The Australian Ballet has announced a new initiative dedicated to nurturing talented, emerging choreographers – and not just dance makers working in ballet but in all genres of dance.

The Telstra Emerging Choreographer (TEC) award offers aspiring choreographers the chance to create a new work, which will be performed as part of The Australian Ballet’s 2022 Bodytorque program. The winner will also receive a cash prize of $10,000.

David Hallberg, Artistic Director of The Australian Ballet, with Callum Linnane and Imogen Chapman. Photograph © Nicole Cleary

The new initiative is supported by Telstra, which has been The Australian Ballet’s Principal Partner for 37 years. For close to two decades, Telstra has supported the Telstra Ballet Dancer Awards, which were created in 2003 to foster young dancers in The Australian Ballet. Now Telstra is lending its support to help inspire the next generation of Australian choreographers.

The theme for this year’s TEC award is the “joy of dance”. Applicants will be asked to provide a short written submission and video submission about what they would like to create if they were chosen as a finalist.

Four finalists will then be given a budget of...