Ausdance is pleased to announce that this year’s Australian Dance Award for Lifetime Achievement will be presented in Brisbane this month to Robina Beard OAM.
National President of Ausdance, Professor Susan Street said that Robina Beard is one of our most recognisable dance and performing artists.
“Robina was awarded an OAM earlier this year for her services to the arts, particularly through dance, and she has had a long-standing relationship with the Australian Dance Awards and with Ausdance.
“Robina has excelled in many different roles throughout her life as a dancer, performer, director, choreographer, teacher and advisor. She has been passionately committed to raising the standards of both performance and teaching in this country and has a long-standing commitment to developing and supporting Indigenous dance. She has worked extensively on television in musical, dramatic and comedy series, and was well known for her long-running series of commercials as “Madge” the manicurist for Palmolive Dishwashing Liquid,” said Professor Street.
Robina was honored to learn that the panel had voted her as the recipient of this year’s Lifetime Achievement award. She said:
"In my role as an Australian Dance Awards adviser, it has been my delightful duty for the last three years to let the winners know of their award. Imagine my complete surprise and absolute delight when I discovered that I would be the recipient this year! My life has been dance since I was seven years old. Now I am smiling all the time, and I am so thrilled that I will actually have one of those elegant, beautiful steel statuettes in my house!”
Previous recipients of the Lifetime Achievement award are: Bill Akers AM, Paul Hammond OAM, Graeme Murphy AM and Janet Vernon AM, Kathryn Lowe, Julie Dyson AM, Dr Cheryl Stock, Meryl Tankard, Prof. Shirley McKechnie OAM, Kira Bousloff OAM, Keith Bain OAM, Dame Margaret Scott DBE, Valrene Tweedie OAM, Laurel Martyn OBE and Elizabeth Cameron Dalman OAM.
The 2011 Australian Dance Awards will be held in Queensland for the first time in its 14 year history in Queensland Performing Arts Centre’s (QPAC) Playhouse. Featured performances will include Queensland Ballet, Expressions Dance Company, Dancenorth, Aboriginal Centre for the Performing Arts (ACPA), Sydney Dance Company and Sue Peacock with Stefan Karlsson from Western Australia.
Full list of nominees: Australian Dance Awards 2011Shortlisted nominees (in alphabetical order)
Services to DanceGideon Obarzanek
Ruth Osborne
Lucinda Sharp
Carl Vine
Services to Dance EducationValda Craig
Marilyn Rowe OBE
Paul Saliba
Tasdance
Outstanding Achievement in Youth or Community DanceMirndiyan Gununa Aboriginal Corporation for
Mornington Island Gulf FestivalQL2 Dance for
Hard YardsSteps Youth Dance Company for
PhoenixTracks for
The Cook, The Queen & the KellyOutstanding Achievement in ChoreographyRafael Bonachela for
6 Breaths (Sydney Dance Company)
Shaun Parker for
Happy As Larry (Shaun Parker & Company)
Garry Stewart for
Be Your Self (Australian Dance Theatre)
Natalie Weir for
Where the Heart Is (Expressions Dance Company)
Outstanding Performance by a CompanyAustralian Dance Theatre for
Be Your SelfBangarra Dance Theatre for
of earth & skyExpressions Dance Company for
Where the Heart IsSydney Dance Company for
We UnfoldOutstanding Achievement in Independent DanceNarelle Benjamin for
In GlassKatrina Lazaroff for
Pomona RoadSue Peacock for
SprungTony Yap with Madeleine Flynn, Tim Humphrey, Naomi Ota and Ben Rogan for
Rasa SayangOutstanding Performance by a Female DancerKristina Chan for
In Glass (Narelle Benjamin)
Amy Hollingsworth for
Irony of Fate (Sydney Dance Company)
Elise May for
Where the Heart Is (Expressions Dance Company)
Larissa McGowan for
Be Your Self (Australian Dance Theatre)
Outstanding Performance by a Male DancerRichard Causer for
Where the Heart Is (Expressions Dance Company)
Daniel Gaudiello for
Coppelia (The Australian Ballet)
Paul White for
In Glass (Narelle Benjamin)
Kimball Wong for
Be Yourself (Australian Dance Theatre)
Outstanding Performance in a Stage MusicalThe Cast of
HairsprayAlinta Chidzey for
West Side StoryVerity Hunt-Ballard for
Mary PoppinsMatt Lee for
Mary PoppinsPresented by Ausdance in association with QPAC
2011 Australian Dance Awards Honouring and showcasing the best Australian dance Venue: The Playhouse, QPAC, Cultural Centre, South Bank
Date/Time: Sunday July 24 at 7.00pm
Tickets: $29 – $39*
Bookings: www.qpac.com.au or call 136 246