Following a national search, choreographers Sandra Parker and Gary Lang are the 2022 and 2023 recipients of The Australian Ballet’s inaugural Residency Program for established independent artists.

Sandra Parker and Gary Lang. Photos supplied

The program is the brainchild of The Australian Ballet’s Artistic Director David Hallberg, and will provide each choreographer with a stipend of $18,000 and access to the centre’s studio space and facilities at the Primrose Potter Australian Ballet Centre in Melbourne.

Hallberg hopes the program will support the sector by facilitating a professional development pathway for artists, who are at a critical point in their careers after the hardships caused by the pandemic.

“Studio space to experiment and create in can be hard to come by and is a real hurdle for many artists when creating new work. The Residency Program will provide space for independent artists to develop their ideas, and I hope this addition to Australia’s rich and vibrant dance ecosystem will have a direct flow-on effect to the works audiences are able to experience,” Hallberg said.

Parker and Lang were chosen from a field of candidates across the nation, by a panel including Hallberg, internationally renowned choreographer Pam...