Last year, the Australian Dance Awards were cancelled for the foreseeable future, but with the COVID crisis reinvigorating the role of Ausdance National, the Awards have been revived!
The annual Australian Dance Awards recognise and honour professional Australian dance artists and companies who have made outstanding achievements that raise the standards and profile of dance.
Initiated in 1986 by Keith Bain OAM, the dance community in NSW gathered each year at the Dancers’ Picnic to celebrate International Dance Day each April 29, and began honouring artists with awards. This then turned into what we now know as the Australian Dance Awards in 1997, when Ausdance NSW, with support from the City of Sydney and The Australian Ballet, presented the inaugural Awards at the Sydney Opera House. The awards have since been held in Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and Canberra, with the last event held in 2018 in Queensland at the Brisbane Powerhouse.
The Australian Dance Awards are usually presented in a glamorous evening of diverse performances showcasing some of Australia’s best dance of the past year, but this year, due to the COVID restrictions, it is thought that the Awards may be presented as an online presentation ceremony. The scale of the presentation will depend on available resources, but Ausdance plans to make it a celebratory event for Australian dance and its creators, performers and collaborators.
The event date is still to be confirmed, but nominations are now open and the selection panel, which is made up of dance professionals from all states and territories, has been expanded. Because there was no event last year, the 2020 Australian Dance Awards will cover two years: 2018 and 2019. Nominations are open via www.australiandanceawards.net.au, closing Monday July 20. Before you nominate, make sure to read the selection criteria. You need to say in two to three sentences how you think the individual, team, or company’s performance, choreography, production, service, film/technology raises or raised the standard, profile and/or prestige of Australian dance.
To make nominations and find out more information, visit www.australiandanceawards.net.au
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