Chrissie Parrott AO
DIRECTOR, CHOREOGRAPHER, MENTOR, VISUAL ARTIST
Chrissie Parrott AO is a multi-awarded and internationally renowned creative artist whose career spans over four decades she works across the disciplines of dance, theatre, digital arts, and decorative design. and has worked extensively in the creative industries with an impressive portfolio.
Her primary practice is in Dance, as dancer, lecturer, choreographer, and Arts festival director, she has directed for theatre TV and film, designed set and costumes, taught multimedia and animation, and creates large – scale digital artworks.
Chrissie’s outstanding contribution to contemporary dance-associated arts has been significantly acknowledged by the presentation of the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Award, Swan Gold Award Sounds Australia W A Citizen of the Year, Golden Key Society for high achievers, USA, and a Centenary Medal.
In 2014 she was awarded a lifetime achievement award though Ausdance WA.
In 2015 she was honoured as a State Living Treasure.
In 2021 she was the recipient of a prestigious Order of Australia.
IN 2022 she was awarded lifetime achievement from PAWA.
Chrissie Parrott’s distinctive choreographic style draws equally upon her foundations in classical dance and the richness of the 20th Century contemporary dance vocabulary, as well as an upbringing surrounded by Vaudeville and stand-up comedy.
She has created a repertoire of over 90 works – Choreographic commissions include works for WA Ballet, Australian Dance Theatre, Co3 Contemporary Dance Australia, Tasdance, Sinfionetta de Lorraine France, and Theater Vorpommern in the Baltic city of Stralsund, Crameer Balletten Stockholm, and Tanz Forum Cologne.
Her works have been performed in France, Japan, Korea, UK, Holland, Germany and Indonesia.
Chrissie was a dancer with West Australian Ballet, One Extra Company Sydney where she was associate director, Tanz Forum Cologne and Crameer Balletten in Stockholm. She toured as a dancer throughout Germany, Denmark and Sweden and performed at the famous La Fenice theatre in Venice.
ABC TV has broadcast four of her choreographic works Wrath – seven deadly sins, Coppélia with West Australian Ballet and West Australian Symphony Orchestra, Hawk II and Motel Deception [ABC, Screen West, Blue Moon, DCA].
She held the position of senior research fellow with Edith Cowan University teaching Dance Forms dance animation program. She was adjunct professor at Queensland University of Technology 2004 teaching into the multimedia units for the dance department. She held positions of senior research fellow and adjunct professor consecutively at ECU and QUT.
During her time with WAAPA she was instrumental in the set-up of artistic structures and was founding Director of LINK Dance Company – a fourth year [Honours] graduate company.
Chrissie was program manager at Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA). Has been a board member for Artrage Fringe Festival and advisory panel member with Perth International Arts Festival (PIAF) under the artistic directorship of David Blenkinsop is currently the Chair of Artistic Reference Panel for WA Ballet.
She worked as movement director and theatre director with Sydney Theatre Company, Malthouse Melbourne, Black Swan State Theatre Company and Perth Theatre Company.
She was commissioned to create an immersive digital dance work for the opening of the Heath Ledger Theatre in Perth CBD.
Chrissie works extensively in community events working closely with youth dance and theatre initiatives indigenous children in regional WA and with mixed ability performing artists. She regularly presents as a keynote and motivational speaker at educational conferences.
Now a resident of Nannup, a small regional town in the Southwest of WA. She works as volunteer on community arts projects and teaches a wide range of dance classes in the region, is Deputy Chair of the newly formed Blackwood River Art Trail (BRAT).
Chrissie presented the first contemporary dance and community masterclass project in Nannup in 2021 and continues to teach mentor and create dance related artworks.
