Ballet Inspires Contemporary Art In Stunning New Series
The series spans an array of visual art categories, with some of Australia’s most talented installation artists and designers called on by Telstra to create works representing the six esteemed nominees.
Now in its 13th year, the Telstra Ballet Dancer Award, considered the most prestigious prize in Australian ballet, was created to help nurture the talent of Australian ballet dancers. It is one of several initiatives run by Telstra in partnership with The Australian Ballet and has uncovered some of ballet’s brightest stars, including seven previous winners who have risen through the ranks to reach Principal Artist status.
To tell the dancer’s stories, Telstra identified leading Australian and international artists and designers, including installation and sculpture artist, Dion Horstmans, photographer Jez Smith, the fashion duo from Aje (Adrian Norris and Edwina Robinson), graffiti artist Anthony Lister, contemporary painter Zoe Porter and renowned typographer, Luca Ionescu.
Among the resulting artworks is a stunning three-dimensional geometric sculpture by Horstmans, who based the form of the work on the line of Ako Kondo’s dancing trajectory across the floor. Each content piece documents the artistic process, complete with voiceover of each dancer and artist describing what inspires them creatively.
Telstra spokesperson Carmel Mulher said the artist partnerships were introduced this year to enable Australians to see ballet in a whole new way.
“Our partnership with The Australian Ballet is one of the longest-running arts partnerships in the country, and for over thirty years now we’ve sought to take ballet beyond the stage to connect more Australians to its joys and beauty.”
The 2015 Telstra Ballet Dancer Award nominees are Benedicte Bemet (Mackay, QLD), Jasmin Durham (Gordon, ACT), Robyn Hendricks (Port Elizabeth, South Africa), recently-appointed principal dancer Ako Kondo (Nagoya, Japan), Amanda McGuigan (Summer Hill, NSW), and Marcus Morelli (Brighton, VIC).
Benedicte Bemet
Jasmin Durham
Robyn Hendricks
Ako Kondo
Amanda McGuigan
Marcus Morelli
The 2015 Telstra Ballet Dancer Award winner will take home a $20,000 cash prize and be announced on Thursday 3 December. The winner of the People’s Choice Award, decided by public vote, will receive $5,000.
Over the next six weeks, TheCarousel.com in conjunction with Telstra and The Australian Ballet, will be showcasing each of the selected dancers. Stay tuned for a new episode every week.
To enter the People’s Choice Award go to telstra.com/ballet.
