Telstra and The Australian Ballet have revealed the five talented dancers selected as nominees for the 2023 Telstra Ballet Dancer Awards. The announcement comes as the partners celebrate the 20th anniversary of these prestigious awards, and toast to one of the longest running arts partnerships in Australia of 39 years.
The five dancers nominated for the 2023 Telstra Ballet Dancer Awards include: Adam Elmes Corps de Ballet Dancer, Isobelle Dashwood Soloist, Lilla Harvey Corps de Ballet Dancer, Riley Lapham Coryphée and Katherine Sonnekus Coryphée.
The nominees were selected by The Australian Ballet’s Artistic team, the company’s Principal artists, and past Telstra Ballet Dancer Award winners. A nomination is a huge honour for these dancers as it recognises their hard work and potential as determined by their peers.
“In partnership with Telstra, we congratulate our five extraordinary nominees for the 2023 Telstra Ballet Dancer Awards. These dancers are a true representation of the excellence and commitment we strive for in our artform and are all deserving of acknowledgement for their immense dedication to their craft. We are honoured to have received the support of Telstra for these awards over the last 20 years and the part they have played in highlighting and rewarding the talent this company has produced over the decades,” said David Hallberg, Artistic Director of The Australian Ballet.
The Telstra Ballet Dancer Awards incorporates two separate awards: The Telstra Rising Star Award, which includes a $25,000 prize for the winner; The Telstra People’s Choice Award, includes a $15,000 prize for the winner.
The partnership between Telstra and The Australian Ballet has helped identify and recognise the future stars of ballet for the past two decades. The Telstra Ballet Dancer Awards are one of the longest running arts awards in the country and help dancers build their confidence in their skills and abilities as they work to ascend the ballet ranks to the most senior dancing positions in Australia’s national dance company. It is testament to the awards with as many as eleven former winners having gone on to become Principal Artists of The Australian Ballet.
Award winners will be announced at Sydney Opera House on 20 May 2023, following The Australian Ballet’s closing performance of George Balanchine’s Jewels. The winners will be chosen by a panel of judges from The Australian Ballet and Telstra and the general public.