Shaun Parker & Company Launches $100,000 Choreographic Fellowship
Shaun Parker & Company announced a new $100,000 per year choreographic fellowship to support Australian dance makers. The inaugural recipient is Wiradjuri and Gamillaraay artist Beau Dean Riley Smith, an award-winning dancer and choreographer formerly with Bangarra Dance Theatre. The fellowship is funded by the New York-based Denise and Michael Kellen Foundation and will provide Riley Smith with $100,000 annually for two to three years to develop his work Miyagan, expected to premiere in early 2028. The fellowship also funds dancers and composer Paul Mac. Shaun Parker, artistic director, aims to build a mid-scale ensemble in Sydney, offering dancers sustainable careers. The foundation, typically focused on philanthropy in the US, was drawn to Parker's humanist choreography and anti-bullying program The Yard. Parker hopes the fellowship inspires Australian philanthropists and notes Singapore's 250% tax deduction for arts donations as a model for Australia. The next fellowship recipient, possibly a dance elder, will be selected after 2028.
Key facts
- Shaun Parker & Company announced a $100,000 per year choreographic fellowship on 26 May.
- Beau Dean Riley Smith is the inaugural recipient of the Shaun Parker & Company Choreographic Fellowship.
- Riley Smith is a Wiradjuri and Gamillaraay man, award-winning dancer, choreographer, and actor.
- He performed with Bangarra Dance Theatre from 2013 to 2022.
- The fellowship is funded by the Denise and Michael Kellen Foundation, based in New York.
- Riley Smith will receive $100,000 annually for two to three years to develop Miyagan.
- Miyagan is expected to premiere in early 2028.
- The fellowship also pays dancers and composer Paul Mac for original score.
- Shaun Parker aims to build a mid-scale ensemble in Sydney for dancer career sustainability.
- The Denise and Michael Kellen Foundation was attracted by Parker's humanist choreography and The Yard anti-bullying program.
- Parker hopes the fellowship inspires Australian philanthropists and cites Singapore's 250% tax deduction for arts donations.
- The next fellowship recipient may be a dance elder, selected after 2028.
Entities
Artists
- Beau Dean Riley Smith
- Shaun Parker
- Paul Mac
- Meryl Tankard
- Wesley Enoch AM
Institutions
- Shaun Parker & Company
- Denise and Michael Kellen Foundation
- Bangarra Dance Theatre
- Queensland Theatre Company
- Sydney Theatre Company
- Sydney Dance Company
- Lucy Guerin Inc
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Australian Dance Theatre
- International Society of Performing Arts
- ArtsHub
Locations
- Sydney
- New York
- Connecticut
- New Jersey
- Singapore
- Australia