Presented by Ausdance and Harlequin Floors as part of the MoveMe Festival, the 2016 Australian Dance Awards will soon arrive at The State Theatre Centre of Western Australia on Sunday, September 18, at 6:30 pm. The Awards will be a night-of-nights for professional dance across the country, with 12 total awards being bestowed, including the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award, the coveted Outstanding Performance by a Company Award, and the highly-desired Outstanding Performances by Female and Male Dancers Awards.
Tasdance. Photo by Dermot McElduff.
The shortlist for the hotly-contested Awards was announced in July. Dance filmmakers and youth dance organisations are well represented and of course, dancers and choreographers from major Australian dance companies are seen throughout.
The full performance lineup for the Awards was recently revealed, and it features a rich palette of Australian dance, with excerpts from an entertaining diversity of acclaimed works. Many former award winners and current award nominees are included in the lineup. It’s a rare opportunity (possibly the only of its kind) to take in this sumptuous mix of companies and performers.
Lucy Guerin Inc in ‘Motion Picture’. Photo by Gregory Lorenzutti.
Plus, the MCs are just as special, with Perth ABC newsreader (and former New York City Ballet dancer) Briana Shepherd and renowned dancer and theatre maker James Berlyn adding their own special spin to the evening.
Ausdance CEO Ros Dundas said, “The event is a show in its own right, with eight fantastic performances showcasing some of the best in Australian dance for 2016. West Australian dancers should come out in droves to celebrate this amazing night, especially as West Australian dancers and dance companies feature at the 2016 Australian Dance Awards as amongst the best in the world.”
See below for the full list of performances, which will be spaced out across the presentation of the Awards.
Ochre Contemporary Dance Company in ‘Kaya’. Photo by Mark Howett.
Ochre Contemporary Dance Company in Kaya, a unique fusion of dynamic dance and music that vividly portrays the excitement and danger of our modern cultural mix.
West Australian Ballet in Radio & Juliet, a hard-hitting contemporary version of the classic ballet to the music of Radiohead. It will feature nominee Brooke Widdison-Jacobs performing with Oliver Edwardson, Liam Green, Christopher Hill, Matthew Lehmann, Christian Luck and Alessio Scognamglio.
Dance Award-winning Lucy Guerin Inc with Motion Picture, choreographed by Dance Award winner Lucy Guerin. Motion Picture explores the tensions between live performance and film in an atmosphere of film noir. It will feature original cast members – Award winner and current nominee Kyle Page with Lilian Steiner.
Tasdance with the thoughtful new work Plain English, choreographed by Liesel Zink and performed by Robert Tinning. Plain English explores the language of politicians to ask if there is room for authentic conversations.
Force Majeure at the Adelaide Festival. Photo by Tony Lewis.
Dance Award-winning company Force Majeure in an excerpt from Never Did Me Any Harm – featuring previous two-time Dance Award winner Kristina Chan with Joshua Mu.
Co3 with a live score by international musician and composer Eden Mulholland. This new visceral and powerful work by Artistic Director Raewyn Hill unfolds the inner landscape of ordinary lives to live music. Performers include Eden Mulholland, Katherine Gurr, Mitch Harvey, Zachary Lopez, Talitha Maslin and Russell Thorpe.
K2Dance performs ‘The Coven’. Photo by David Mueller.
STRUT Dance in Decadance Perth 2016 – a “joyous, poetic and unashamedly beautiful” work presented by 16 dancers from around Australia. The dancers dive into the fluid virtuosity of the preeminent contemporary choreographer Ohad Naharin.
K2Dance Company in The Coven, choreographed by Tyrone Robinson and inspired by American Horror Story. Performers include Noa, Gubbay, Harriet Mactier, Martha McKenzie, Lily Gherbaz, Lily Gubbay, Stephanie Lade, Ruby DeMarte, Indiana Marusco, Renya Golestani, Emmerson Turner, Jaime Thomas, Nina Willoughby, Arina Nazarenko, Liv Piva, Olga Nazaranko, Ruby Hart and Isabella Taylor.
Tickets for the 2016 Australian Dance Awards are on sale now through Ticketek. For more information on the Awards, visit www.australiandanceawards.net.au.
Photo (top): West Australian Ballet for Radio & Juliet. Photo by Sergey Pevnev.
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