The 11th Flame Dance Challenge was held at the Illawarra Performing Arts Centre in Wollongong on May 11. Over 1000 people attended the competition which saw dancers from the Illawarra, Sutherland Shire and Southern Highlands in NSW compete for prizes and scholarships in ballet, contemporary dance, jazz and tap.
The competition was judged by Neale Whittaker, Peta Anderson and Karina Pobereznic with winners in each category taking home $500 in prize money and range of other prizes including tickets to the upcoming Australian Tap Dance Festival, Capezio Vouchers, Dance Australia magazine subscriptions and short-term scholarships or training with Ev and Bow Studios or the Conlan College.
Congratulations to the the competition winners:
Ballet Scholarship Winner – Charlee Corrie
Ballet Scholarship Runner-Up – Aysha Tornyi-Ayden
Tap Scholarship Winner Shaylen Urzsulak
Tap Scholarship Runner-Up – Bella Saville-Martin
Jazz Scholarship Winner – Denva Dwyer
Jazz Scholarship 1st Runner-Up – Chelsea Clarke
Jazz Scholarship 2nd Runner-Up – Chilli Dwyer
Contemporary Scholarship Winner – Bella Saville-Martin
Contemporary Scholarship Runner-Up – Charlee Corrie
In addition, Charlee Corrie from Vanessa Lee Dance Academy in Dapto was selected as the Official Flame Ambassador for 2019, winning a photoshoot with Cloud Dancer Photography.
In the group category, awards and a cash prize of $500 went to the Vanessa Lee Dance Academy for the highest individual pointscore and the highest overall pointscore.
The Choreography Award was presented along with two tickets to the Australian Dance Festival to The Macarthur Ballet and Dance Studio in Smeaton Grange and the Entertainment Award was presented to VPA Studios in Wollongong.
Michelle Dursun
Picture: Charlee Corrie