The outstanding gifts of Australian Ballet (AB) coryphee Amber Scott have been recognised by both her peers and the public in this year's Telstra Young Ballet Dancer of the Year Award.
She not only received the major prize of $20,000 (decided by a panel of judges) but was also the decisive favourite in the $5000 People's Choice Award. Her win was announced on opening night of La Fille mal gardee in Sydney on November 10.
The awards are an in-house prize for dancers of the AB and are sponsored by the company's main sponsor, Telstra. The AB nominates six dancers for their outstanding ability: this year, besides Scott, they were Adam Bull, Jane Casson, Craig Cathcart, Miwako Kubota and Rachel Rawlins. In deciding the winner of the major award. the dancers' potential leadership style. community involvement and communication skills are taken into account. For the People's Choice Award, ballet fans vote either on the Australian Ballet's website or by SMS. Four of the adjudicators were from the AB: artistic director David McAllister, associate artistic director Danilo Radojevic, former AB administrator Ian McRae and Head of Development Jane Kielb; along with Bangarra Dance Theatre artistic director Stephen Page, Dance Australia editor Karen van Ulzen and Telstra group managing director Bill Scales.
Scott recently toured with the Dancers Company in the lead role of Clara in Nutcracker - gift of a dream. She also made her debut when just in corps de ballet, as Odette in Murphy's Swan Lake, a performance which earned her an immediate promotion to her present rank.
From the Dec 04/ Jan 05 Dance Australia