28 March 2022 19:58

Announcing the winners of the 2022 Isobel Anderson and Joan & Monica Halliday Awards

It was a long-awaited return to the stage for the finalists of the 2022 Isobel Anderson and Joan & Monica Halliday Awards in Sydney.

We’d like to congratulate all students who took part in the awards held at the Everest Theatre in the Seymour Centre, and thank their teachers for the help with preparing them to participate. We’d also like to thank their families and friends for their support, both in the lead-up to the event and by showing their appreciation in the audience on the day.

Adjudicator Julie Fleming had the pleasure of selecting our winners for the Isobel Anderson Awards and Samantha Leeman the pleasure of awarding the Joan & Monica Halliday winners. Both adjudicators remarked on the high calibre of performances seen with students rising to the occasion in the theatre admirably.

Our Isobel Anderson Awards Commissioned Choreographer Francesco Ventriglia, Artistic Director of Sydney Choreographic Centre created two beautiful variations to the music of Vivaldi which saw students express their artistry and performance skills alongside their classwork and classical variations. Francesco has also provided a scholarship for our Commissioned Choreography Prize winner Mahalia Adamson.

We were thrilled to have Choreographer Shelley Moore return in 2022 to create the Commissioned Choreography for the Joan & Monica Halliday Awards candidates.

Before announcing all the winners, we’d like to take a moment to acknowledge our 2022 National Student Activities Programme Sponsors, Harlequin, Bloch, Energetiks, and Capezio. We are so grateful for their support in helping us bring together these fantastic events for our students. We are also grateful for the assistance of the New South Wales Regional Advisory Panel and our many volunteers and support staff who helped this huge event run smoothly over the many weeks of preliminaries, semi-finals, and the finals.

Finally, we’d like to acknowledge and thank our guest performers Scarlett Weaver, Tanya Pearson Academy (RAD Centenary Medallist 2021) who performed Swanhilda from Coppelia, Act I, Amelia Soh from Mosman Dance Academy & Sydney Ballet School (The Fonteyn International Ballet Competition Bronze Medallist 2021) who performed Unravel, choreographed by Maya Smallwood, and Joseph Dufty from National College of Dance (Isobel Anderson Award – Most Outstanding Dancer 2021) performing Basilio from Don Quixote, Act 3.

2022 Isobel Anderson Awards winners

The Isobel Anderson Awards Most Outstanding Dancer

Ben Moss, Alegria Dance Studios, North Shore Dance Academy

Commissioned Choreography Prize Winner

Mahalia Adamson, Andrea Rowsell Academy of Dance

Advanced 1

Winner – Halle McGregor, National College of Dance
Runner Up – Mahalia Adamson, Andrea Rowsell Academy of Dance
Encouragement Award – Eliza Davis, National College of Dance

Advanced Foundation

Winner – Giselle Kotlyar, The Dance Spot
Runner Up – Jasinta Birchall, Andrea Rowsell Academy of Dance
Encouragement Award – Henry Burgess, The McDonald College

Intermediate

Winner – Charlize Portes-Green, The McDonald College
Runner Up – Freya Wild, L’Academie
Encouragement Award – Oriel Santoso, The McDonald College

Intermediate  Foundation

Winner – Ella Marshall, Premiere Studios
Runner Up – Charlotte Withford, The Dance Establishment
Encouragement Award – Ava Micallef, The McDonald College

2022 Joan & Monica Halliday Awards winners are…

The Joan & Monica Halliday Most Outstanding Dancer

Holly Robinson, Premiere Studios, The McDonald College

Grade 5

Winner – Madeleine Konstantakos, The McDonald College
Runner Up – Ivy Maughan, Ablaze Dance Academy Pty Ltd
Encouragement Award – Isla Pavlakos, The McDonald College

Grade 4

Winner – Alexandra Pupovac, Robyn Kirkland School of Ballet
Runner Up – Anneke Soulis, The McDonald College
Encourgaement Award – Brent Helm, Vanessa Lee Dance Academy

Grade 3

Winner – Olivia Van Heeswyk, The McDonald College
Runner Up – London Yeomans, Orana Dance Centre
Encouragement Award – Mirabelle Ciezak, Studi-o

Photos: WinkiPop Media

With thanks to our 2022 Student Activities Programme Sponsors for their support with this event.