Jake Mangakahia has been nominated with five others to receive the Telstra ballet Dancer of the Year award.
He will find out if he has been successful when the winner is announced on December 5, the opening night of Alice in Wonderland being danced in Sydney.
In being nominated, his skill as a ballet dancer was recognised by directors, principal artists and previous winners of the coveted award.
“It’s a good sign offering a lot of encouragement ot push you forward,” he said.
Mr Mangakahia said his passion was to connect people to culture.
“If I was to win, I would like to spend the money and produce a dance film of high quality that would inspire and connect with people. This award would mean I could give back to people and could be an ambassador for Telstra as well as for the Australian Ballet,” he said.
As a member of the Australian Ballet Company, Mangakahia heads to Sydney soon from Melbourne to perform in Sleeping Beauty from November 11 to 25, before performing again in Alice in Wonderland. Alice in Wonderland played to a sell out season for three weeks in Melbourne.
Mr Mangakahia attended Hilliard and Alexandra Hills High schools and learned dancing at Caprice and Industry One. He has many friends from the Redland Dance school.
A clip of each of the nominated dancers including Mr Mangakahia is on the Telstra website and the public is invited to vote on https://www.telstra.com.au/thanks/arts/telstra-ballet or SMS “Jake” to 0439 225 538.
