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 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 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