THE recipient of the  new ”Annie”, an award named in memory of the late Tasdance director Annie Greig, has gone to WA  dancer Daryl Brandwood, it was  announced last night (March 2) by dance artist Liz Lea at the launch of the BOLD dance festival.

Brandwood, well known as a former member of Expressions Dance Company, is an advocate for senior dancers who has previously received a Greenroom Award for Best Emerging Male Artist, a Helpmann Award for Best Male Dancer in a Ballet or Dance and an Australian Dance Award for Outstanding Performance by a male dancer.

In 2019 he  choreographed his piece “Journeying” for mature Perth dance group Momentum and Lea said he would  use the Annie Award to create a film involving dancers over 50.

The launch, which  took place at the National Film and Sound Archive, saw the best and brightest of Canberra’s dance community gathered to celebrate the coming five-day event of workshops, performances, talks, forums and film showings running at the National Film and Sound Archive, National Library of Australia, National Portrait Gallery, National Gallery of Australia, Gorman House, QL2 Dance and Canberra Theatre Centre until  March, 6.

Before the evening proceeded with a series of dance films and a Q&A, ACT Arts Minister Tara Cheyne urged on the crowd to even greater efforts with the words: “Let’s dance”.

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