The Telstra Ballet Dancer Award has been made annually since 2003, in support of the aspirations of

The Australian Ballet The Australian Ballet is the largest classical ballet company in Australia. It was founded by J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd and the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust in 1962, with the English-born dancer, teacher, repetiteur and direct ...

's elite young dancers. The winner receives a cash prize of $20,000. This is the biggest prize available specifically to a dancer in Australia. Nominees are selected by The Australian Ballet and previous award winners. A judging panel composed of representatives from The Australian Ballet, Telstra and the media selects the winner based on "the artistic quality of their work, the strength of a written submission, their personal development, and future potential."

History of the awards

The awards are announced in early December, usually in the Joan Sutherland Theatre,

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century archit ...

(venue for Sydney seasons by

). In 2019, the awards were announced on the Sydney opening night of Peter Wright's ''

The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' ( rus, Щелкунчик, Shchelkunchik, links=no ) is an 1892 two-act ballet (""; russian: балет-феерия, link=no, ), originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaiko ...

'' on 30 November 2019. The 2018 awards were announced on the opening night of

Alexei Ratmansky Alexei Osipovich Ratmansky (russian: Алексей Осипович Ратманский, born August 27, 1968) is a Russian-American choreographer and former ballet dancer. From 2004 to 2008 he was the director of the Bolshoi Ballet. He left Ru ...

's ''

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

'' on 30 November 2018. In 2017, as the Joan Sutherland Theatre was unavailable, the company's Sydney November–December season took place at the Capitol Theatre. The announcement of the award winners was made on 5 December 2017, opening night of ''

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...

''. The 2016 awards were announced on the opening night of ''

Coppélia ''Coppélia'' (sometimes subtitled: ''La Fille aux Yeux d'Émail'' (The Girl with the Enamel Eyes)) is a comic ballet from 1870 originally choreographed by Arthur Saint-Léon to the music of Léo Delibes, with libretto by Charles-Louis-� ...

'' on 2 December 2016. The 2015 awards were announced on the opening night of '' The Sleeping Beauty'' on 3 December 2015. The 2014 awards were announced after a dress rehearsal of ''

'' on 27 November 2014. The 2013 awards were announced on the opening night of ''

'' (choreography by

) on 29 November. The 2012 award winners were announced on the Sydney opening night of

Stephen Baynes Stephen Baynes (born 1956 in Adelaide, South Australia) has been Resident Choreographer with The Australian Ballet since 1995. He trained with Joanne Priest and graduated from The Australian Ballet School in 1975. He has danced with the Australi ...

' ''

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoye ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, link=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failur ...

'' on 30 November. The 2011 awards were announced on the opening night of ''Romeo & Juliet'' (choreography by

Graeme Murphy Graeme Lloyd Murphy AO (born 2 November 1950) is an Australian choreographer. With his fellow dancer (and wife since 2004) Janet Vernon, he guided Sydney Dance Company to become one of Australia's most successful and best-known dance companie ...

) on 2 December. The 2010 announcement of both Award winners was made on the opening night of ''

'' on 3 December 2010. For the first time since the inauguration of the awards, the judging panel was unable to separate two dancers for the main award, and each received $20,000.

Telstra People's Choice Award

In addition, the Telstra People's Choice Award, with a cash prize of $5,000, is made to the most popular of the nominees in that year, as determined by internet and SMS votes from the public. From 2010, competitors began tp report on their activities via an individual

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

account as part of the competition, and in 2013 competitors began using

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

as a publicity tool.

Amber Scott Amber Scott is an Australian ballet dancer. She is a principal artist at The Australian Ballet. Early life Scott was born and raised in Brisbane, Australia. She started dance classes at age three and ballet at age five. She also attended jazz ...

was the first dancer to win both awards (in 2004) followed by Stephanie Williams,

Chengwu Guo Guo Chengwu (), also known as Chengwu Guo, is a Chinese ballet dancer, and a principal artist with The Australian Ballet. Dance career Guo was born in China. At the age of 11 he joined the Beijing Dance Academy. After he won a scholarship in th ...

and Jade Wood.

Danielle Rowe Danielle Rowe (born 1982 in Shepparton) is an Australian-born ballet dancer and choreographer. Dancing career Rowe trained in Newcastle and Adelaide. She joined The Australian Ballet in 2001. She won the Telstra People's Choice Award in both ...

, Amy Harris, Jake Mangakahia and Marcus Morelli have each won the People's Choice Award twice. Amy Harris has won a total of three awards.

Recipients

Ballet Dancer Award

* 2022 Rina Nemoto * 2020/21 Nathan Brook * 2019 Jill Ogai * 2018 Jade Wood * 2017 Valerie Tereshchenko * 2016 Callum Linnane * 2015 Benedicte Bemet * 2014 Dimity Azoury * 2013 Christopher Rodgers-Wilson * 2012 Amy Harris * 2011

* 2010 Ty King-Wall and

Dana Stephensen Dana Stephensen (born July 21, 1985) is an Australian ballet dancer. She is a soloist of The Australian Ballet. Dance career Stephensen started her dance training at the age of three in Brisbane. In 2001 she joined the Queensland Dance School ...

* 2009 Stephanie Williams * 2008

Kevin Jackson Kevin Andre Jackson (born November 25, 1964 in Highland Falls, New York) is an American retired freestyle and folkstyle wrestler, and mixed martial artist. Following his competitive career, Jackson would become a wrestling coach. During his in ...

* 2007 Daniel Gaudiello * 2006 Gina Brescianini * 2005 Lana Jones * 2004

* 2003 Matthew Lawrence

People's Choice Award

* 2022 Lilly Maskery * 2020/21 Nathan Brook * 2019 Marcus Morelli * 2018 Jade Wood * 2017 Jake Mangakahia * 2016 Jarryd Madden * 2015 Marcus Morelli * 2014 Imogen Chapman * 2013 Benedicte Bemet * 2012 Jake Mangakahia * 2011 Chengwu Guo * 2010 Amy Harris * 2009 Stephanie Williams * 2008 Amy Harris * 2007 Luke Ingham * 2006

Madeleine Eastoe Madeleine Eastoe is an Australian retired ballet dancer. She was a principal dancer at The Australian Ballet. Biography Eastoe started ballet at age six, in Perth, Australia. In 1994, Eastoe moved to Melbourne to study at the Australian Ballet ...

* 2005

* 2004 Amber Scott * 2003 Danielle Rowe

Nominees

The nominees for these awards were, until 2015, announced in the first three months of the year. The 2019 nominees were Isobelle Dashwood, Cristiano Martino, Marcus Morelli, Jill Ogai, Sharni Spencer and Yichuan Wang. The 2018 nominees were Nathan Brook, Corey Herbert, Brodie James, Rina Nemoto, Jade Wood and Lucien Xu. The 2017 nominees were announced on 4 November 2017 at a free performance at Penrith Lakes, Sydney, with for the second year in a row, three male and three female nominees: first-timers Isobelle Dashwood, Drew Hedditch and François-Eloi Lavignac, 2012 People's Choice winner Jake Mangakahia, and 2013 nominees Sharni Spencer and Valerie Tereshchenko. The 2016 nominees were announced on 18 August 2016 at the Australian Ballet Centre. Second-timers Jarryd Madden and Jade Wood were joined by Nicola Curry, Brodie James, Callum Linnane and Jill Ogai in the first evenly-distributed set of nominations. The 2015 nominees were announced on 10 July 2015 at the Australian Ballet Centre in Southbank. Previous People's Choice winner Benedicte Bemet joined Ako Kondo in celebrating a second nomination, while

Robyn Hendricks Robyn Hendricks is a South African ballet dancer who is a principal artist with The Australian Ballet. Biography Hendricks grew up in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. She started ballet late, at the age of eight, after her grandfather recognised ...

was nominated for a fourth time. The first-time nominees joining them were Marcus Morelli, Amanda McGuigan, and Jasmin Durham. The 2014 nominees were announced on 7 March 2014 at a free performance at the

Sidney Myer Music Bowl The Sidney Myer Music Bowl is an outdoor bandshell performance venue in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is located in the lawns and gardens of Kings Domain on Linlithgow Avenue close to the Arts Centre and the Southbank entertainment prec ...

in Melbourne and were Dimity Azoury, Imogen Chapman, Ingrid Gow, Cristiano Martino, Rina Nemoto, and Jade Wood. The 2013 nominees were announced on 13 February 2013 and were Benedicte Bemet, Cameron Hunter, Natasha Kusen, Christopher Rodgers-Wilson, Sharni Spencer, and Valerie Tereshchenko. The 2012 nominees were Dimity Azoury, Calvin Hannaford, Amy Harris, Ako Kondo, Jarryd MaddenJarryd Madden
at The Australian Ballet. and Jake Mangakahia. The 2011 nominees were announced at a full meeting of The Australian Ballet's company and artistic staff on 15 February. They were Brett Chynoweth, Chengwu Guo, Rudy Hawkes,Rudy Hawkes
at The Australian Ballet.

,Robyn Hendricks
at The Australian Ballet.

Luke Marchant The Australian Ballet is the largest classical ballet company in Australia. It was founded by J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd and the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust in 1962, with the English-born dancer, teacher, repetiteur and dire ...

and Karen Nanasca. The 2010 nominees were Amy Harris, Ty King-Wall,Ty King-Wall
at The Australian Ballet. Miwako Kubota, Natasha Kusen, Dana Stephensen, and Vivienne Wong (now retired). The 2009 nominees were Juliet Burnett (now with Royal Ballet of Flanders), Robyn Hendricks (current principal artist), Andrew Killian (current principal artist), Leanne Stojmenov,Leanne Stojmenov
at The Australian Ballet. Laura Tong (retired) and Stephanie Williams (corps de ballet, American Ballet Theatre). The 2008 nominees were Tzu-Chao Chou (principal artist, Birmingham Royal Ballet), Amy Harris (current senior artist), Reiko Hombo (retired senior artist), Kevin Jackson, Ty King-Wall (current principal artist) and Andrew Wright (current soloist). The 2007 nominees were Jane Casson, Daniel Gaudiello (left in 2016), Rudy Hawkes (retired in 2016), Robyn Hendricks (current principal artist), Luke Ingham (principal artist, San Francisco Ballet), and Leanne Stojmenov. The 2006 nominees were Adam Bull,Adam Bull
at The Australian Ballet. Annabel Bronner Reid (retired), Andrew Killian (current principal artist), Gina Brescianini (retired), Kevin Jackson (current principal artist), and Madeleine Eastoe. The 2005 nominees were Marc Cassidy (retired), Gaylene Cummerfield (retired principal artist, Birmingham Royal Ballet), Lana Jones (current principal artist), Paul Knobloch (Ballet Master, The Australian Ballet), Danielle Rowe, and Leanne Stojmenov (current principal artist). The 2004 nominees were Adam Bull (current principal artist), Jane Casson (Principal Teacher, City Adult Ballet), Craig Cathcart (company manager, Queensland Ballet), Miwako Kubota (retired senior artist), Rachel Rawlins (retired principal artist), and Amber Scott (current principal artist). The inaugural nominees, in 2003, were Olivia Bell (retired principal artist), Annabel Bronner Reid, Madeleine Eastoe (retired principal artist), Tim Harbour (retired, now choreographer), Matthew Lawrence (retired, former principal artist Queensland Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, The Australian Ballet), and Danielle Rowe (Nederlands Dans Theater, former principal artist The Australian Ballet, Houston Ballet).

References

External links

* The Australian Ballet {{Ballet Dance in Australia Ballet awards Australian performing arts awards Australian people of the year awards Awards established in 2003 Telstra Ballet Dancer Awards Telstra Ballet Dancer Awards Ballet in Australia Telstra