We are thrilled to announce Hanna Instrell-Walker as the recipient of the OzAsia Festival Residency for 2026.
Hanna will be collaborating with Alix Kuijpers, Caroline De Wan and Jazzy Williamson-Gray for this residency.
This is a creative development and presentation platform available to South Australian performing artists working with contemporary culture. The aim of the residency is to offer place and space as part of a vibrant arts community for artists to develop and show new or existing work.
About the artists:
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Hanna Instrell-Walker is a Japanese-Australian dance artist and creator working on Kaurna Land. Shortly after graduating from Adelaide College of the Arts, she co-founded Alchemy Dance Collective alongside colleagues
Kate Burgess and Caroline De Wan. Alchemy has given Hanna a platform to produce her own work, SOUL (Adelaide Fringe 2023), plus co-produce and co-curate events and works including Trilogy Film Fest (2023) and J.A.C.D (2023-2024). Independently, Hanna has also choreographed as part of Mimi Yoshii’s Les Japonaises (2023), worked as tour manager for Alix Kuijpers’ Grim Grinning Ghosts for Melbourne Fringe 2024, as well as co-produced Kate Burgess’ Full Time Ex-Lover (Adelaide Fringe 2025).
In Hanna’s current choreographic research, she is deeply influenced by the idea of quantum entanglement, intrinsic connection, manifestation, and the human subconscious. Movement styles such as Nihon Buyo, Butoh, plus Japanese horror aesthetics mixed with these philosophies make up Hanna’s interests when building work.
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Alix Kuijpers is a multidisciplinary performing artist working across contemporary dance, choreography and sound design, with an independent queer practice.
A graduate of Adelaide College of the Arts, Kuijpers creates dance theatre while generating original sound scores for their work. They were the first person to complete a dance honours at a South Australian institution, earning First-Class distinction for the solo IMMATERIAL. Their work has received major recognition, including the 2023 Adelaide Fringe Emerging Artist Award for the duo i know the end, and the 2024 Centre Stage and Dancehouse Residency awards at The Mill for the solo Grim Grinning Ghosts.
In 2025 they joined the inaugural B12:Mavericks program in Berlin, supported by the Ian Potter Cultural Trust. Between 2023 and 2025 they contributed sound work to collaborations with Johannes Wieland (BER), Motus Collective (SA), Sarah Wilson (SA), Circus SA (SA) and Silverfish (NYC).
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Caroline De Wan started ballet at the age of 5. She realised her true interest lay in contemporary dance and began training at QL2 Dance. Here she worked with choreographers such as Kristina Chan, Daniel Riley, Sara Black, and James Batchelor. In 2018, Caroline choreographed and produced her first full length work for Sydney Fringe, To Fall in Love With An Artist.
Following her return from Sydney she was commissioned for two further works, Comfort Ending II, performed at the Canberra Museum and Gallery, and You're Not Special (because you went to a party) performed at a rave.
Caroline moved to Adelaide in 2019 to complete a Bachelor of Creative Arts (Dance). After graduating, Caroline founded Alchemy Dance Collective with Kate Burgess and Hanna Instrell-Walker, providing performance and training opportunities to the Adelaide dance community. She has also developed a keen interest in dance videography and teaches accessible videography skills to other artists.
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Jazzy is a movement artist and performer based on Kaurna Yerta (Adelaide, South Australia). She graduated with a Bachelor of Creative Arts (Dance) from Adelaide College of the Arts and has since worked internationally with ilDance’s ilYoung program in their production of Skin Issues.
She has also worked with Australian Dance Theatre, Restless Dance Theatre, Sound of Circus Australia, and a variety of independent projects, allowing her to gain experience in diverse contexts and refine her artistic identity.
Jazzy’s choreographic interests include explorations of the complexities of the human condition and embracing the unusual and uncomfortable, including exploring social, political and philosophical matters and darker themes, often using improvisation as a tool to uncover potent world-building and rich imagery.
Her evolving movement language is grounded in elements of tension, release, and interrupted momentum to invite unexpected pathways and possibilities within the body.
Photo: Melodee Meehan
This residency has support from
