The 2023 winners for the Telstra Ballet Dancer Awards (TBDAs) were revealed on the evening of 20 May at the Sydney Opera House, after the final performance of The Australian Ballet‘s production of George Balanchine’s Jewels

Perth dancer Lilla Harvey, 21, has won the Rising Star Award, receiving a cash prize of $25,000, while Queensland-born soloist Isobelle Dashwood has won the $15,000 People’s Choice Award. 

Lilla Harvey has won the 2023 TBDA Rising Star Award. Photo © Lisa Tomasetti.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the TBDAs and 11 of its previous winners have also become Principal Artists with The Australian Ballet, including Benedicte Bemet, Callum Linnane and Dimity Azoury. 

The Rising Star winner is selected by judges drawn from The Australian Ballet and Telstra, with online voting open to the public as the arbiter of the People’s Choice winner.

The other 2023 nominees were Adam Elmes, Riley Lapham and Katherine Sonnekus.

Harvey studied at Silhouette Dance School in Perth and at the Australian Ballet School. She has...