Masters of the pitter-patter tested on their chatter

Dancers spend hours perfecting their artistry, but a competition aims to help them become ambassadors.

From left, Sharni Spencer, Marcus Morelli, Isobelle Dashwood, Cristiano Martino, Jill Ogai and Yichuan Wang are in the running for the Telstra Ballet Dancer Awards. Picture: Aaron Francis.

Dancers spend many hours perfecting their artistry on stage, but an annual competition at the Australian Ballet aims to give them the experience of building an audience and being ambassadors for the national company.

The Australian Ballet has ­announced the nominees in the Telstra Ballet Dancer Awards, in which six dancers will be assessed on their performances and also their presentation skills in an ­interview.

Soloist Jill Ogai, nominated this year and in 2016, said the award gave dancers in the company a chance to develop their offstage skills. “Our performances are really important, because that’s where our audiences see us, and where all our hard work comes to fruition,” she said. “But the (judges) also watch how you conduct yourself, how you interact with choreographers, and how you work with your peers. The nominations put you a bit more in the spotlight, and it’s an opportunity to communicate with a wider audience.”

The award comes with a $20,000 prize and $5000 for the dancer voted the popular favourite. Australian Ballet artistic director David McAllister said the award was an important vehicle for less senior dancers in the company to become better known.

“As a performer, you feel when an audience is behind you, it’s an emotional connection,” he said. “I have often said to audience members: ‘You have no idea of the ­importance that you have for a performer. If you get behind them, they will perform so much better.’ You can tell when an audience is excited about what they’re seeing. It gives you a real confidence boost.”

The nominees are Isobelle Dashwood, Cristiano Martino, Marcus Morelli, Sharni Spencer, Yichuan Wang and Jill Ogai.

Wang, who studied in Beijing and joined the Australian Ballet two years ago, said he was excited. “To be a principal dancer is every dancer’s dream, but for me, I just want to dance as much as I can,” he said. “I want to create characters on stage, it is a really fun thing to do.”

The winner will be announced in Sydney in November.