- Alice Topp goes to Houston
In January 2026 Alice Topp lost pretty much everything in a devastating bushfire in Harcourt, the small town in regional Victoria where she lived. The rebirth of the town led to her latest work, Sisu, a Finnish word meaning, as Topp explained in an article in Houston Chronicle, ‘finding hope when you can’t see the light’. Sisu was premiered by Houston Ballet on 28 May 2026 and a reviewer for Houston Chronicle, Adam Castaneda, wrote:
Houston Ballet’s triple bill An Evening with the Stars opened Thursday night [28 May 2026] with a powerful and introspective world premiere of Australian choreographer Alice Topp. Sisu proved to be an evocative exploration of human responses to adversity, and how people survive through community, connection, and confluence.
In the circumstances that led to the development of Sisu, I am simply staggered that, in just under two months after the fire, Topp managed to produce her amazing production of Macbeth for Royal New Zealand Ballet. And now Sisu!
- Beau Dean Riley Smith: a fellowship
Recently announced was the establishment of the Shaun Parker & Company Choreographic Fellowship funded by the New York-based Denise and Michael Kellen Foundation. The fellowship, which grew out of the development of a relationship with the Foundation by Shaun Parker, offers the astonishing amount of $100,000 per year to support the development of significant dance works by leading choreographic artists.
It is an absolute delight to hear that the inaugural recipient of the award is Beau Dean Riley Smith, who will receive the fellowship over two to three years and will, in due course, present the world premiere of a work created on the dancers of Shaun Parker & Company.
Beau Dean Riley Smith is a Wiradjuri and Gamillaraay man from Dubbo NSW, raised on Yuin Country in Culburra Beach, Nowra, now living on Gadigal land. For more about Beau Dean Riley Smith on this website see this link.
Back in 2017 Shaun Parker was interviewed for the National Library of Australia’s oral history project. Listen at this link.
The Denise and Michael Kellen Foundation is a private foundation based in New York. It supports education, philanthropy, voluntarism, and Human Services, primarily in New York, Connecticut and New Jersey.
- Reading in May
Some years ago now I was given a book that a colleague had found in a book sale, which I have only now got around to reading. The book is Twin Journey and is an autobiography by Beth Dean and Victor Carell.
I am somewhat shocked I have to say at the appalling way in which the book was edited. There are just so many typographical errors, including one in which Beth is spelled Bth! Not only that there must have been something wrong with the printer as at times the printing is quite black whereas at other times it is much lighter. Nor is there any evidence that a designer was employed as the pages are without any form of pleasing spacing. And I could go on ….
It’s just as well the subject matter is quite interesting and certainly gives a different take on what Dean and Carell accomplished.
- Press for May 2026
– ‘Sphere turns industrial Vault into living stage.’ Review of Sphere. Australian Dance Party. CBR City News, 15 May 2026. Online at this link.
– ‘Sheltering (Bangarra Dance Theatre).’ Review of Sheltering. Bangarra Dance Theatre. Limelight Magazine. 25 May 2026. Online at this link.
Michelle Potter, 31 May 2026
Featured image: Alice Topp and Artists of Houston Ballet rehearsing Sisu. Photo: © Alana Campbell, 2026. Courtesy of Houston Ballet.
