THE Australian Dance Theatre (ADT) and Bangarra Dance Theatre were the big winners in the Australian Dance Awards, presented online this evening, Tuesday, December 8, by retiring artistic director of the Australian Ballet, David McAllister, director of the Sydney Festival, Wesley Enoch, with singer and actor Lucy Durack and dancer/choreographer, Ella Havelka. 

The awards spanned achievements across 2018 and 2019 in 12 categories, with ADT taking out the 2018 Award for Outstanding Performance by a company for “The Beginning of Nature” and Bangarra winning the same award for 2019 for “30 Years of 65,000”, which celebrated its 30th birthday, “immersing itself in magical choreography and the formidable challenge of Jiri Kylian’s Stamping Ground in this unique homage to Indigenous culture”.

While Canberra artists did not feature prominently in the awards, with only QL2 Dance awarded for its production “Filling the Space”, Laura Boynes won the 2019 Award for Outstanding Achievement in Independent Dance for “Wonder Woman,” a work the judges said draws attention to the potent presence of a solo female dancer whose less visible strengths and powers are celebrated in a staging of the “severalness” of femininity.

The full list of Australian Dance Award winners:

2018 AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN COMMUNITY DANCE

Tracks for “Dance for In Your Blood”, a joyous and exceptionally realised dance work performed in the Darwin Botanic Gardens as an exquisite celebration of tradition, family and the collective.

2019 AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN COMMUNITY DANCE

Fine Lines for “The Right”, an intergenerational mature dance collective that presented a serious work about sacrifice for the greater good, explored through the lens of contemporary politics.

2018 AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN YOUTH DANCE

FLING Physical Theatre for “Body & Environment”, an ambitious and surprising new work showcasing a high level of performance skills in this group of young artists, demonstrating a sense of confidence and maturity.

2019 AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN YOUTH DANCE

QL2 Dance for “Filling the Space”, an exceptionally mature performance that explored dimensions of space and its potent significance to the world of dance – physically, emotionally and architecturally.

2018 AWARD FOR SERVICES TO DANCE EDUCATION

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.

2019 AWARD FOR SERVICES TO DANCE EDUCATION

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.

2018 AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN CHOREOGRAPHY

Narelle Benjamin & Paul White for “Cella”, a defining and moving work in a stunning meditation on the wonders of the human body.

2019 AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN CHOREOGRAPHY

Garry Stewart for “South”, a theatrical work that evokes Mawson’s tragic Antarctic expedition of 1912 performed by nine dancers with Stewart’s virtuosic movement.

2018 AWARD FOR SERVICES TO DANCE

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.

2019 AWARD FOR SERVICES TO DANCE

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.

2018 AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN DANCE ON FILM OR NEW MEDIA

RIPE Dance for “In a Different Space”, an inspirational dance film combining beauty, humour, serenity, and cheekiness in equal measure.

2019 AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN DANCE ON FILM OR NEW MEDIA

Samaya Wives for “Oten”, a film that speaks to an integral facet of human nature: our imperfections, yet the slow cadence and dreamy expressiveness of the text provide a moment of stillness, a chance to see the beauty in these so-called ‘flaws’.

2018 AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN COMMERCIAL DANCE, MUSICALS, OR PHYSICAL THEATRE

The Farm for “The Tide”, a work that explores the impact of climate change with two outstanding performers, Gavin Webber and Joshua Thomson, transforming a tough reality into a place of optimism and compassion.

2019 AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN COMMERCIAL DANCE, MUSICALS, OR PHYSICAL THEATRE

STRUT Dance for “SUNSET”, a major commissioned event that took audiences on a magical and haunting journey through one of Perth’s heritage-listed buildings.

2018 AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN INDEPENDENT DANCE

Vicki Van Hout for “Plenty Serious TALK TALK”, a work that explores the consultative process in Indigenous art making, inviting the audience to appreciate the full complexity of negotiating culture across disciplines, genres and eras.

2019 AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN INDEPENDENT DANCE

Laura Boynes for “Wonder Woman”, a work that draws attention to the potent presence of a solo female dancer whose less visible strengths and powers are celebrated in a staging of the ‘severalness’ of femininity.

2018 AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE DANCER

Narelle Benjamin for “Cella”, an extraordinarily moving and physically demanding performance with Paul White, in an exploration of how the human body can transform and evolve in the imagination.

2019 AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE DANCER

Marlo Benjamin for “Skeleton Tree” with Stephanie Lake Co., for a performance that was powerful and heartfelt with a rare combination of incredible technical prowess and a depth of feeling, strength and bravery.

2018 AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE DANCER

Kimball Wong for “The Beginning of Nature” with Australian Dance Theatre, for a brilliant demonstration of his innate ability to combine strength and technique with rich artistry and emotion in this symphony of overlapping rhythms of nature and life.

2019 AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE DANCER

Tyrel Dulvarie for “30 years of 65,000” by Bangarra Dance Theatre, in an outstanding performance celebrating Bangarra Dance Theatre’s 30th anniversary, especially for his transfixing dancing in “Unaipon”, the opening work on this triple bill program.

2018 AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A COMPANY

Australian Dance Theatre for “The Beginning of Nature”, a work full of intense theatricality, danced to an evocative score by Brendan Woithe, and with exceptional Indigenous references to the Kaurna language of the Adelaide Plains.

2019 AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A COMPANY

Bangarra Dance Theatre for “30 Years of 65,000”, a work that celebrated the company’s 30th birthday, immersing itself in magical choreography and the formidable challenge of
Jiri Kylian’s Stamping Ground in this unique homage to Indigenous culture.