Dance Australia congratulates Garry Stewart on receiving the inaugural Australia Council Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance in acknowledgement of his massive contribution to dance. Stewart will receive the award at a ceremony to be held in Sydney Thursday 19 April.
Stewart is thrilled to have been chosen as the recipient of this new award. “Of course no one in the arts does what they do for an award, but this recognition is certainly affirming. I’ve been very privileged in my career to have worked with so many remarkable, talented and intelligent individuals from diverse areas of the arts, not just dance,” he remarks. “At this juncture I feel more energetic than ever and I look forward to developing many more creative acts! I’m also very proud of the achievements of my colleagues in dance, in Australia - the sector has changed so much since I began choreographing many years ago. There are so many incredible artists making extraordinary, fascinating work in this country and I’m honoured to be a component in this unfolding evolution.”
Artistic director of Australian Dance Theatre since 1999, Stewart is highly regarded for his brave and innovative collaborations which have seen him create work with artists working in robotics, photography, architecture, animation and 3D technology. Stewart is also renowned for this reworking of ballet language and stories into contemporary formats.
The 2015 Australia Council Award recipients are:
Thomas Keneally (NSW) – Australia Council Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature
Archie Roach (Vic) – Australia Council Don Banks Music Award Judy Watson (Qld) – Australia Council Visual Arts Award (Artist)
Will Stubbs (NT) – Australia Council Visual Arts Award (Advocate)
Stelarc (WA) – Australia Council Award for Outstanding Achievement in Emerging & Experimental Arts
Garry Stewart (SA) – Australia Council Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance
Bruce Gladwin (Vic) – Australia Council Award for Outstanding Achievement in Theatre
Tony Doyle (SA) –Ros Bower Award (Community Arts and Cultural Development)
Alyson Evans (NSW) – Kirk Robson Award (Community Arts and Cultural Development)
Alysha Herrmann (SA) – Kirk Robson Award (Community Arts and Cultural Development)
The awards recognise excellence, diversity and exceptional leadership in the arts.
Look out for more about Garry Stewart and ADT's 50th anniversary celebrations in the June/July issue of Dance Australia.