Awards
The Australian Dance Awards identify Australian dance professionals, both in Australia and overseas, who have distinguished themselves in performance, choreography, design, dance writing, teaching and the many other related professions inextricably woven into dance. The Awards celebrate the talent, achievements and contributions of these professionals. Nominations from dance lovers all over Australia are assessed by a panel of highly respected dance professionals and presented to the winners by the luminaries of the industry on Awards night.
On Sunday 15 June, Awards will be presented in the following categories:
- • Lifetime Achievement Award
- • Services to Dance
- • Services to Dance Education
- • Outstanding Achievement in Choreography
- • Outstanding Achievement in Independent Dance
- • Outstanding Performance by a Company
- • Outstanding Performance by a Female Dancer
- • Outstanding Performance by a Male Dancer
- • Outstanding Performance in a Stage Musical
- • Award for Dance on Film
To view the shortlist for the 2008 Australian Dance Awards CLICK HERE
History
The Australian Dance Awards – and the program that accompanies it – has its precedence in the Dancers’ Picnic. Initiated by Ausdance NSW in 1986, the dance community in NSW gathered each year to celebrate the Dancers’ Picnic and the International Dance Days Honours, a comparatively simple, informal and low -key event. Eleven years later, in 1997, the Australian Dance Awards was born with the desire to reach a wider public and found a new home at the Sydney Opera House, Opera Theatre during the Australian Ballet’s November season. The Australian Dance Awards has a truly national focus on promoting the art form and raising the profile of Australian artists and provide a focal point for the celebration of excellence in Australian dance. Over time, from the informal Dancers’ Picnic, the Awards have evolved into the industry’s ‘night of nights’ and sold out performances at the Sydney Opera House from 2004 to 2007.
2008 marks the beginning of a new era and a new home for the gala Performance and Awards celebration. Melbourne will host the Awards from 2008 to 2010, during the Australian Ballet’s June season. (As a transitional arrangement, the Australian Dance Awards ceremony will recognise work presented between 1 July 2006 and 31 December 2007; the two subsequent ceremonies will recognise worked presented in the previous calendar years).
For full details of the history of the Awards,
including all previous winners,
CLICK HERE