Australian Institute of Classical Dance

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The Australian Institute of Classical Dance’s Victorian Ballet Awards and New Zealand School of Dance Scholarship once again showcased the depth of young classical ballet talent emerging across Australia. Held on 28 June at the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School (VCASS), the event brought together dancers, teachers and families for a day that celebrated technical excellence while continually returning to the reason the technique exists in the first place: to perform.

Presiding over the competition was one of Australia’s most respected ballet artists, Damien Welch. A former Principal Artist with The Australian Ballet, Welch trained at the Marilyn Jones and Garth Welch School of Ballet before graduating from the Australian Ballet School and joining The Australian Ballet in 1992. Promoted to Principal Artist in 1998, he performed many of the company’s leading classical and contemporary roles before dancing internationally with Nederlands Dans Theater, the National Ballet of Canada and Houston Ballet. Today, he continues to work with the next generation as a coach, adjudicator, rehearsal director and mentor.

Throughout the day, Welch’s observations became as much a part of the experience as the results themselves. His message was consistent: technique provides a dancer with the tools, but it should ultimately allow them the freedom to perform.

“We study dance because we want to be performers. Performance quality is very important and musicality is very important.”

Watching the dancers in class before they took to the stage for their solos gave Welch an opportunity to see more than a finished variation. From the beginning, he was impressed.

“I was really blown away at the start of class. Everyone approached the barre beautifully. Your arms and your épaulement were a really lovely way to begin.”

That class work also provided an important reminder of just how young many of the competitors were.

“Once you put on costumes and come out here looking so poised and confident, it’s easy to forget how young you all are.”

The 13–14 years Victorian Ballet Awards proved particularly strong, leaving Welch with the difficult task of separating dancers in a closely contested field.

“It was incredibly hard to choose. I honestly could have picked another ten or fifteen people. At some point you simply have to make a decision based on how everyone danced on the day.”

His observations extended beyond the competitors themselves. Speaking to teachers and choreographers, Welch encouraged them to consider whether the difficulty of choreography was helping a young dancer perform at their best.

“It’s okay to make the choreography simple enough that dancers feel confident to dance. Sometimes choreography can overshadow their ability to perform.”

The boys competing also made an impression, particularly when Welch reflected on his own pathway into ballet.

“I didn’t even start dancing until I was fifteen, and some of these dancers aren’t even fifteen yet and they’re already performing double tours, triple tours and dancing brilliantly.”

Following a highly competitive section, Arcadia Manton of Kerry Moore School of Ballet was awarded first place, with Hazel Oxner of Classical Coaching with Claire Campbell Mahon and Over the Moon Dance Castlemaine taking second and Rachel Murray of En Pointe Studios third.

Tim Cheng of Jiayin MasterClass received Highly Commended, while Luke McGann and Natalie Cross, both from En Pointe Studios, received Encouragement Awards.

Presenting Arcadia with first place, Welch described a performance that had remained with him.

“With a mesmerising performance, Arcadia… you really have the most beautiful technique.”

Yet his acknowledgement was not reserved for those receiving awards.

“Every performance today was wonderful. Congratulations to all of you, and congratulations to all of the teachers as well.”

For the senior dancers competing in the New Zealand School of Dance Scholarship, the stakes increased considerably. Open to dancers aged 15–18 years, the scholarship offered the winner one week’s tuition at the New Zealand School of Dance, return flights, accommodation, meals and a $400 Bloch gift voucher.

Before announcing the recipients, Welch acknowledged the network of people behind every young dancer who had made it onto the stage.

“A massive thank you to the Australian Institute of Classical Dance, all of its volunteers, the parents and the teachers who invest so much time, effort and money into these young dancers. None of this happens without you.”

As the dancers moved closer to an age where professional training and careers become very real possibilities, Welch returned to the relationship between preparation and performance.

“The reason we develop technique is so that we can completely forget about it when we step on stage.”

Rather than thinking of technique as the end goal, he encouraged dancers to see the countless hours spent in class as preparation for the freedom to let it go.

“You work so hard in class so that when you come out to perform, you can simply enjoy the moment.”

Even mistakes, he suggested, can be evidence that a dancer is prepared to take risks. Recalling legendary choreographer William Forsythe, Welch shared a perspective that offered the young competitors a very different way to think about getting something wrong.

“Even if you fall over. William Forsythe used to cheer whenever someone fell because he knew they were pushing themselves to the absolute limit.”

What Welch was looking for was not technical perfection at the expense of the person performing it.

“I saw some beautiful technique today, but I also saw some wonderful performances and genuine joy. That’s what audiences remember.”

Erin Bowers of Geelong Ballet School was awarded the New Zealand School of Dance Scholarship, with Lily Schlakht of En Pointe School Studios taking second place and Thomas Smothers of Jane Moore Academy of Classical Ballet third.

Scarlett Graham of En Pointe Studios received Highly Commended, with Welch particularly noting the depth of her interpretation: “I really felt Scarlett embodied the spirit of Giselle in her performance.”

Holly Hetherington of Geelong Ballet Centre and Sienna Romagninc of En Pointe Studios received Encouragement Awards.

Across both sections, Welch’s observations offered the dancers something that extended beyond where they placed on the day. For the younger competitors, there was encouragement to build strong foundations without allowing increasingly difficult choreography to overwhelm their ability to dance. For those approaching the next stage of their training, the challenge was to trust those foundations enough to stop thinking about them.

His final message brought the two together.

“Your technique needs to become strong enough that you no longer have to think about the steps. It doesn’t matter if you fall over. What matters is that you get up, keep dancing and enjoy performing.”

The awards may recognise what happens on one particular day, but the greater opportunity lies in what dancers take away from it. For these young artists, that meant performing under pressure, receiving feedback from someone who has travelled the professional path before them and being reminded that all those years spent perfecting the steps are ultimately preparing them for the moment when they can stop thinking about the steps at all — and simply dance.

RESULTS

Victorian Ballet Awards – 13–14 Years
1st: Arcadia Manton, Kerry Moore School of Ballet
2nd: Hazel Oxner, Classical Coaching with Claire Campbell Mahon and Over the Moon Dance Castlemaine
3rd: Rachel Murray, En Pointe Studios
Highly Commended: Tim Cheng, Jiayin MasterClass
Encouragement Awards: Luke McGann, En Pointe Studios; Natalie Cross, En Pointe Studios

New Zealand School of Dance Scholarship – 15–18 Years
Winner: Erin Bowers, Geelong Ballet School
2nd: Lily Schlakht, En Pointe School Studios
3rd: Thomas Smothers, Jane Moore Academy of Classical Ballet
Highly Commended: Scarlett Graham, En Pointe Studios
Encouragement Awards: Holly Hetherington, Geelong Ballet Centre; Sienna Romagninc, En Pointe Studios