The foundation was established in July 2008 in honour of the dancer and choreographer, Tanja Liedtke who was killed in August 2007 before in a car accident in Sydney, Australia,[1][2][3][4] two months after starting in the role as artistic director of the Sydney Dance Company.
[5] The Foundation's purpose is "to support the enrichment and advancement of contemporary dance theatre, and the development of Australian/European artistic connections.
[7] The inaugural Tanja Liedtke Fellowship was offered, in partnership with Radialsystem V – New Space for the Arts (Berlin), and the contemporary dance company Sasha Waltz & Guests (Berlin), to an Australian dancer/choreographer between the ages of 20 and 35 years.
[8] The 2011 Tanja Liedtke Fellowship was awarded to Katarzyna Sitarz,[9] a Polish dancer/choreographer with a broad international experience in Poland, the Netherlands, Lithuania and Germany.
[10] She will direct her creative residency at Arts House Melbourne in March 2011 and participate in the development of a new collaboration by Australian choreographer Lucy Guerin.