Ako Kondo, Benjamin Hancock, Bangarra Dance Theatre and Lucy Guerin win major awards.

Ako Kondo and Benjamin Hancock have taken home the top performance awards at this year’s Australian Dance Awards, presented in Melbourne last night.

Kondo, who is a Principal Artist with The Australian Ballet, won Outstanding Performance by a Female Dancer for her starring role in Coppélia, in recognition of her “world-class and captivating performance… technical prowess and virtuosity, and her commanding presence”. Reviewing a CinemaLive screening of the production, Limelight praised her “stunning technique”, “sparky energy” and charm.

^{Ako Kondo in Coppélia for The Australian Ballet. Photograph © Daniel Boud}

Hancock, who is a graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts, was awarded Outstanding Performance by a Male Dancer for his work in The Dark Chorus by Lucy Guerin Inc., also reviewed by Limelight.

Lucy Guerin was honoured for Outstanding Achievement in Choreography for The Dark Chorus, while Bangarra Dance Theatre picked up the award for Outstanding Performance by a Company for OUR Land People Stories – both companies winning those categories for the second year running. Read the Limelight review of OUR Land People Stories here.