2017 Australian Dance Awards shortlist

Congratulations to the shortlisted nominees for one of the country’s most prestigious performing arts awards. The Australian Dance Awards recognise and honour outstanding achievement.

Dancer on stage floor leaning back with head tilted skyward and one arm reaching up.iD by Bangarra Dance Theatre. Choreographed by Stephen Page. Photography by Jeff Busby

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

  • Country Arts SA – Dance Jungle Gym
  • Liz Lea, Canberra Dance Theatre & collaborators – Great Sport!
  • Sprung!! Integrated Theatre Inc. – Encounters
  • Tracks Dance Company – Landed

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
  • Sydney Dance Company – Untamed

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 Performance 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 Performance 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, Musicals or Physical 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)