The Torres Strait-born choreographer won both the $30,000 top prize and $10,000 Audience Choice Award.

The second biennial Keir Choreographic Award, the first prize of its kind to be established in Australia honouring emerging contemporary dance makers, came to a close last week, awarding Sydney-based Ghenoa Gela the top gong. After an extensive process which began in August of 2015 followed by semi-finals at Melbourne’s Dancehouse at the end of April, the Torres Strait Islander won the $30,000 top prize for her moving work Fragments of Malungoka – Women of the Sea at last week’s finals held at Sydney’s Carriageworks. The piece explores her ancestry while also questioning contemporary notions of identity and self-awareness.

Incorporating aspects of traditional dance with a more modern vernacular of movement, Gela’s piece saw three performers dressed in stylised Torres Strait masks. In contrast with the minimal costuming, the colourful background images projected behind the dancers during the performance were created by the choreography itself. “One of my dancers is wearing a camera on her chest and every now and then the audio-visual components click in and the audience sees a big projection at the back,” Gela explains.”They see everything the dancer is seeing and...