Choreographer Emilie Leriche has been selected as the recipient of the 2026 Sybil Shearer Fellowship at Ragdale. This honor recognizes Leriche’s exceptional contributions to contemporary dance and her innovative approach to movement and choreography.
The Sybil Shearer Fellowship, funded by the Morrison-Shearer Foundation and established to honor the legacy of pioneering American dancer and choreographer Sybil Shearer, provides a choreographer with dedicated time and space at Ragdale’s historic artist residency in Lake Forest, Illinois. The fellowship supports the development of new work and offers an opportunity for deep creative exploration in a tranquil, supportive environment.
Leriche brings an impressive international career to this residency. As a choreographer, she has created work on Nederlands Dans Theater II, Whim W’Him, the tanzensemble of Theater St. Gallen, Ballett Hagen, Gibney Company, and Ballet Edmonton. Her choreographic work has been celebrated for its emotional depth, technical precision, and ability to bridge contemporary and classical movement vocabularies.
For more information about Emilie Leriche and her work, visit www.emilieleriche.com
From 2017-2021 she danced with GöteborgsOperans Danskompani under the artistic direction of Katrín Hall. Prior to her move to Sweden, Leriche danced four seasons with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, where in 2015 she was awarded a Princess Grace Foundation (USA) fellowship in dance.
In 2021 her project, On Mending, a collaboration with Shawn Fitzgerald Ahern, was selected for Orsolina 28’s “Call for Creation” fellowship where the work was originally developed for film. In 2022, with the support of a “Work-in-Progress” grant from the Princess Grace Foundation, On Mending was further developed and performed as a live production at Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York City. In 2023, Leriche and Ahern were commissioned by BAC to direct their next film, One & One Other; which premiered on BAC’s digital platform in April of 2023.
During her fellowship residency, Leriche will develop new choreographic material, research movement concepts, and connect with the vibrant community of artists in residence for the creation of a new dance. A work in progress, Everything & is a portrait of a woman and the many protagonists held in her singular body. “I have always understood dance as a conversation, movement as words, choreography as paragraphs and chapters,” writes Leriche. “In this sense, Everything & is in many ways a monologue, a ‘one man show,’ a woman at odds with herself and her selves; a solo meant to challenge and question the elasticity of one’s character and the ability to swing between extremes while searching for one ultimate, elusive core.”
“We are delighted to support Emilie Leriche as our 2026 Sybil Shearer Fellow,” said Christopher Rutt, Chair of the Foundation’s selection committee. “Her artistic vision and dedication to pushing the boundaries of contemporary dance embody the pioneering spirit that Sybil Shearer represented. Through this fellowship, we continue our mission to preserve and advance Sybil’s legacy by investing in exceptional choreographic talent.”
The Morrison-Shearer Foundation established this fellowship to ensure that Sybil Shearer’s revolutionary approach to dance continues to inspire new generations of choreographers. Leriche joins a distinguished roster of previous fellows who have used their time at Ragdale to create groundbreaking work that honors Shearer’s commitment to artistic integrity and innovation.
For more information about Ragdale’s Residency Program the Sybil Shearer Fellowship, visit the Foundation’s website.
