Jungle Gym

Tracks Dance Company - Landed

Sprung Integrated Theatre Inc. - Encounters

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN YOUTH DANCE

Catapult Dance, The Flipside Project - In Search of the Lost Things

QL2 Dance - Connected

Slide Dance - Secrets

Tracks Dance Company - Milpirri (Kurdiji)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN CHOREOGRAPHY

Anouk van Dijk - Rule of Thirds (Chunky Move)

Lucy Guerin - The Dark Chorus (Lucy Guerin Inc)

Kyle Page & Amber Haines - Rainbow Vomit (Dancenorth)

Natalie Weir - We Who Are Left (Queensland Ballet)

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A COMPANY

The Australian Ballet - Nijinsky

Bangarra Dance Theatre - OUR Land People Stories

Queensland Ballet - Strictly Gershwin

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN INDEPENDENT DANCE

Australian Dance Artists - Seven Impossible Pieces for Four Dancers

Dance Makers Collective - DADS

Praxis - Dark Matter

Liesel Zink - The Stance

OUTSTANDING PERFORMACNE BY A FEMALE DANCER

Natalie Allen - Decadence Perth 2016 (STRUT Dance)

Amber Haines - Syncing Feeling (Dancenorth)

Ako Kondo - Coppélia (The Australian Ballet)

Clare Morehen - Lest We Forget (Queensland Ballet)

OUTSTANDING PERFORMACNE BY A MALE DANCER

Richard Causer - Black (Expressions Dance Company)

Benjamin Hancock - The Dark Chorus

(Lucy Guerin Inc)

Kevin Jackson - Nijinsky (The Australian Ballet)

James Vu Anh Pham - Rule of Thirds (Chunky Move)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN COMMERCIAL DANCE OR MUSICAL THEATRE
Sarah Boulter - Dance Academy (ABC TV)

Jack Chambers - Singin' in the Rain (TEG Dainty, Lunchbox Theatrical Productions, David Atkins Enterprises & Michael Cassel Group)

Company 2 - Scotch & Soda

The Dream Dance Company - The Secret Society

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN DANCE ON FILM

Juliet Burnett, Nicholas RoBert Thayer & Gabrielle Adamidis - Letting Blood

Lucy Doherty - Mandala (One Dance Collective)

The Samaya Wives - The Knowledge Between Us

Sally Wicks & Dan Crestani - Empathy is the Devil (Sumi Productions)

Sydney Dance Company - Untamed