The annual Ballet Teachers' Workshop (BTW) has now been in existence for nearly 60 years, and has played an important part in the development of many a dancer. I watched the final sections of the 2022 finals, held this year on August 28 at the Darebin Arts Centre in Preston, and both of the adjudicators for those sections spoke of the special place the BTW has in their hearts. Fiona Tonkin, Artistic Associate and Principal Coach at the Australian Ballet, spoke of her gratitude to (the late) Paul Hammond, one of the founders of BTW. “Paul was the reason I came to Australia,” she said. “He gave me a scholarship in Napier which took me to three weeks at the Australian Ballet School. Paul is very special to me.” Adam Bull, Principal Artist with the Australian Ballet, spoke of the competition itself as a major stepping stone: “It was as one of the first competitions I did - and I'm still dancing, which is crazy!” he joked. "This is where it begins."
The event runs all day with sections ranging from younger candidates in the morning to the senior prizes in the evening. Hundreds of candidates competed for a total of $23,000 in prizes. The BTW is open to all schools regardless of what syllabus or method they teach.
The crowning prizes are the Paul Hammond award, originally a boy's only section, and the Mabel Pryde award, named after one of the first organisers of the BTW (along with Frances Naylor) . This year the two prizes were combined due, sadly, to a lack of male entries.
The winner was Mantraa Rane, from the Melbourne Academy of the Arts, who impressed with a vivacious performance of the solo from Esmeralda. She received $2500 plus a $2000 Capezio voucher. She was also the recipient of the $2500 Frances Naylor award (with Melbourne Academy of the Arts taking home the Frances Naylor Shield).
Second place went to Maia Weisinger Braun (also from the Melbourne Academy of the Arts), who performed Aurora's solo from Act 2 of The Sleeping Beauty. She receives $2000 from BTW plus a $900 Capezio voucher. Third place ($1500 plus a $600 Capezio voucher) went to Hazuki Honzawa (National Theatre Ballet School), who performed a technically excellent solo from Act 3 of Paquita, and fourth was awarded to Isabelle Cream (Ballet Theatre Australia), who also danced the difficult Paquita solo. She received $1000 from BTW and a $400 Capezio voucher.
Ethan Dwyer (Jane Moore Academy of Ballet) and Madison Sparkman (Kerry Moore School of Ballet) received Honorable Mentions while Minami Muramatsu, from National Theatre Ballet School, received the Artistry Award, which is awarded by BTW President Diana Hammond.
There were 29 finalists for this section altogether, displaying astonishing talent and confidence considering the interruptions they would have suffered to their training over the past two years.
For Section D (Age13-14), the prizes went to:
Artistry Award: Charlotte Major (The Academy of Ballet)
HM: Maya Conn - En Pointe School of Ballet
HM: Thomas Smithers - The Jane Moore Academy of Ballet
4th: Paige Gill - The Jane Moore Academy of Ballet
3rd: Delaney Jarvis - Ballet Theatre Australia
2nd: Sam McSweeney - Joanne O’Kelly School of Dance
1st: Caitlyn Martin - Expressions Ballet Academy
MP/PH Shield: Expressions Ballet Academy
Sections A to C were adjudicated by were Elizabeth Toohey (Ballet Mistress, Australian Ballet) and Principal Artist of the AB, Brett Chynoweth.
Section A (age 7-8)
Artistry Award: Luella Murphy - Brian Nolan Academy of Dance
HM: Neveah Bangit - Michelle Slater Performing Arts Studio
HM: Kyra Gan - Independent Dance Studios
HM: Elise Stalker - Joanne O’Kelly School of Dance
HM: Hayley Tsui - En Pointe School of Ballet
4th: Laila Eminagic - Independant Dance Studios
3rd: Anneliese Schultz - Academy of Dance Victoria
2nd: Alexis Vlahodimos - Melbourne Academy of the Arts
1st: Ava Wang Kai - Brian Nolan Academy of Dance
Section B (age 9-10)
Artistry Award: Luna Yuen - En Pointe School of Ballet
HM: Pia Cincotta - Melbourne Academy of the Arts
HM: Celeste Robinson - En Pointe School of Ballet
HM: Swiss Strickland - Expressions Ballet Academy
4th: Lorelei Gavan - Glen Iris School of Dance
3rd: Tim Xianzhou Cheng - Jiayin Master Class
2nd: Jurie Jung - En Pointe School of Ballet
1st: Eve Vlahodimos - Melbourne Academy of the Arts
Section C (age 11-12)
Artistry Award - Bella Sparkman - Kerry Moore School of Ballet
HM: Aspen Edwards - Expressions Ballet Academy
HM: Lily Schlakht - The Academy of Classical Ballet
HM: Jasper Zajacek-Tieu - Turning Pointe Dance Academy
4th: Leni Howlett - Kerry Moore School of Ballet
3rd: Oscar Taggart - Glen Iris School of Dance
2nd: Elodie Lamont - Rebekah Davey Academy of Dance
1st: James Hann - Melbourne Institute of Dance
- KAREN VAN ULZEN
(All photos by National Photography.)