Joshua Green has had a stellar year. Exactly two weeks prior to the Sydney Eisteddfod Ballet Scholarship Finals he was awarded a Gold Medal at the Royal Academy of Dance's Genée International Ballet Competition. Then on Sunday 26 August, the 17 year old dancer was named the outright winner of the 2018 Sydney Eisteddfod Ballet Scholarship (generously sponsored this year by the Guillermo Keys-Arenas Dance Trust). He was also given the Australian Conservatoire of Ballet’s Performance Award. This is all the more impressive because of his late start in dance just a couple of years ago. Joshua comes from Wollongbar, NSW, and trains at the Karen Ireland Dance Centre with fellow finalist Kayla Van Den Bogert, demonstrating that there is no shortage of ballet talent outside of the major capital cities.
Joshua danced a buoyant Basilio Act III from Don Quixote that demonstrated his high, light jump and theatrical flair. In contrast, his self-choreographed contemporary sole To This Day was set to a spoken voice recording and dedicated to all the boys in dance who experience bullying based on their involvement in dance. It was quite moving, and especially timely given that Scott Gormley’s new documentary Danseur addresses these same issues.
The winner of the second scholarship (generously sponsored by Mary Zuber in memory of the late Mrs Judith Greenep), Matisse Lewis, comes from Aspendale, Victoria, and trains with the Jane Moore Academy of Ballet. A dainty, elfin-faced dancer, Matisse delivered a sharply accented Esmeralda variation in an exquisitely detailed emerald green tutu.
Grace Humphris, who trains with the National College of Dance won the Tanya Pearson Artistry Award with a softly elegant Dream Solo, second variation from Act II of Raymonda. Like Joshua, both danced self-choreographed contemporary solos – a trend that seems to be increasing in recent years. It certainly gives the finalists a chance to show off their choreographic, as well as performance, abilities.
Adjudicators Margaret Illman and Damian Smith were joined by artistic directors David McAllister (Australian Ballet) and Li Cunxin (Queensland Ballet) for the night of the finals - but of course Illman and Smith had the added experience of having selected and assessed the eight finalists from a pool of over 130 entrants in a series of classes and solo performances about a month prior to this event.
And what made the finalists stand out? Margaret Illman explains, "Individual dance quality is an important aspect to the choice of this year’s finalists. To liberate this quality, the training foundation observed in class needed to be secure. The foundation necessary included body awareness to be able to control and coordinate the entire body, not just the lower limbs, secure weight change, alignment, meaningful port de bras, pirouettes and powerful clean allegro. Then in their performance the communication, or artistry, could be 'real' and seem spontaneous, living dance, enabling the developing student to shine.”
Most of this year’s finalists are heading overseas to take up a position at a pre-professional school shortly after these awards. They will be living and training as far afield as London, New York and Stuttgart – a testament to the quality of dancers trained in Australia. In this sense, the Sydney Eisteddfod Ballet Scholarship has the nostalgic overtones of a fond farewell, as well as the excitement and adrenaline of your typical dance competition. You cannot help but wonder in which directions their professional aspirations and careers will take them.
In the Secondary Dance Group Finals, teenagers who maintain a full academic workload at school displayed a commitment and a discipline to dance through the high standard of performance on show. There were a wide range of themes and stylistic differences between the eight finalists. Having travelled all the way from Queensland, the dancers from Albany Creek State High School B were well rewarded with first place for their efforts in the routine "Ravens". This was a high energy, fast-moving routine, with synchronicity well maintained throughout. In second place, students from Redlands, Cremorne danced a more lyrical routine called "Crying", effectively conveying the expressive qualities required. In third place Pymble Ladies’ College C presented a very interesting piece called "The Last Seed", utilising choreography, costume and props to tell their story without needing words to explain it.
- GERALDINE HIGGINSON
Pictured top is Joshua Green, winner of the 2018 Sydney Eisteddfod Ballet Scholarship. Photo: WinkiPoP Media.
