The Australian Institute of Classical Dance runs several events each year in most states of Australia. These may include Ballet Awards, Workshops and Masterclasses.
The Australian Institute of Classical Dance also runs special events including:
The Marilyn Jones Awards
The Houston Ballet Academy Scholarship
The New Zealand School of Dance Scholarship (biennial)
National Awards
Dance Creation; for emerging choreographers
Queensland Classical Ballet Awards
The Marilyn Jones Awards
Commencing in 2026, the AICD will host the Marilyn Jones Awards, in honour of our founder; Marilyn Jones O.B.E.
The AICD realises that for many young pre-professional dancers, a financial reward is a necessity and this prestigious event will endow large monetary prizes to the recipients in order that they may further their dance training in their preferred manner. It is envisaged that the prize money will assist with airfares, accommodation and associated travel expenses for those wishing to go overseas in order to seek further training or audition for a company.
There are four major prizes:
1st – The Marilyn Jones Award
2nd – The Garth Welch Memorial Award, named after our inaugural President, the late Garth Welch A.M.
3rd – The AICD Award
4th – The Bloch Award, sponsored by Bloch Australia
A wonderful article by Stage Lark discussing the Marilyn Jones Awards with our Artistic Director, Kathleen Hamilton. Read the full article
Houston Ballet Academy Scholarship
The Houston Ballet Academy Scholarship was run in conjunction with the AICD Inc. and the Houston Ballet Academy annually. The recipient of this award was offered return flights, accommodation, meals and tuition to attend the Houston Ballet Academy Summer Intensive. This scholarship was offered from the Institute and the Houston Ballet Academy from 2010 – 2025.
Previous recipients include: Harley Campbell (2010); danced with Houston Ballet II and and Queensland Ballet, Laura Jones (2011); danced with Royal New Zealand Ballet, Jessica Brown (2012); studied at Houston Ballet Academy fulltime course, Sara Andrlon (2013); studied at the Australian Ballet School, Jasmin Forner (2014); studied fulltime at Houston Ballet Academy, Kalea Teixera (2015), Gabriel Sinclair (Jahnke) (2016); now with Royal Swedish Ballet, Pearl Arrowsmith (2017); studied with Houston Ballet Academy, Chloe Reynolds (2018), Josie Byrnes (2019), Ben Moss (2022) and Mantraa Rane (2024); currently in HBA Pro II program. In 2025, the recipient was Isla Clarke, who, following her time at the HBA Summer Intensive, was offered a place in the Pre-Professional program at HBA.
The adjudicator for 2025 was Damien Welch
The AICD is no longer offering this speciality award but from 2026 will replace it with the prestigious Marilyn Jones Awards.
Houston Ballet Scholarship 2016
HBA Scholarship winner 2024 - Mantraa Rane
New Zealand Scholarship winner 2024 - Alicia Wong
New Zealand School of Dance Scholarship
The AICD via the Victorian Committee run a biennial event which provides a scholarship for an outstanding participant. The scholarship consists of one-two weeks training at the New Zealand School of Dance; compliments of the NZSD, with airfares, accommodation and meals supplied by the AICD.
Previous recipients include: Noah Dunlop (2013), Isabelle Greenwood (2015), Amelia Menzies (2017) and Lucinda Mann (2019).
The winner of the 2024 AICD New Zealand School of Dance Scholarship was Alicia Wong. Alicia, from VCASS, spent one week training with the 2nd year classical students of the NZSD.
The next AICD New Zealand School of Dance Scholarship will be held in 2026.
The AICD acknowledges and is very grateful for the support of the New Zealand School of Dance and Artistic Director; Garry Trinder M.N.Z.M.
National Ballet Award
The AICD’s prestigious International Ballet Award, was open to students from within Australia and from other countries. This award was offered to the recipients to assist them with further training and/or aid with travel expenses that may be incurred in seeking further training. The International Ballet Awards have been run on a biennial basis since its inception in 2001 and the inaugural winner was Yuki Yashima; who went on to dance with Nashville Ballet, 2nd
“Hailed as Australia’s answer to the Prix de Lausanne, the prestigious ballet competition held each year in Switzerland, former AICD winners including Satoko Konishi (second place 2009 and danced with the Houston Ballet) have gone on to international ballet careers”.
– Michelle Dursun, Dance Australia
Claudio Munoz giving class at AICD International Awards
Dance Creation 2014 - XXHume #2, Lina Limosani. Photo credit: Ron Fung Photos.
Dance Creation
Dance Creation was established by the Institute in 1996. Originally presented as a biennial competition, it was designed to nurture a new generation of choreographers by providing them with some financial assistance to develop their craft.
Dance Creation is a sub-branch of the AICD and operates with its own committee and sub-committees. The ‘Dance Creation’ name is registered with the Australian Registry of Business and it is on the Registry of Cultural Organisations (ROCO), allowing for all donations to be tax-deductible.
The format has grown and evolved many times since its inception, allowing for changes in dance styles as well as public perception of the art form.
Queensland Ballet Awards
The Australian Institute of Classical Dance will be running the AICD Queensland Classical Ballet Championship Awards to be held in Queensland in 2026.
