Welcome our 2024 Judges
Lucinda Dunn OAM
Lucinda Dunn received her early training in Sydney with Janece Graham and Tanya Pearson before going on to win a Prix de Lausanne scholarship to study at The Royal Ballet School, London. While in London, Lucinda performed with Birmingham Royal Ballet before returning to Australia in 1991 Lucinda to join The Australian Ballet. In 2002, only a few years with the Company, Lucinda was promoted to Principal Artist. Whilst with the Australian Ballet, Lucinda was recipient of several scholarships to study overseas and has been partnered by many international guests of The Australian Ballet. A diverse and musical dancer with a strong technique, Lucinda excelled in the pure classical ballets and enjoyed portraying characters in story ballets, as well as the physicality of contemporary pieces.
In addition to the ballerina roles in all of the major classical ballets such as Giselle, Romeo and Juliet, Swan Lake and Coppélia, a particular career highlight for Lucinda was dancing the world premiere of Stanton Welch’s The Sleeping Beauty in 2005 and more recently, dancing Firebird and Nutcracker – The Story of Clara by Graeme Murphy. Other highlights include her performances on The Australian Ballet’s tours to London, Tokyo, Italy, Shanghai and New York, as well as dancing lead roles in contemporary works by Christopher Wheeldon, Jiří Kylián, Jerome Robbins, George Balanchine, Twyla Tharp, Nicolo Fonte and Stephen Baynes.
Lucinda has won numerous awards including Australian Dance Award for Outstanding Performance 2008, Helpmann Award nomination for Dance Performer of the Year 2007 and 2004, Mo Award nomination for Dance Performer of the Year 2006, 2005 and 2001, Green Room Award for Best Female Dancer 2005 and Helpmann Award nominations for Best Female Dancer 2011, 2010. In 2015, Lucinda won an Australian Dance Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Dancer for her performance in The Australian Ballet’s Manon.
As Australia’s longest-serving ballerina, Lucinda announced her retirement in 2014 and received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM), for her service to the performing arts through ballet.
In early 2016, Lucinda attended the Prix de Lausanne ballet competition in Switzerland as one of the members of the jury. She is regularly invited as Guest Teacher and Jury at many national and international competitions and events.
Fiona Tonkin OAM
Fiona Tonkin began her career in 1979 at Royal New Zealand Ballet before joining The Australian Ballet in 1980. By 1987 she had become a principal artist, renowned for her unique beauty, technical strength and storytelling ability. Career highlights include dancing Aurora in London, Juliet in St Petersburg, and Flavia and Giselle in New York, as well as opening the company’s 1992 London season as Giselle. She appeared as a guest artist with the Kirov Ballet and on the Rudolf Nureyev Farewell Tour, and danced the title roles in the ABC broadcasts of La Fille mal gardée and Romeo and Juliet. Fiona received Green Room Awards in 1988 and 1989. During her 14 years with the company, Fiona performed in over 70 ballets. In 1998, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts; in 1999 she completed The Australian Ballet School’s Teachers Course. Her professional appointments include Rehearsal Director of Royal New Zealand Ballet and Assistant Artistic Director of English National Ballet. Fiona returned to The Australian Ballet in 2003 and celebrated 25 years with the company in 2013.
Timothy O'Donnell
Timothy O’Donnell is a dancer, choreographer, graphic artist, art director, and photographer who hails from Wauchope, Australia. Until recently, Tim has been working as the resident choreographer at Milwaukee Ballet. His choreographic style is physically explosive; equal parts intricate and intelligent; impressive and interesting. His works ruminate on issues that affect us all. He holds up a mirror to the audience and invites them to think about their own idiosyncrasies.
As a dancer, O’Donnell performed multiple principal and soloist roles for West Australian Ballet in works including Coppèlia, Cinderella, The Red Shoes, The Nutcracker, and Romeo & Juliet. O’Donnell was also fortunate enough to work with celebrated national and international artists such as Paul Lightfoot, Petr Zuska, Simon Dow, Matjash Morzewski, and Ivan Cavallari. In 2007, he won Outstanding Performance by a Male Dancer at the West Australian Dance Awards.
O’Donnell continued to explore choreography during his years dancing at West Australian Ballet. In 2009, he entered Milwaukee Ballet’s international choreographic competition, Genesis, where he was awarded first place and the Audience Choice Award for his work, The Games We Play. As part of his grand prize, he returned in 2010 to create another new work, Boléro–Let There Be Light.
As co-director of Ludwig, he worked for major dance events such as the Australian Dance Awards and appeared as a choreographer on So You Think You Can Dance Australia.
O’Donnell joined Milwaukee Ballet in 2012 in a full-circle moment, as Michael Pink’s Dracula, which he saw at age 15, was a major influence on his path to becoming a choreographer. Upon joining the company, he danced as Marcello in La Bohème, Verdigris (the green stepsister) in Cinderella, Harker in Dracula, Hilarion in Giselle, and the title character in Dorian Gray, as well as an assortment of beloved character roles including Dr. Coppelius in Coppèlia, Drosselmeyer in The Nutcracker, and the title character in Don Quixote. He retired as a dancer in June 2019.
As Resident Choreographer, O’Donnell has staged five world premieres on Milwaukee Ballet: Children of the Wall, Talk to Me, The Sixth Sin, Sans Pleurer (Without Crying), more truth than poetry, and Sacre, in addition to various works for Milwaukee Ballet II and Milwaukee Ballet School & Academy.
Amy Hollingsworth
Amy Hollingsworth is an award-winning dancer, director, choreographer and mentor and was appointed Artistic Director of Australasian Dance Collective in January 2019.
Classically trained at The Australian Ballet School, Hollingsworth rose to the rank of principal dancer by the age of just 20, dancing numerous leading roles with both Royal New Zealand Ballet and Peter Schaufuss Balletten in Denmark.
Drawn to contemporary work, Hollingsworth went on to carve out a critically acclaimed global dance career that included working with some of the world’s leading companies, including legendary British contemporary dance company, Rambert, Michael Clark Company, BalletBoyz, Hofesh Shechter Company and Sydney Dance Company.
Described by the UK Observer as one of “the most compelling and intelligent dancers on the world stage”, she won the United Kingdom’s prestigious Critics’ Circle Dance Award, twice - for Most Outstanding Female Artist in 2004 and Most Outstanding Female Performance in 2009.
Rambert also commissioned Hollingsworth to develop two pieces for its emerging choreographers’ season: Singh Language (2001) and Suspect (2002).
Hollingsworth departed Rambert in 2006 to be a founding member of Bonachela Dance Company, taking on the added role of Assistant Artistic Director in 2007.
Balanced alongside her performance career work, Hollingsworth choreographed music videos, commercial events and produced and performed in several films, documentaries and live art collaborations. Highlights included Assistant Choreographer for Kylie Minogue’s Fever Tour, appearing in Finding Neverland, stunt doubling in Primal Scream’s Miss Lucifer pop promo and starring in Bare Rooms, an art house film celebrating Lucian Freud, installed at the Pompidou Centre in Paris.
Hollingsworth returned to Australia to join Sydney Dance Company in 2010 and received an Australian Dance Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Dancer (2010) in her final performance before being appointed the company’s Dance Director.
In 2015 she choreographed Deeper Than Ink for then Expressions Dance Company, now ADC, Til Enda for Queensland Ballet’s Pre-Professional Program and Two Bars of Isolation and Hazed for Melbourne’s Transit Dance.
In 2016, Hollingsworth was appointed Queensland Ballet’s Creative Associate and Ballet Mistress, where she created Cadence, Interrupted for Dance Dialogues and NOOSA Alive! and Flux for the Bleach Festival, which was performed on a floating stage in the Currumbin Estuary on the Gold Coast. As part of QB’s Bespoke program, she choreographed Glass Heart in 2017 and From Within in 2019. Hollingsworth also assisted in the creation and production of Queensland Ballet’s 80-strong cast of professional and youth performers for the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games Closing Ceremony.
Since taking over the reins at ADC, she has continued to create – choreographing Arc, the large-scale outdoor work for Brisbane Festival in 2020 and Aftermath, which premiered at Brisbane Powerhouse in February 2021. A collaboration with Jack Lister and The Kite String Tangle’s, Danny Harley, Aftermath drew rave reviews and a sold-out season, with Dance Australia extolling "From its initial blistering explosion of light, sound and movement this bold, audacious work positively thrills… Part gig, part performance, Aftermath is exceptional”.
Hollingsworth’s skills in coaching, mentoring and developing both dancers and choreographers has been widely praised. She is a sought-after keynote and motivational speaker, panel member, industry mentor and creative consultant.
Karen Malek
Born in Latrobe Valley, a coal-mining, electricity producing region of rural Victoria, Karen grew up in a bustling family of eight children. Her parents made sure to offer each of their children one activity of their own a week, and serendipitously, Karen chose dance. From the beginning she immersed herself in her classes, relishing the time for herself, and finding she had a natural knack for the artform (so much so that she skipped a grade). The experience was one that stuck with Karen, not only the enjoyment she got from dancing, but the nurturing environment, the confidence she gained from her teacher and the self-growth dance provided.
Clearly it was an impression that stayed with Karen for life, as she went on to become a dance teacher, studio owner, educator and mentor herself. Even passing on the love of dance to her son Paul, who in 2014 co-founded Transit Dance alongside his mother – a studio offering full time education and training to contemporary dancers. In just three years Transit Dance has become one of the most respected dance institutions in Australia and has gained a reputation not just for the high calibre of it’s dancers, but also for the exceptional ethos that the school is built around. One that creates strong, happy, confident dancers and well-rounded people.
In addition to her roles as a founder, artistic director and educator, Karen is also a prominent advocate for the value of teaching qualifications and safe dance practices in the Australian dance industry. She was the president of the Australian Teachers of Dancing (ATOD) for over ten years, is a current Director, and in 2012 was awarded life membership to ATOD for her outstanding contributions.
After more than four decades involved in shaping the dance industry and the roles that teachers and educators play in the classroom, it seems impossible to fathom the full impact Karen has made through a lifetime of contributions within the Australian dance community - we are thrilled that Karen has joined the ADEA as one of our lead judges.
Michaeljon Slinger
Originally from Queensland, Australia, Michaeljon moved to the United States in 2004 after receiving a full scholarship to attend the Jaqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre. He went on to attend the B.F.A. dance program at the prestigious Juilliard School in New York City, making him the first Australian accepted into either one of these programs. During his time at Juilliard, Michaeljon was fortunate enough to perform the works of such acclaimed choreographers as Jiri Kylian, Antony Tudor, and Twyla Tharp. In 2009 Michaeljon made his Broadway debut as an original cast member and Dance Captain in the revival of West Side Story, directed by Arthur Laurents.
Michaeljon continued his career on Broadway as both a performer and Dance Captain. He appeared in the Broadway companies of Billy Elliot, How to Succeed (original company starring Daniel Radcliffe), Evita (original company starring Ricky Martin), Side Show (original company), and Matilda. His performing career culminated in the role of Dance Captain for the 2017 revival of Broadway’s Hello, Dolly! Starring Bette Middler. In addition to his ten-year career on Broadway, Michaeljon has performed in numerous productions regionally and throughout New York City, including the one-night-only performance of Guys & Dolls, starring Nathan Lane, Patrick Wilson, and Megan Mullally.
His most notable televised credits include the Kennedy Center Honors (honoring Jerry Herman), the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the Tony Awards, and the Academy Awards. He also appeared in the musical opening of the feature film Ted 2, directed by Seth MacFarlane.
As a choreographer, his most notable credits include Disney 100: The Concert at the Sydney Opera House, Comic Relief (BBC), Feud Season 2: Capote’s Women (FX Networks, Directed by Gus Van Sant), Hello, Dolly! (Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre), The Royal Flying Doctors Service (Seven Network, Australia); Cabaret (Brent Street, Australia); Nice Work If You Can Get It (Shenandoah University); and The Tonight Show (featuring the Backstreet Boys).
Michaeljon’s career continues to thrive as a choreographer, most recently working alongside Lorin Latarro, first as Associate Choreographer on Michael Mayer’s world premiere of La Traviata at New York’s Metropolitan Opera House, and following in quick succession on Fiasco Theatre’s Merrily We Roll Along (Roundabout Theatre), the world premiere of Almost Famous (Old Globe Theatre), Entertainment Community Fund performance of Chess (Broadhurst Theatre), and Broadway, West End, and North American touring companies of Mrs. Doubtfire.
In addition to his work as a choreographer, Michaeljon is passionate about arts education, sharing his knowledge and expertise with the next generation of young performing and creative artists. He is on faculty at the Institute for American Musical Theatre and Broadway Dance Center in New York City.
Josef Brown
Josef Brown (born 8 October 1969) is an Australian actor, dancer and choreographer. Brown attended The McDonald College of the Arts and the Australian Ballet School, where he was promoted to soloist in 1994.
He joined the Sydney Dance Company in 1997 and appeared in and choreographed various productions. Brown originated the role of Johnny Castle in the stage adaptation of Dirty Dancing. For his portrayal of Johnny, Brown won the Outstanding Performance in a Stage Musical accolade at the 2005 Australian Dance Awards.
In 2010, Brown was cast as Auctus in Spartacus: Gods of the Arena. He also appeared in the first series of Dance Academy. In 2012, Brown originated the role of Charlie Redding in An Officer and a Gentleman, The Musical and made a guest appearance in Home and Away. From February 2013 to March 2015, Brown appeared as Matt Turner in the long-running soap opera Neighbours.
Jane Grech
With over 25 years in Dance Education, Jane’s superpower is building holistic and supportive communities that make a real difference to those within them. Through her time as a dance teacher, studio owner and now Studio Business Coach, Jane is intentional about creating fun and psychologically safe spaces for learning and growth. Additionally, Jane is the Founder and Author of the world’s first formalised Dance Student Teacher Education Program, DanceStep. Throughout her various roles, one thing has remained constant: Jane’s mission is to educate, encourage and empower all she serves.
Jane is a regular speaker and thought leader on the topics of dance education, entrepreneurship, studio culture and her favourite topic of all, leadership. Jane’s days are filled passionately supporting dance studio owners, sharing powerful strategies designed to build purpose, people, profits and policy. Her vision to grow leaders and empower students through education gains strength each day. Working in partnership with more than three hundred DanceStep studios, Jane’s program has now impacted over 4000 students across the globe.
Striving to successfully navigate the challenges of combining a career with her greatest role, that of mum to Alana, Caitlin and Liam and wife to Brian, she is a passionate campaigner for cultivating a joy filled life.
You can follow jane @dancestudiosuccess on Instagram or join The Collective for Dance Studio Owners on Facebook.
Previous Judges
David McAllister AC
Australian Ballet Artistic Director 2001 - 2020
A graduate of The Australian Ballet School, Perth-born David McAllister began his training with Evelyn Hodgkinson and joined The Australian Ballet in 1983. He was promoted to senior artist in 1986 and to principal artist in January 1989.
During his time with the company, he danced many principal roles, including those in The Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote, Coppélia, Manon, La Sylphide, John Cranko's Onegin and Romeo and Juliet, and Jiří Kylián's Stepping Stones; in 1985 he won Bronze at the Fifth International Ballet Competition in Moscow.
In 2000, he completed a Graduate Diploma in Arts and Entertainment Management and in 2001, took his final bow as a dancer after a performance of Albrecht in Giselle at the Sydney Opera House, partnering Miranda Coney. In July of that year, David became artistic director of The Australian Ballet. He was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2004 Australia Day Honours List.
Over the next two decades, on his way to becoming The Australian Ballet's longest-serving artistic director, David invigorated the company's repertoire with a series of new commissions from the world's foremost choreographers, including Alexei Ratmansky, Graeme Murphy and Wayne McGregor. He appointed two new resident choreographers, Tim Harbour and Alice Topp, and, through co-productions with leading international companies, secured major works such as Christopher Wheeldon's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland© and Yuri Possokhov's Anna Karenina.
Since leaving the Australian Ballet in 2020, David has been travelling the world as a sought after teacher and guest, we are thrilled that he is dedicating his time and expertise as our lead judge for the inaugural Australasian Dance Education Awards.
"ADEA sounds like a wonderful initiative and I would be delighted to be involved. I hope there are applications from far and wide. As I liked to say when I was the AD of The Australian Ballet everywhere you go in Australia there is a Pub, a Chinese restaurant and a ballet school. There are so many wonderful dance teachers all over the country sharing their expertise far and wide and it would be great for them to be recognised."
Kelley Abbey she/her
Kelley Abbey is known as Australia’s most inspirational doyenne of dance. She is an accomplished and respected creative director, choreographer and performer in Film, TV and Theatre.
She is widely acknowledged for her exceptional ability to see the uniqueness in every artist and is renowned for constantly seeking to encourage and inspire others.
She Is a Helpmann, Mo, Variety Heart and Green Room award winning performer in Musical Theatre. She has also won multiple Helpmann awards for her Choreography in Musicals. Kelley also holds a Hollywood Choreography Media Honours for her choreographic work in the Oscar, Golden Globe & Bafta winning feature film Happy Feet.
Kelley is a true triple threat in musical theatre, performing in countless stage shows and musicals including the multi award winning Sweet Charity, Dancin’ Man, Dynamite and West Side Story. Kelley also impressively choreographed and performed a lead role in Grease the Arena Spectacular. She also directed, choreographed and played the lead in Fame the Musical - that earned her a Helpmann award for her choreography and a nomination for best director.
Kelley’s other choreographic theatre credits include Opera Australia’s Helpmann award winning production of Salome and Carmen on the harbour and the main stage of the Sydney Opera House. Musical productions of Jesus Christ Superstar, Footloose, Follies, Funny Girl, Hedwig and The Angry Inch, Xanadu, Miracle City, Cabaret (winning a Broadway World award) Fame the Musical in Australia, Asia & South Africa, Bell Shakespeare’s The Misanthrope, and Hugh Jackman’s The Boy from Oz in the arena (winning a Helpmann Award for Best Choreography along with Kenny Ortega). She was also the artistic director on Two Strong Hearts and The Main Event which were stadium concerts starring John Farnham, Olivia Newton-John and Anthony Warlow and the Associate Director to Baz Luhrmann on the world premiere stage adaptation of Strictly Ballroom the musical.
On Australian television, Kelley became a household name as Jojo in the popular soap E Street. Kelley went on to choreograph and appear in a multitude of TV series, specials and awards. She sang at the opening of Sydney’s Olympic Stadium and to a packed stadium at the AFL Grand Final. She was seen as the on-camera choreographer on ‘I Will Survive’ for Network Ten, and played an acting role on the ABC series Dance Academy.
Kelley’s choreography on So You Think You Can Dance was highly acclaimed and led to her being invited to choreograph on the American SYTYCD series. She was the Australian judge on NBC’s Superstars of Dance. Kelley is also the Creative Director on multiple seasons of the Australian TV series Dancing with The Stars.
Kelley is also one of Australia’s leading music video choreographers working with many pop artists and award-winning international acts. Her directorial debut in music video was nominated for Best Video at the Australian Music Awards.
Kelley staged and choreographed Human Nature performances on their international tours with Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson and Celine Dion. She has choreographed many performances for Australian Pop Idol’s on TV week Logie Awards, Aria Awards, MTV Awards, X Factor and The Voice as well as staging Ricky Martin’s Logies performance.
In film, Kelley was the choreographer, principal motion-capture consultant and lead performer on the multi award winning film Happy Feet directed by George Miller. Kelley’s choreography has also been featured in the Australian films Goddess starring Magda Szubanski, Laura Michelle Kelly and Ronan Keating, and In Her Skin starring Miranda Otto, Guy Pearce and Sam Neil.
Kelley continues to choreograph, direct and mentor all around the country. Her masterclasses and one-on-one sessions provide young Australian performers with both an insight into their own artistry and access to Kelley’s expertise and guidance.
Elena Lambrinos
Elena Lambrinos is a dance teacher and the proud owner of Dance Domain – a dance studio situated in the Inner West that is all about ‘dance done different’.
Having recently completed a PhD at the University of Sydney in the Sociology of Education, her study explores the different practices being taught and valorised in children’s dance classes and how they are developed over time. The research highlights how often taken-for-granted educational experiences can be both enabling and limiting.
As an advocate for inclusive and accessible dance education, she promotes progressive teaching strategies that help develop respectful individuals into communities that embrace being different.
This year, she was awarded a place on the Inner West Council’s International Women’s Day Honour Roll for empowerment, equality, social justice and inclusion.
Andrea Dalton
As a studio owner for 33 years at Maroochydore on the Sunshine Coast, Andrea has educated thousands of students in many genres to advanced levels. Students who became Associate Teachers and higher. Students who won State and Australasian Scholarships in ballet, tap and jazz genres. Some have gone on to professional careers, some pre-professional training and other careers, university training in dance and fine arts, an many have opened their own dance studios or are teaching dance in secondary colleges.
The life of a studio owner is not easy, and this was the case for Andrea when she commenced her studio in 1981. By 1986 she has two young children of her own, and life became even busier.
Andrea was nominated to the Board of Directors of ATOD early in her career to serve as a Board Member and then President for seven years. This was a wonderful time in her life as she worked hard alongside others to develop the company of ATOD.
Andrea has been involved in many projects commissioned by ATOD, include the "Imagine' preschool program and the Pre-level assessments. She has developed many syllabi, include re-drafting the 2022 syllabi notes for the ATOD teacher's online platform. She assisted with the new report writer comment bank, the application to the QLD Education of Senior School Credits (QCAA), and preparing resources for the RTO branch of the company.
Andrea's studio was sold in 2013 to her daughter and fell examiner, Heidi O'Hehir, who on-sold it to the former student and studio owner, Claire O'Shea, in July 2022. The legacy of the studio still lives on and we are thrilled to have Andrea here as an ADEA judge in our inaugural year.