Out of 57 contestants from 11 countries, three Australians have made it into the finals of the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) Genée International Ballet Competition 2014, held in Antwerp, Belgium.
The three students are among 12 shortlisted to compete in the finals on September 27 at Opera Vlaanderen.
They are Jessica Allison-Walker and Jessica Brown (both pupils of at Prudence Bowen Atelier in Qld), and Mikaela Johnson, from the Conlan College of Classical Ballet in NSW. Another Australian-trained student, Vida Polakov (an American/New Zealander) also made the final, a pupil Tanya Pearson Classical Coaching Academy in NSW.
The Choreographic Award, sponsored by Mondor, was awarded to Jessica Allison-Walker who, in the opinion of the judges, demonstrated the highest standard of choreography in the Dancer’s Own category.
The judges were Dame Monica Mason DBE, former Director of the Royal Ballet, Gary Harris, former Artistic Director of the Royal New Zealand Ballet, and Petter Jacobsson, Directeur Général, Centre Chorégraphique National Ballet de Lorraine.
Altogether 15 talented young Australians qualified to compete in this year’s Genee, which was held in Belgium for the first time in the competition’s 83 year history. The other twelve were:
Emma Antrobus (Conlan College of Classical Ballet, NSW
Lana Barone (Terry Simpson Studios, SA)
Hannah Conlon (Conlan College of Classical Ballet, NSW)
Beth Docker (Tanya Pearson Classical Coaching Academy, NSW
Hannah Fowler (Ballet West, Scotland)
Klarissa Gennusa (Conlan College of Classical Ballet, NSW)
Antonia Johnson (Studio Tibor, NSW)
Zoe Nielsen (Prudence Bowen Atelier, Qld)
Isobel Overy (Classical Ballet Centre, ACT)
Eilis Small (Lisa Clark Dance Centre, ACT)
Leititia Townsend (Terry Simpson Studios, SA)
Isabella Viel (Sydney Ballet School, NSW)
Dance Australia congratulates the qualifiers and wishes chookahs to the finalists!
PICTURED are the finalists on stage.
Photo: Mark Heagerman/RAD