ARTISTS & COLLABORATORS

Adam Gardnir

Set Designer

Alex Abbot

Dancer

A WAAPA graduate originating from Canberra, who has performed on stage and screen. Coming from a hip hop and breakdance background, Alex made the transition to contemporary dance with QL2 from 2012. In 2015, Alex moved to Perth to study dance at WAAPA where he worked with choreographers James O’Hara, Scott Ewen, Richard Cilli, Brooke Leeder and performed with STRUT dance company in collaboration with Hofesh Shechter. Alex has acted in short films, music videos, performed in theatre plays and does modelling. He has travelled to Darwin multiple times to work with SLIDE Youth Dance where he performs, teaches and mentors.

Alex Warren

Born in Sydney, Alex grew up learning various styles of dance alongside training as a gymnast. He attended Newtown High School of Performing Arts where he honed his talent in dance and acting. Alex then studied at tertiary institutions Ev&Bow and New Zealand School of Dance, graduating in 2016. After graduating, Alex moved on to work with companies such as STRUT Dance, Legs On The Wall, Hanging Around Co. and Shaun Parker & Company. He participated in multiple intensives such as the Irish Aerial Creation Centre Creative Intensive and the One Body One Career counter technique intensive which both allowed Alex to further his own practice. For its inaugural year, Alex was accepted into Legs On The Wall’s “Leg Up” program.

From 2019, Alex began touring with Shaun Parker & Company throughout the world including shows like KING, Happy as Larry and The Yard. Throughout 2020, Alex worked on multiple film projects and unannounced theatre works with Legs On The Wall, Shaun Parker & Company and fellow movers. After taking time away to move to Melbourne, Alex returned to the stage in 2022 to premiere a brand new show, Bunker, working with Lisa Wilson. Alex rejoined the cast of King for another European tour in 2023.

Alyx Dennison

Alyx Dennison was a founding member of experimental pop duo kyü which made waves in its short lifespan, winning various awards such as the Qantas Spirit Of Youth Awards. They toured extensively and played at Mona Foma, Meredith Music and Sydney festivals. Since the exodus of kyü, she has had the opportunity to collaborate with many artists including High Places (USA), Lamb (UK), Jonathan Boulet, The Bedroom Philosopher, and was a member of Sydneys Australian Music Prize nominated band Richard In Your Mind. She spent some time overseas learning Indian classical voice before returning to Australia to release her first solo single “LAX”, from her forthcoming LP.

Anna McCulla

Dancer

Anna McCulla is a performer, choreographer and educator who grew up on Guringai land in Sydney. She is a Bachelor of Dance graduate of the Academy of Music and Performing Arts and celebrates an interdisciplinary practice comprising of physical theatre, aerial, breaking, parkour and a range of dance forms.

Anna has created work and performed with Legs on the Wall (Next Chapters II, Hive of Industry), Shaun Parker & Company (Found Objects), Catapult Dance Choreographic Hub (Awkward, Fragile, At the Beach), Twisted Element (Ritual, Awakening), Poetry in Action (Paradise Lost), Bonnie Curtis Projects (GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS, Tripelpunkt, TX1000, Wonderland), Cloé Fournier (Mea Culpa), Oh My My (Animal House, Woe My Heart), and has performed in large scale events at the QVB, White Bay Power Station and with Opera Australia.

Anna choreographed and directed an independent dance film ‘Murder’ and created a new work ‘In Habit Us’ for Austi Dance and Physical Theatre.

As a teacher, Anna provides dance and theatre education to multiple spaces in the Greater Sydney and Illawarra region where she guides artists to discover their own movement language through a sense of play and discovery.

Anna Tregloan

Anna Tregloan’s work has been described as twisted, unique and beautiful. Her history includes both costume and scenography for contemporary dance, performance, physical theatre and drama as well as intervention and installation. Her particular focus is on revealing what makes live and three dimensional work especially poignant in a screen biased culture.  Her work has toured to all Australian Capitals along with work showing in Seoul, Hong Kong, Edinburgh, Paris, New York, Prague, London, Kyoto, Dublin and numerous other international stages. She has been awarded five Greenroom Awards and a Helpmann Award. In 2006 she was awarded the prestigious John Truscott Award for Excellence in Design for Theatre and in 2012 an Australia Council Theatre Board Fellowship.

Antek Marciniec

Antek Marciniec is an athlete who practices slacklining, parkour and freerunning. He has performed globally including Branch Nebula’s Snake Sessions and Shaun Parker & Company’s SPILL across Sydney and New York, USA.

Beau Dean Riley Smith

Choreographer

Beau is a Wiradjuri and Gamilaraay man from Dubbo NSW, raised on Yuin Country in Culburra Beach and Nowra, now living on Gadigal land. Beau is an award-winning dancer, choreographer and actor who performed with Bangarra from 2013 – 2022 under the artistic direction of Stephen Page. In his 10 years with the company, he performed in over 22 major productions, and performed in films, SPEAR (Stephen Page) and Moving Targets (Tony Albert). In 2023, Beau performed with Sydney Theatre Company in The Visitors directed by Wesley Enoch. Beau has choreographed Miyagan from OUR land people stories at Bangarra and Gubba for Sydney Dance Company’s New Breed program.

Benjamin Brockman

Ben is an award winning Lighting Designer who works both nationally and internationally. Ben’s Lighting Design Credits Include: Shaun Parker & Company: King; for Griffin Theatre Company: Replay, Diving For Pearls, 2016 Season Launch, 2018 Season Launch; For Ensemble Theatre: Tribes, The Big Dry, The Plant, Neville’s Island, Baby Doll; For Darlinghurst Theatre Company: Broken, Detroit, Mother Fucker With a Hat, Tinder Box; For NTOP: The Girl/ The Woman; For Apocalypse theatre: Metamorphoses, Angels In America part 1 and 2; For Mad March Hare: Eurydice. You Got Older, Bengal Tiger at Baghdad Zoo, Belleville, Dark Vanilla Jungle, Shivered; For Bakehouse Theatre Company: Dresden, Visiting Hours, The Laden Table, Jatinga, Straight; For Bontom: Chamber pot Opera (Sydney Adelaide Fringe and Edinburgh Fringe Festival); For Squabbalogic: Herringbone, Grey Gardens The Musical, Mystery Musical, Man of La Mancha; For Spark Youth Theatre; Political Children; For Unhappen: Mr. Kolpert, Awkward Conversations with Animals I have Fucked, Cough, Animal/People; For Legs on the wall: Cat’s Cradle The Raft Development.

Bob Scott

Bob Scott is an experienced and versatile Sound Designer, Recording and Mix Engineer. He has an extensive resume in modern music production and acoustic music recording, editing and mixing.

Bob has acted as audio director for the Anzac Day Ceremonies in Gallipoli, Turkey, Canberra International Music Festival, Four Winds Festival, Australian Festival of Chamber Music, and numerous large-scale outdoor events, including Nigel Kennedy and WASO, SSO in the Park and acted as sound supervisor in the Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House. Freelance recording credits include Australian Chamber Orchestra for the BBC series Classical Destinations, and numerous Chamber Music CDs.

He has worked as a recording and mix engineer for various artists including Nigel Kennedy, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, WASO, Song Company, Ensemble Offspring, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Salut Baroque, Marshall McGuire, Genevieve Lacey, Brett Dean, Terry Riley, Synergy Percussion and Nigel Westlake. In the non-classical world, Bob mixes for Jackie Orszaczky, Paul Kelly, Inga Liljestrøm, Deborah Conway, Aronas, HiFi Mike, Abi Tucker to name a few. Sound design credits include Opera Australia’s Bliss, Shaun Parker’s Happy as Larry, Meryl Tankard’s Kaidan, Nederlands Dans Theater’s One Week in White and Ros Oades’s Stories of Love and Hate.

Bree Van Reyk

Bree van Reyk is a versatile percussionist, drummer, multi-instrumentalist and composer who has toured and recorded extensively throughout Australia and overseas for over a decade.

She is a core member of new music groups Synergy Percussion and Ensemble Offspring, while her drumming credits include stints with Paul Kelly, Holly Throsby, Sally Seltmann, Sarah Blasko, Seeker Lover Keeper, Lior and Katie Noonan.

Bree has composed and produced scores for Bell Shakespeare, Sydney Dance Company, Shaun Parker, and visual artist Lauren Brincat – with whom she most recently created an installation work for 50 tambourine players at the Art Gallery of NSW.

Damian Meredith

Dancer

Damian began dancing at 3 and was initially interested in Jazz, Hip-hop, Contemporary and Ballet. He underwent his training at the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School, discovering an aptitude for acrobatics, whereby he then worked as a dancer/acrobat in Baz Luhrmann’s version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2010). Building on his love for circus, he then trained at the National Institute of Circus Arts from 2012-2013. Damian also taught dance, acrobatics, and circus and performed in large-scale music and arts festivals including Strawberry Fields Festival (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016), Earthcore’s 20th Anniversary (2013), Falls Festival Marion Bay (2013/14), Falls Festival Lorne (2014/15), and Esoteric Festival (2016).

In 2016, Damian trained full-time in contemporary dance at Transit Dance, performing in the renowned work in ‘Yours Truly’ (2016). He was a professional cast member in Matthew Bourne’s ‘Lord of the Flies’ (2017) at Melbourne Art Centre’s State Theatre. In 2016, also Damian created his project-based company ‘Movement DÉCOR’, which debuted its first work at Strawberry Fields 2016. His choreography and sound design formulated ‘Political DÉCOR’ for Melbourne Fringe Festival (2017).

Damian performed in the 2019 Melbourne Festival with Chunky Move, and toured to Austria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan in Shaun Parker & Company’s work KING, and to Germany with the award-winning production Happy As Larry. 

Most recently Damian has joined DanceNorth in Townsville.

Damien Cooper

Lighting Designer

Damien is a lighting designer working in theatre, opera and dance. He has designed over 300 shows.

Damien works with many leading dance companies in Australia and his work has toured extensively around the globe. Highlights include for Am I for Shaun Parker & Company, Somos, Impermanence, Momenta, Ascent, Cinco, Ocho, Grand, Air and Other Invisible Forces, Ab(Intra) and Orb for Sydney Dance Company; Adelaide Festival’s Baleen Moondjan; Force Majeure’s IDK; West Australian Ballet’s State; Tasdance’s Affinity; Chunky Move’s Mortal Engine; Bangarra Dance Theatre’s Of Earth and Sky; Stalker Theatre Company’s Shanghai Lady Killer; Universal Ballet’s Giselle; Australian Dance Theatre’s The Age of Unbeauty, The Beginning of Nature, Habitus and Be Your Self and The Australian Ballet’s The Happy Prince, Murphy, Romeo and Juliet, Firebirdand The Narrative of Nothing.

Damien’s career highlights include Neil Armfield’s production of The Ring Cycle for Opera Australia, Exit the King on Broadway starring Geoffrey Rush and Susan Sarandon, Graeme Murphy’s Swan Lake for the Australian Ballet which was presented in New York, London, Paris and Tokyo, Keating! The Musical, Australia’s most successful subsidised theatre show ever, and Australian Dance Theatre’s Birdbrain which played over 60 venues around the world.

Damien has won three Sydney Theatre Awards, four Green Room awards and two APDG awards for his exceptional work.

Eden Petrovski

Growing up in the Sutherland Shire, Eden began her training at age 3 studying at Ettingshausens, Ev&Bow and Alvin Ailey.

She has been fortunate enough to work alongside well known Choreographers including;  Sarah Boulter, Anton, Paul White, Adam Parsons, Sarah Jayne Howard, Thern Reynolds, Joshua Horner, Christina Chan and Kelley Abbey. Eden also assisted Sarah Boulter on SYTYCD 2009 & 2010, Michael Schwandt and Adam Parsons whilst in Australia, and Jo Bolden at the Phoenix International Dance Convention in New Zealand.

Performance credits include; The X Factor Grand Finale 2013, back up dancer for Kelly Rowland on SYTYCD, The Short & Sweet Dance Festival, and performing in a short film Choreographed by Victoria Chiu. In 2013 she also joined Austinmer Dance Theatre.

In September 2013 Eden was thrilled to work with Shaun Parker & Company in Spill.

Harrison Hall

Dancer

Harrison Hall’s work situates contemporary performance and dance in experiential art environments. His recent works traverse states of flux within digital and live worlds, working to increase the embodied experience in mixed digital and live performance contexts.

In 2021 Harrison completed a Solitude1 Residency from the Tanja Liedtke foundation where he spawned Maelstrom, a multi-channel digital choreography installation premiering at MARS Gallery and Metro Arts Brisbane. Through Chunky Move, he also presented BONANZA! with Dr. Sam Mcgilp, a PerformancexDialogue media artwork that included conversations with NAXS Future (Taiwanese audiovisual art collective) and Lu Yang (Chinese digital artist). This work was a Green Room Award winner and selected for the Melbourne International Film Festival.

These projects have since led to Harrison collaborating on Lu Yang’s Doku, first at ACMI and then most recently at the Sydney Opera House as well as leading Body Crysis, alongside NAXS Future, presented at the Substation in 2022.

He has worked nationally and internationally, collaborating and performing with many artists/companies including; Yumi Umuimare and Theatre Gumbo (Japan), La Fura dels Baus (Spain), Phillip Adams’ Balletlab, Shaun Parker & Company + Ivo Dimchev (Bulgaria), Gideon Obarzanek and Lucy Guerin Inc.

Imanuel Dado

Dancer

Imanuel Dado began his dance training as a B-boy in Darwin Australia at the age of 15. Competing at interstate events and festivals. Outside of dancing, Imanuel has also trained extensively in various Martial Arts, this training coupled with competing in various B-boy competitions and performances which has influenced his mix of physical movements and techniques. From 2005-2008, he worked as a youth leader with TRACKS Dance Company.

Imanuel attended the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 2011. Since graduating from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, Imanuel has become an avid practitioner of contact improvisation and has since worked with Independent Artists and Dance companies in Australia and abroad. In 2017 Imanuel presented his first solo choreographic work in Sydney, Australia at the Riverside theatre in Parramatta. He was also nominated for 2018 Australian Dance Awards for his performance in the remount of William Forsythe’s ‘One Flat Thing Reproduced’. Outside of his Dance profession Imanuel has continued his interests in different art forms acting, puppeteering and videography focusing on dance films and documentation.

Imogen Bouchier

Imogen began work in the creative arts industry as a contemporary musician, vocalist and composer. Prior to her studies at NIDA, Imogen completed a Diploma of Contemporary Music Performance at JMC and a Diploma of Film, Television and Radio at AFTRS (Australian Film Television and Radio School).

Imogen’s interests are interdepartmental. Inspired by her Technical Theatre & Stage Management studies at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), she continues to pave a career as a technician and operator across the fields of audio, lighting and video. Imogen also holds a keen interest in stage management and production management. She is driven by the prospect of working at new and challenging venues.

Last year, Imogen launched herself into the chaotic world of festivals and touring.
She has since worked with artists Grace Jones, Mark Vincent, Lorenzo Rositano, Robyn Archer, Rob Mills, SLUMBERJACK, Carmada, Cloud Control, Nyxen and talented industry professionals including Nigel Jamieson (Director, Sydney 2000 Olympics opening ceremony), Luke Cresswell (STOMP), Matt Chromatic (Defqon.1), Geoff Cobham (State Theatre Company), and Shaun Parker (TROLLEYS, AM I, Happy As Larry).

This year, Imogen will be graduating from NIDA with a Bachelor Degree of Fine Arts. She is also thrilled to be the touring Stage Manager for Shaun Parker & Company’s remount of Happy As Larry through Austria and Germany and the touring Stage Manager on their debut tour of KING, which is travelling to the Middle East in April.

Ivo Dimchev

Performer/Composer

Ivo Dimchev is a choreographer, visual artist, singer-songwriter and composer from Bulgaria. His work is an extreme and colourful mixture of performance art, dance, theatre, music, drawings and photography. Dimchev is the creator of more than 30 performances and has received numerous international awards for dance and theatre and has presented his work all over Europe, South and North America.

Besides his artistic work Ivo Dimchev gives master classes in the National Theater Academy in Budapest, the Royal dance conservatorium of Belgium in Antwerp, Hochschule der Künste in Bern, and DanceWeb in Vienna. He is founder and director of Humarts Foundation in Bulgaria and organizes every year a National competition for contemporary choreography.

From 2013 – 2017 Ivo Dimchev was an Artist in Residence in Kaaitheater / Brussels and in 2014 Ivo opened his new performance space MOZEI in Sofia Bulgaria, an independent space focused on contemporary art and music. His book “Stage works 2002-2016” came out in 2016 and is available in many art books shops in Europe. The book presents images and dramaturgical texts from more than 30 stage works Ivo has created through the years. His book “Lyrics and Pederatuses” came out in 2017 and is presents 150 poems and short stories.  In 2017 Ivo released 2 music albums with his own music, and is currently featured in the online documentary series “60 Second Docs”.

Jana Castillo

Jana Castillo is a graduate of the New Zealand School of Dance where she was selected to perform Paul Taylor’s Airs and Frances Rings’ X300 and was invited by Richard Taylor to work with Weta Workshop in designing movement. She participated in several body art performances and won the performers award in 2006 and 2007. In 2010 Jana toured with Nimby Opera’s production of The Cunning Little Vixen and was funded by Artstart and the Dorothy Daniels Dance Foundation to attend the Paul Taylor Summer Intensive in New York. Other credits include Tim Podesta’s Visceral with Projections Dance Company (at Tempo Dance Festival), Forseen, a double bill including Narelle Benjamin’s The Dark Room and Frances Rings’ Debris, and The Conch’s Masi (Sydney Festival 2013).

Jason Noble

Jason is a graduate of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, where he completed a Bachelor of Music majoring in clarinet performance, graduating with First Class Honours.

Jason is a core player with Ensemble Offspring, with whom he has toured to Europe, China, Hong Kong and all major Australian capitals and regional centres. He has also performed with Halcyon, Synergy Percussion, Theatre Kantanka, Sonic Art Ensemble, Gondwana Voices and Clocked Out Duo. He has also performed in the bands of Sally Seltmann and Holly Throsby.

Recent projects include an October 2013 European tour with Ensemble Offspring, and with Synergy in the Steve Reich Festival at the Sydney Opera House where he performed alongside Steve Reich in Music for 18 Musicians. Jason travelled to Kabul, Afghanistan in January 2013 to perform and teach at the Afghan National Institute of Music. He also appeared at Sydney’s TedX at the Opera House performing Phillip Glass.

Jess Green

Jess is a composer, guitarist and vocalist who works across a broad range of styles and in many settings. She studied Jazz Performance at the ANU, and has performed with many nationally known artists including The catholics, and Jim Conway as well as releasing albums with her own groups including “The Bright Sparks”. Jess has worked collaboratively in Theatre and Dance and has recorded for television, she is also known as an educator, both as a lecturer at several universities and as a performer for Musica Viva. Jess was a recipient of the Jann Rutherford Memorial award in 2006 and a nominee for the Freedman Award in 2007.

Jessica O’Donoghue

Jessica is an experienced and versatile artist with a Bachelor of Music from Sydney University and a Diploma of Opera from the Victorian College of the Arts. She was a Young Artist with Opera Queensland and at The Royal Opera House Covent Garden (London) where she performed extensively as a principal artist and soloist for numerous operas, concerts and national tours. Jessica also performed with the highly acclaimed pop group CODA who have featured at The Sydney Opera House, the Adelaide Fringe Festival, the Adelaide International Arts Festival, the Bangkok International Festival of Music and Dance and the Vivid Festival of Light in Sydney (Brian Eno). Jessica has performed professionally as a jazz vocalist appearing at all the major jazz festivals and venues including Manly Jazz Festival, Thredbo Jazz Festival, The Basement and Notes in Newtown. Jessica has released a double CD with The Renaissance Players, two CDs with CODA (ARIA nominees), three CDs with Kinderjazz, three music videos and has done extensive session work for TV and radio.

Jo Stone

Jo Stone graduated from Flinders Drama Centre and works in theatre, television and film. She formed Stone/Castro with Paulo Castro in Europe 2002.

Theatre credits include; ‘Welcome the Bright World’/ Sewell (Charles Sanders/ STCSA umbrella), ‘The Country’ /Martin Crimp (Stone/Castro) Adelaide Festival 16, ‘Infected’/ Stephen Sewell (Charles Sanders), ‘White Rabbit, Red Rabbit’ (Nassim Soleimanpour), ‘Blackout’ (Paulo Castro) Adelaide Festival 14, ‘Information for Foreigners’ (Benedict Andrews),  ‘Danton’s Death’ (Paulo Castro), ‘Congratulations’ (Stone/Castro), ‘B-File’ (Paulo Castro) (nominated Best performer Green room awards 07), ‘Superheroes’ (Stone/Castro), ‘Pyjama Girl’ (LadyKillers) and ‘Please Continue ’by Duncan Graham (David Mealor), ‘MiWi 3027’ development (STCSA/ Country Arts SA) Julian Meyrick.

Directions include; ‘Dis-integration’ (DanceNorth), ‘Untitled’ (AC Arts), ‘Private Lives’ (Feast Festival 09), and ‘Superheroes’ (Stone/Castro),‘Fury’/ Joanna Murray Smith (AC Arts).

Dance theatre/ Opera performances include; ‘Foi’ (Sidi Larbi Cherokaui/ Co les Ballet C de la B, ‘Blue Love’ (co-directed/performed with Shaun Parker), ‘Big in Bombay’ and ‘Back to the Present’ (Constanza Macras), ‘Writing to Vermeer’ (Peter Greenaway), ‘Madam Butterfly’ (Moffatt Oxenbould /Matthew Barclay) State Opera SA.

Film credits include; “The Big Nothing’ (Sharptooth Pictures) (nominated Best Actress FirstGlance Film Festival Hollywood), ‘Grounded (Luke Wissell), Going for Gold (Glen Pictures) and ‘Double Happiness Uranium’ (Cole Larson).

TV credits; Children’s TV series “Music Shop” (Ch:9 Series 1, 2), ‘Changed Forever’, ‘Plonk’ Series 2, guest role on ABC mini series ‘Anzac Girls’ and ‘Pine Gap’.

Joel Fenton

Dancer/Project Coordinator/Teacher

Originally from Launceston, Tasmania, Joel is a professional contemporary dance theatre performer, choreographer & educator based in Sydney.

Joel completed a Master of Dance at the Victorian College of the Arts in 2017 and a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Dance) at Queensland University of Technology in 2010. His Masters explored the process of creating and crafting contemporary dance theatre through his SITCOMS task based improvisation practice.

Joel received a JUMP mentorship in 2013, where he was mentored by Shaun Parker. This mentorship continued beyond JUMP and is still ongoing with Joel currently developing his skills in the roles of Project Coordinator, Tour Manager and Rehearsal Director for Shaun Parker & Company. Since joining the company in 2015, Joel has performed in KING, Happy as Larry, Trolleys, Hover, The Box, Axle & Spin, touring extensively across Australia and internationally to Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Austria, Germany Luxembourg & Italy.

Joel has performed or choreographed for Tasdance, Devize Co, Brand X, Lyric Opera, Phluxus2Dance Collective, QL2, Stompin and several independent artists. Joel was Artist in Residence at University of Tasmania in 2018 and undertook an Arts Tasmania Education Residency at Launceston College in 2019. He produced Summer Solo Series in Melbourne 2012-14, Tasmanian Solo Series in Launceston 2020 and The Dance Photography Exhibition in Brisbane 2010.

Josh Mu

Dancer/Rehearsal Director

Julian Chan

dancer

Julian Chan is a Sydney based dance artist who trained at Caper School of Performing Arts and graduated from the Academy of Music and Performing Arts (AMPA) with a Bachelor of Dance. Since graduating, he has worked with We are Here Company, Lucky African Dance, Catapult Dance Choreographic Hub, Shaun Parker & Company and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines.

Julian Wong

Julian Renlong Wong is a musician and dancer. He has studied classical western and Chinese music, playing Chinese flutes, cello and voice, and completed a Diploma of Music Performance at the Australian International Conservatorium of Music in Sydney. His physical background is in shaolin gongfu and baguazhan, circus fire twirling, contact improvisation and contemporary dance, which he studied at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. He is currently studying to become a practitioner of Feldenkrais.

Kate Merrick

dancer

Kate Merrick is an emerging contemporary dance artist, graduating from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts in 2022, with a Bachelor of Arts (Dance). In 2023 Kate

began working with Shaun Parker & Company before also joining Dance Makers Collective’s, Future Makers Ensemble.

Lewis Rankin

Lewis is a graduate of the Adelaide Centre for the Arts. Along with dance, Lewis performs with street theatre group Slack Taxi and has performed at WOMADelaide, the Tour Down Under, the Singapore Grand Prix and the Singapore Youth Olympics. Lewis has performed in Stone/Castro’s Superheroes (at the Adelaide Festival Centre and Arts House, Melbourne), Alison Currie’s dance installation 42a, Francis Rings’ Breathe (with Leigh Warren & Dancers at WOMADelaide), Breathe and Impulse (a double bill at Edinburgh Festival 2012), dance film The Boy Castaway’s (Director Michael Kantor, Choreographer Garry Stewart) and Larissa McGowan’s Skeleton (at Adelaide Festival, Dance Massive and the Dublin Dance Festival).

Libby Montilla

Dancer/Teacher

Libby migrated to Australia with his family as a young boy from the Philippines and grew up in Western Sydney. Whilst graduating from CAPTIVATE in 2011, he joined Shaun Parker and Company’s youth program The Yard. This work toured in regional NSW and to the Arts Centre in Melbourne. Following this exciting start to his career, he committed to being a professional dancer.
Since 2012 Libby has worked with Shaun Parker & Company, touring regionally, nationally and internationally in The Yard, Happy as Larry, Re:MOTE, In The Zone, TUT, KING, Found Objects, Trolleys, Hover and The Box. In 2016 he led Parker’s TUT for Art and About and Parramatta Lanes Festival and taught a TUT workshop in Kaohsiung, Taipei. Libby worked with Shaun Parker and collaborator Alon Ilsar to use AirSticks technology to create Re:MOTE and In the Zone.

In 2017 Libby joined Karul Projects performing in Sand Circle at the Commonwealth Games and covering roles in CO_EX_EN, and [MIS]CONCEIVE.

Libby joined Kingdom Culture Company in 2021 and performed in SZN 22 and SZN 23 to continue his growth in his movement and performance quality. Libby is a member of Lo.Cal a Sydney based dance crew.

Lucia Mastrantone

Lucia has a successful career in theatre, physical theatre, film, TV and as a voice artist with an extensive list of credits. Some of the major theatre companies and plays she has performed in, include Belvoir St’s Twelfth Night, The Book of Everything, Scorched, Macbeth, Vicious Angel, Under The Influence, Popular Mechanicals 1 & 2, Love And Magic In Mammas Kitchen. For Sydney Theatre Company Talk, Marriage Blanc and Romeo and Juliet, Griffin Theatre’s Ladies Day, Bell Shakespeare Company, the State Theatre Company of SA and Melbourne Theatre Company.

Lucia’s physical theatre credits include Legs on the Wall’s Under the Influence (EDINBURGH FESTIVAL, HAMMERSMITH LONDON, EUROPEAN TOUR) Magpie Theatre’s Verona, The Longest Night Urban Theatre Projects Adelaide Festival and NYID Running Show. (AURHAUS FESTIVAL, HAMBURG EXPO), BLUE LOVE

(STUTTGART DANCE FESTIVAL, NZ TOUR)  Doppio Teatro- RICORDI (LEEDS FESTIVAL, LONDON HAMMERSMITH) Lucia was the Co-Director for the acclaimed Baulkham Hills African Ladies Troupe. (UK Tour)

Lucy Doherty

Dancer

Lucy Doherty is a versatile artist and performance maker with a life-long connection to dance. Trained in multiple dance styles, she has left her mark on both stage and screen. Lucy’s extensive experience as a performer includes collaborations with prominent brands like Myer, Dom Perignon, and Amazon Prime. Recently, Lucy directed One Dance Company’s “Crossover” featuring her own pole dance persona “L’Pearle,” which earned a nomination for “Best In Dance” at the Sydney Fringe Festival. Driven by personal experiences, including the loss of her mother as a young adult, Lucy’s creative practice delves into themes such as grief, mortality, sexuality, and divinity. She self-produced and toured her first full-length production titled “One,” in 2015 which gained immense support within the dance community. This experience led her to establish the community-focused arts organisation “One Dance Collective,” empowering and inspiring emerging dance artists through professional and creative development initiatives. Her work in this realm has earned her nominations for two Australian Dance Awards for “Outstanding Achievement in Dance on Film.”

Luiz Pampolha

Luiz is a NIDA graduate who has designed and co-designed productions across the world for festivals including Edinburgh, Wellington, Belfast, Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne International Arts Festivals. Luiz’s lighting design credits include: Rabbit, The Removalists, Love-Lies-Bleeding, Saturn’s Return, Waiki Hip, The 7 Stages of Grieving, Romeo & Juliet (Sydney Theatre Company), The Call, Concussion, The Story of Miracles at Cookie’s Table, The Nightwatchman, The Kid (Griffin Theatre Company), Antigone, Ruben Guthrie (Company B), Hitler’s Daughter, Fox, Thursday’s Child, The Prospectors, Milli Jack and The Dancing Cat, I am Jack (Monkey Baa). In 2006 and 2007 the Sydney Theatre Critics Award nominated Luiz for “Best Lighting Design”.

Malachi Sylvester

Dancer

Malachi is a graduate from the Academy of Music and Performing Arts (AMPA). Throughout his time at AMPA, Malachi showcased his talent in various dance styles including ballet, jazz, commercial jazz, musical theatre, contemporary, flamenco, and physical theatre. Prior to embarking on a professional career as a dancer, Malachi honed his skills in acting. Malachi joined Shaun Parker & Company in 2023.

Mark Haslam

Production Manager

Mark’s practice is a hybrid of technical production, design, direction and performance, with a particular focus upon raw performance styles and the integration of media into contemporary performance.  Through his company, kdmindustries, he makes electronic visual theatre that examines microscopic moments of cataclysmic change with a focus on raw, immediate performance styles.

He has worked with many leading Australian and international contemporary arts companies and practitioners across performance, dance, music and visual arts practice and has toured over 50 works across 4 continents. He has built projects with Erth Visual and Physical, Performing Lines, Marrugeku, Branch Nebula, Stalker Theatre, Socìetas Raffaello Sanzio, The Farm, Legs on the Wall, Co3 Contemporary Dance, Force Majeure, Shaun Parker & Company, Company B and Sydney Theatre Company as well as unique festival performances with artists such as Wesley Enoch, Nigel Jamieson and Shaun Gladwell. He has lit some of the worlds top DJs (Fatboy Slim, Carl Cox, Sasha) and fashion houses (Alexander MacQueen; Gucci).

Marnie Palomares

Marnie has performed extensively nationally and internationally. She has worked for Branch Nebula, Shaun Parker & Company, Chunky Move (Gideon Obarzanek), Force Majeure, Marrugeku, Antony Hamilton, Narelle Benjamin, Martin Del Amo, Kristina Chan, Sydney Theatre Company, Nigel Jamison, Garry Stewart, Jason Pitt, Bernadette Walong, Dean Walsh and Liz Lea. Marnie’s choreographic credits include works for Tasdance, Sydney Festival First Night (2009), Pulse8 Dance, QL2, Ev & Bow, Catapult Flipside Dance, Synergy Percussion, Tissue Girl in collaboration with High Tea with Mrs Woo designers and dance film Home for Blacktown Arts Centre’s Balik Bayan Philippine art project

Melanie Palomares

Melanie Palomares trained at the University of Western Sydney. Since graduating she’s worked with Independent choreographers Jason Pitt (Oi, Blueprint, What Remains), Bernadette Walong (Hidden Revealed), Liz Lea & Company (In Flight, 120 Birds, Bird Talk), Dance Makers Collective (Big Dance in Small Chunks), Deborah Pollard/Paschal Daantos Berrys (Within & Without), Dirty Feet Dance Collective, Kay Armstrong, Martin del Amo, Narelle Benjamin, and Fiona Malone for Pulse8 (You Move).

Since 2011, Melanie has worked with Shaun Parker & Company in Happy as Larry and toured Internationally to the UK and Reunion Island. She also acted as Rehearsal Director for Shaun Parker’s The Yard and toured with them regionally in 2012.

Nick Wales

Nick Wales’ music is a hybrid between classical forms, electronic and popular music working in the realms of concert, contemporary dance, film, public events, contemporary art and theatre. Nick composed the soundtrack for feature film Around the Block released in 2014 starring Christina Ricci. In 2012 Nick’s dance works Spill and Trolleys were featured as part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad, both collaborations with choreographer Shaun Parker. Nick collaborated with Sarah Blasko writing the orchestral arrangements for her recent album I Awake, also collaborating with Sydney Dance Company. Nick has collaborated with Shaun Parker on numerous works including TUT, Am I, Happy As Larry (with Bree van Reyk), The Yard and This Show is About People.

Nils Hob

Beginning to learn playing cello at age 4, Nils Hobiger was awarded his Trinity College London – Performer’s Certificate in Violoncello aged 14 in 2006, his Associate Diploma in Music Australia in 2007, and his Bachelor of Music in 2012. Nils has played with multiple orchestras, including the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Sinfonia, Australian International Symphony Orchestra Institute, and the Queensland Conservatorium Orchestra (Principal). His passion for orchestral music is equally profound for chamber music and although classical music is his core, he also plays other genres, including traditional gypsy, Romanian and Kletzmer music.

Olivia Hadley

Dancer/Teacher

Olivia is a Sydney-based artist who is exploring and gaining insight into how a wide variety of movement skills can be used to create imaginative and thought-provoking conceptual ideas. She places an emphasis on discovering innovative ways to access strength, power and dynamics within movement, through many artistic mediums such as breakdance, krump, martial arts, physical theatre and contemporary dance. She likes to frame these discoveries through various artistic modes of performance, such as live shows, film projects and dance battles.

Notable credits include Shaun Parker & Company, Legs on the Wall, Twisted Element Company, Bonnie Curtis Projects, Back to Back Theatre and Stephanie Lake Company.

She was also invited as a solo artist to perform as part of the Eight Artists Exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art, a collaborative performer as part of Sound Out the Street for PACT Theatre, and was involved in the curation process of the solo theatre work ‘INTACT’ by Fuser Production.

She also showcased her choreographic work Mechanics (via) Mechanics in‘(un)Bound’ with Bonnie Curtis Projects as part of March Dance, and has been involved in the creation of her own as well as collaborative movement film projects.

Robert Alejandro Tinning

Dancer

Robert Alejandro Tinning is an independent artist and choreographer. Understanding that performance art and live art are practices of human connection, Robert’s practice revolves in the national and international arenas. His freelancing practice sees him working on projects with Stephanie Lake Company, Jade Dewi & Kurt Page, Great Southern Dance, and Shaun Parker & Company. He has performed works by Jukstapoz, Gabrielle Nankivell, Liesel Zink, Tasdance and STRUT Dance WA. He was nominated for the Best Dancer (Male) in the 2021 Performing Arts WA Awards for STRUT Dance WA’s remount of Hofesh Shechter’s works Uprising & tHE bAD in Hofesh in the Yard.

Robert’s creative endeavours, honing in on his heritage & the Afro Diaspora, have also been supported by Ausdance NSW, Tasdance and WA’s the Department of Local Government Sport & Cultural Industries. His projects have been performed in both Australia and USA, and his collaborations with actor/director Dacre Montgomery (Stranger Things) have garnered over 2 million views across social media platforms.

Robert is a collaborator with Dream Bigger (Northern Rivers indigenous youth program), and Dance Integrated Australia. He’s a facilitator of DIA’s socially engaged and inclusive face-to-face dance classes: MOVE IT for all capabilities, abilities, neuro diversities, and age groups.

Romain Hassanin

Dancer/Teacher

Samuel Beazley

Dancer/Teacher

Samuel Beazley is a Maori creative, who resides in Sydney, Australia. His endeavours exist primarily in Hip Hop based dance and culture, movement, teaching, remedial massage and music.

Sam graduated from Wesley institute with a bachelor of the arts in dance, and has since continued his training in many genres. Sam’s current focus for training resides in Hip Hop focused styles such as Hip Hop and Popping. From 2014 to the present day, Sam has worked closely with Shaun Parker and company on numerous shows including KING, Trolleys, Found Objects and Hover.

Sam has represented Australia with The Pack (DC) at Hip Hop Internationals (HHI), Las Vegas 2014 and became Australian Champions for World Supremacy Battlegrounds (WSB) that same year. 2018 Sam became Urban Party battle champion and also competed with his crew “Yea Nice” at Arena Singapore. In 2020 Sam competed with Movement Nation at Dancechella. By combining all aspects of his creative life, Sam aspires to make art until he can no longer.

Shantala Shivalingappa

Born in Madras and raised in Paris, Shantala grew up in a world filled with dance and music, initiated by her mother, dancer Savitry Nair. Deeply moved and inspired by Master Vempati Chinna Satyams pure and graceful style, Shantala dedicated herself to Kuchipudi under his instruction. Shantala’s choreography and dancing in the Kuchipudi style continue to find inspiration through her artistic collaborations with some of the foremost artists of our time, including Maurice Béjart, Peter Brook, Pina Bausch and Ushio Amagatsu. Today, Shantala shares her time between touring, expanding her choreographic work, and collaborating with other artists in the exploration of dance, music and theatre.

Sophia Ndaba

Sophia is a graduate of the McDonald College of Performing Arts and the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), qualified with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance, 2010. She joined Shaun Parker & Company in 2013 touring festivals nationally and throughout Europe, Asia and the Middle East with productions Happy as Larry, TROLLEYS and AM I. Her credits also include productions by La Fura Dels Baus & Opera Australia, Ministry of Sound, Xerox, Force Majeure, Melanie Lane, Victoria Hunt, Britta Lieberknecht & Company, Martin Del Amo, and more.

Sophia is a founding member of the Dance Makers Collective, a group of independent dance artists in Sydney who (through the support of Arts NSW and Australia Council for the Arts) collaboratively choreograph and produce contemporary dance work. Her own choreographic works include: Found Lost (2011), Voiced (WAAPA 2012), Zeitgeist (Dance Makers Collective 2013) and TV commercials including Best & Less and Virgin Australia/The Australian Chamber Orchestra.

In 2017 Sophia joined electronic musician CLARK on the World Tour of his highly anticipated show, DEATH PEAK LIVE, choreographed by Melanie Lane. 2018 Sophia performed throughout Europe and Asia with large scale productions for AUDI, X Factor Germany, Fresh Music Live and DHL under the Artistic Direction of Nici Grandison. In 2019 Sophia’s live credits include Dj Bobo’s Kaleidoluna tour and Lena’s Only Love tour. She dances on Netflix series ‘Babylon Berlin’ season 3 and continues modeling for clients such as Adidas, Deichmann, Wizz Air, Zalando and C&A.

Tammi Gissell

First Nations Cultural Advisor & Choreographer

Tammi Gissell is a Muruwarri-Wiradjuri performer, poet, performance theorist, choreographer, researcher, writer and critic; having performed, lectured and consulted regionally, nationally and internationally across the spectrum of contemporary & contemporary-Indigenous performance since 1996. She is also currently Collections Coordinator, First Nations at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, NSW.

She holds a Bachelor of Performance: Theory and Practice (Honours) from the University of Western Sydney (UWS); was inducted into the Golden Key International Honour Society for achievements in performance theory in 2004 and later graduated Deans’ Medallist and Reconciliation Scholar in 2005.

From 2007 – 2011 Tammi was Course Coordinator at the National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Association (NAISDA). She has a sound body of solo works and appearances with leading Australian dance-theatre makers including Mirramu Dance Co., The Physical TV Company, Branch Nebula, Kinetic Energy Theatre Co., Lina Limosani, Jason Pitt, Darren Green, Bernadette Walong, Liz lea & Co and Wagana Aboriginal Dancers.

Tammi has presented research to the World Dance Alliance (NYU), Brisbane Festival, Sydney Science Festival; written for the Precarious Movements: Choreography and the Museum publication, Australian New Zealand Arts Journal, Performance Paradigm, Venice Journal of Environmental Humanities, Critical Path, Queensland Museum, DanScience & BOLD Festivals.

She has lectured at Queensland University of Technology, Victorian College of the Arts, University of Newcastle, NAISDA Dance College, Aboriginal Centre for the Performing Arts, The McDonald College, Quantum Leap (QL2) and Canberra Dance Theatre.

She has sat on the Australian Tertiary Dance Council, the BlakDance First Nations Dance Panel & the National Dance Forum and presented at National Film and Sound Archives for the Black Chat series and completed Choreographic commissions for OCHRE Dance Company, Canberra Dance Theatre, Ausdance, the Canberra International Music Festival and throughout 2017 was Education Coordinator/Artist with The New Zealand Dance Company.

Thuba Ndibali

Thuba Ndibali grew up in the township of Bulawayo in Zimbabwe. He was heavily influenced by the street corner dancers commonly known as Pansulas in Southern parts of Africa. With Pansula being his signature style, when Thuba arrived in Australia in 2008, he was exposed to other styles such as popping, ticking, bonebreaking which were quite identical to Pansula. In 2010, he was recruited into the Boys Hip Hop in the Schools Spectacular. He then began formal training in 2013 in styles such as Contemporary, Latin American, Ballet, Jazz, Hip Hop for three intensive years to earn a Bachelor degree in Dance (2016). Thuba has been mentored by Shaun Parker over several years, also appearing in TUT for Art & About Festival and Parramatta Lanes Festival as well as being a team leader in the company’s BIG DANCE workshops.

Timothy Ohl

QUT trained, Timothy has been performing professionally for over 13 years. He has worked with Australian Dance Theatre, Force Majeure, KAGE, Shaun Parker & Co, Lucy Guerin Inc., Meryl Tankard, Legs on the Wall, Strings Attached, Stalker, Torque Show, Strut & Fret, Theatre of Image, The Song Company, Anton, Raw Metal, Opera Queensland, Opera Australia and Chunky Move, performing Stephanie Lake’s Mix Tape, for which he received a 2010 Green Room award. Timothy has choreographed a handful of short works performed in Expressions Dance Company’s ‘SOLO – Festival of Dance’ in Brisbane and ‘iOU Dance Solo Series’ (Spring Dance 2012) in Sydney.

Toby Derrick

Dancer

Toby is a BFA Acting Graduate of the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA, 2017) and an Advanced Diploma Graduate of the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA, 2012). Whilst at WAAPA, Toby performed for the Queen at the CHOGM (Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting) and toured to Taipei to take part in the International Festival of Dance Academies.

Toby’s television credits as an actor include: Informer 3838, Halifax: Retribution, Home & Away, Superwog, Neighbours, and House Husbands.

In physical theatre, Toby has collaborated for many years with Sydney-based Shaun Parker & Company touring with the Company throughout the Middle East and Europe with KING, which received critical acclaim at its 2019 Sydney premiere. Toby has also toured throughout Germany and Australia with Happy as Larry and to the George Town Festival in Malaysia with Trolleys.

Toby has also danced in Perth with Buzz Dance Theatre on their production Look The Other Way, and with Barking Gecko Theatre Company, performing in 1507 which was directed by John Sheedy. He also danced at the Sugar Mountain Festival in a work directed by Chunky Move’s Artistic Director Antony Hamilton.

Tunji Beier

Tunji & Ulli Beier were the founders of the Border Crossings Festival in Bayreuth, the home of Richard Wagner. Tunji was based in Berlin and toured throughout Europe with various ensembles from a Serbian & Croation 24 piece orchestra to a trio comprising of massive church organ, trombone & Tunji on percussion.

During Border Crossings the encounter with the musician, performer Linsey Pollak, blossomed into what is now a 16-year, 5 CD musical partnership.  Together they have toured to Germany, Brazil, Argentina, New Zealand (WOMAD), WA, N.T., Victoria and NSW.

Tunji has, throughout his career, collaborated with Billy Cobham, Karnataka College of Percussion, Adrian Sherriff (AAO), Karaikudi Mani, Ghatam Suresh. Ghatam Kartik,  Charlie Mariano, Zakir Hussain, Hossam Ramsy, Satsuki Odamura, Gary Daly, Dr. Kim Cunio, Iain Ballamy, Terje Isungset (Iceman), Billy Cobham, Trillok Gurtu and Matthias Loibner.

Veronica Neave

Veronica graduated from the University of Southern Queensland with a bachelor’s degree in Performing Arts majoring in Theatre. Since then she has worked extensively as an Actor for major theatre companies throughout Australia over the last 23 years. She has won a Matilda Award and the Inaugural John Harris Critics Award for her contribution to theatre. Veronica began to specialise in Physical theatre and joined Legs on the Wall physical theatre company as a full time company member for 5years. Over the last ten years Veronica has collaborated extensively with Kate Champion and her company Force Majeure. With Force Majeure Veronica was co-devisor, performer and writer on three major festival shows (Same Same But Different, Already Elsewhere, The Age I’m In) that toured the world. These shows also won several Australian theatre awards including the Australian Dance award for Best Physical Theatre Production and two Sir Robert Helpman Awards. Veronica has directed / devised and written shows for NIDA, The Australian Theatre for Young People and the Queensland Theatre Company. As a Dramaturge Veronica has worked with Shaun Parker and Company on his two major works (This Show is About People and Happy As Larry). “This Show is About People” was awarded the Australian Dance Awards’ Best Physical theatre Production. Veronica co-produced and wrote the ABC documentary ‘’Pieces Of Me’’ and is a published author with a book of the same title. Veronica has also appeared in many films and television shows as an actor, most recently in the title role of the feature film ‘’Girl Clock’’. She is currently the Artistic Director of Vulcana Women’s Circus.

Yilin Kong

Yilin graduated from WAAPA with a Bachelor of Arts in 2011. She has worked with artists Sue Peacock, Rachel Ogle, Alice Lee Holland, Rhiannon Newton, Brooke Leeder and Sydney based collective Flatline. Since graduating Yilin has performed with Buzz Dance Theatre in Look the Other Way, OCHRE Contemporary Dance Company in Dreamtide, the opening of Sculptures by the Sea, Articulating Landscapes and DNA: Simply Human, Barking Gecko Theatre Company in Onefivezeroseven and with the West Australian Opera in their production of Madama Butterfly. She has also performed in Brooke Leeders’ The Mechnic and as understudy in Patrice Smiths’ Verge. Yilin was the winner of the 2013 Western Australian dance award for emerging artist.