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Saturday July 29th saw the finals of
Australia's richest dance competition, The McDonald's Ballet Scholarships.
Talented dancers from across the country competed on the Sydney
Opera House Concert Hall stage to a packed audience on the edge
of their seats.
The evening included both the final of
the Open Jazz Dance Groups and the Ballet Scholarships, and was
a great night of entertainment.
The Open Jazz Groups included Studio
11 Performing Arts from Jamisontown, two groups from Brent
Street Studios, Sydney, Australian Dance Performance Institute
from Albion, Queensland, D.L.D.C from Brisbane and Marie
Walton Mahon Dance Academy from Lambton, NSW. Competing for
a first prize of $2000 and $200 for each dancer, the jazz dancers
stormed the stage with powerful, energetic and impacting dance pieces.
The two standout jazz pieces of the night
for me personally, were that of Studio 11 and D.L.D.C.
Studio 11's piece was outstanding,
as it was neat, sharp and acrobatic. All dancers were incredibly
synchronized and it had a strong beginning that was continued throughout
the piece with much 'wow factor', including amazing leaps across
the stage by the troupe's strong male dancers.
D.L.D.C's piece titled 'Happy
Feet' was a great contrast to the other pieces of the evening and
was a 'breath of fresh air'. A more musical theatre piece that also
combined jazz and even elements of break dancing, it was light-hearted,
and included a love story that drew the audience in. It was theatrically
strong, danced well and a 'feel good' piece that seemed enjoyed
by both dancer and audience.
Unfortunately D.L.D.C did not
receive a placing for their incredible efforts, but Studio 11
were deservingly announced the winner by adjudicators Leanne Cherny,
Tracie Morley and Peta Webb. It was an amazing achievement by a
studio dance troupe, competing against full time dance institutes.
Congratulations Studio 11!
Second and Third places went to the two
troupes from Brent Street Studios, whose pieces were also
neat, with a lot of energy. Brent Street Studio 'Future Lovers'
troupe's piece was especially good as it had more mature, intricate
choreography, although the monotonous music seemed to let it down.
The main event of the evening, The McDonald's
Ballet Scholarships was a competition between eight
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Jemima
Dean performs 3rd Variation, Act 1, Raymonda's Dream, Raymonda
Photo: Barnaby Photography |
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very
talented young Australian ballet dancers. The dancers were adjudicated
by a tough international panel which included Carol Walker from
the American Ballet, Amanda Bennett from Switzerland and Wim
Broeckx, the Director of the Dance Department of the Royal Conservatory
in The Hague.
Competing for a first prize of
$3000 cash, plus a $15,000 scholarship and an opportunity
for a short secondment with The Royal Danish Ballet, the dancers
appeared nervous, but excited. Females Tess Strurmann, Chelsea
Andrejic, Nicki Moffatt, Shannon Robinson and Jemima Dean
were all beautiful dancers. Tess showed lovely long extensions
and flexibility, and Chelsea displayed nice attitude lines,
but they were both obviously very nervous. Nicki Moffatt on
the other hand was a stand out, presenting a clean classical
solo of the Gamzatti Variation from Grand pas de
deux, La Bayadére. A beautiful dancer, Nicki who
is already studying dance in London, was a strong contender
for the grand prize and has an amazing career ahead of her.
Shannon Robinson was also a talented dancer, but the stand
out female of the evening was Jemima Dean from Wembley Downs,
WA. Jemima, who is making a name for herself by winning and
competing in many dance competitions across Australia, as
well as performing at The Australian Dance Awards last year,
had beautiful extensions, performance quality and neat, precise
foot work. She seemed at home on the stage and deserved to
be crowned the winner. Her contemporary free variation was
strong and eye-catching and showed her versatility and strength
as she isolated her body, and performed amazing jetés.
The male dancers of the evening
were all fantastic and a pleasure to watch. Paul Russell from
Caringbah, NSW had a stunning upper body, but at times seemed
to lack height in his jumps. Benjamin Stone, from Wodonga,
Victoria was an exciting dancer to watch and 'ozzed' potential.
His
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feet let down his lines a little,
but his contemporary dance featured fantastic choreography
that showed his versatility. One could easily imagine him
in a contemporary dance company. Aaron Smyth (click
here to read Emerging Artist - Aaron Smyth) was a performer
and a half! His turns, flexibility, height in his leaps and
charisma drew the crowd in, and he was a very strong competitor
for the prize. In the end the male prize was given to Benjamin
Stone, who was also lucky enough to be given an Australian
Ballet Scholarship for next year. Walking away with the ABS
Scholarship, and a $10,000 Scholarship with $2000 cash for
coming second, Benjamin is now well set up to establish a
very successful career, and will no doubt become a household
name in the Australian Dance Industry.
About the Challenge
The McDonald's Performing Arts Challenge began in 1933 as
the City of Sydney Eisteddfod and dance entered the program
the following year. In 1935, visiting British adjudicator
Felix Demery of Association of Operatic Dancing of Great Britain
(a forerunner of the Royal Academy of Dance) found the standard
of the competition absolutely appalling. Local students and
teachers, however, heeded his advice and by 1940 Kathleen
Gorham and Elaine Fifield, two of the Australia's greatest
ballerinas, were already making their names on the Sydney
Eisteddfod platform.
The seventy-four year history of
the competition is studded with star names. Marilyn Jones,
Christine Walsh, Marilyn Rowe, Lisa Pavane, Roland Price,
Rachel Rawlins, Lucinda Dunn, Adam Bull, the Royal Ballet's
Steven McRae, the Birmingham Royal Ballet's Elisha Wills and
the American Ballet Theatre's Stella Abrera are but a few
who have risen from the competition.
Find out more about The McDonald
Challenge.
Visit: www.culturalcouncil.org.au
Print Version
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Jemima shows her flexibility
in her contemporary solo.
Photo: Barnaby Photography
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