Sydney Dance Company Artistic Program 2016

Sydney Dance Company Artistic Program 2016

Sydney Dance Company opens 2016 with a striking world premiere work, created by Artistic Director and Helpmann Award winning choreographer Rafael Bonachela, and set to a dusky sonic soundscape by composer Nick Wales (long term collaborator of Sarah Blasko).

Named for the Latin term meaning -Light and Darkness', Lux Tenebris is a full ensemble piece, created on the Sydney Dance Company dancers. Movement follows deep, unexpected, visceral beats to discover a dark place where there is space for beauty and light.

In Australia, this stunning new production will be part of a double bill program, CounterMove, paired with a work from one of Europe's most highly sought-after artists, award-winning Swedish choreographer Alexander Ekman's acclaimed and hilarious Cacti.

Originally created by Ekman for the Nederlands Dans Theatre 2, Cacti had its Australian premiere in 2013, as part of Sydney Dance Company's triple bill season De Novo. In 2015 the Company toured the work to 11 cities and towns throughout regional Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory, leaving a trail of laughter in its wake, and a legacy of rapturous reviews.

This -extraordinarily original and vibrant work of dance‐theatre ‐ witty, effervescent, playful, surreal and joyously physical' (The Australian) features the full Sydney Dance Company ensemble of 16 dancers, sharing the stage with a string quartet, a cat called Fluffy and a host of potted cacti of luminous delight.

CounterMove opens at Sydney's Roslyn Packer Theatre Walsh Bay on February 26, ahead of seasons at Canberra Theatre Centre, opening May 19, and Southbank Theatre, Melbourne, opening May 25. The show will also tour to Darwin and regional Western Australia, regional Queensland and regional New South Wales, from June 17 to August 27. See the full list of venues at sydneydancecompany.com/tours.

In October, a second Sydney Dance Company season sees Sydney Dance Company Artistic Director Rafael Bonachela share the bill with one of the country's most promising choreographers, Adelaide‐based Gabrielle Nankivell, winner of the 2015 Tanja Leidtke Fellowship.

For his second world premiere of the year, Bonachela takes inspiration from a vibrant contemporary classical composition by Bulgarian Grammy nominee Dobrinka Tabakova ‐ her Concerto For Cello and Strings.

Providing a perfect counterpoint to Nankivell's acclaimed Wildebeest, a masterful and evocative dancework based on the idea that -underneath it all we are all animals and fanciful creatures… backed with an amazing score from Luke Smiles of stormy weather, soaring song and yet more industrial grind – enough to match a passing freight train.' (Daily Review)

Originally commissioned as part of Sydney Dance Company and Carriageworks' New Breed 2014 program (supported by The Balnaves Foundation), and presented as part of a short sell‐out season in December of that year, Wildebeest will be re‐worked for its debut on the Roslyn Packer Theatre stage.

These two works come together in an 11‐show season of Untamed, opening at Sydney's Roslyn Packer Theatre Walsh Bay October 18.

In November Sydney Dance Company and Carriageworks present the third edition of New Breed, a three-year initiative established to nurture the next generation of Australian choreographers. Made possible thanks to generous support from the Balnaves Foundation, this showcase for fresh young Australian choreographic voices has well and truly captured the imagination of audiences, with the 2014 season selling out, and 2015 well on its way… Get your tickets for this one fast!

Which four up and coming Australian dance creators will be commissioned to create a work on Sydney Dance Company in 2016? Stay tuned for an announcement early next year!

New Breed opens at Carriageworks on November 29.

In addition to 78 scheduled performances at 19 venues around Australia in 2016, Sydney Dance Company continues its strong tradition of international touring, showcasing Australian culture, ideas and talent on the global stage.

In April the Company will present at Switzerland's prestigious STEPS Festival, the country's largest contemporary dance biennale, which showcases a selection of the world's premier international dance companies, touring to venues across the nation for a four‐week period.

This tour sees Sydney Dance Company take on one of its most ambitious international presentations to date, staging the stunning triple bill, Interplay, which took east coast Australian audiences by storm in 2014.

Comprising works by Rafael Bonachela, renowned Australian choreographer Gideon Obarzanek, and Italy's Jacopo Godani, (Artistic Director of the newly named Frankfurt-Dresden Dance Company, formerly the Forsythe Company), this is a diverse and high‐energy program showcasing Australia's premier contemporary dance ensemble at its poetic and athletic best.

Alongside our own program, Sydney Dance Company is thrilled to collaborate with other leading Australian cultural institutions to present a series of new works, across a broad range of venues and events. Look out for opportunities to experience dance in unexpected ways and places. Details of our additional 2016 collaborations will announced by our partners very soon.

Sydney Dance Company 2016 Sydney Packages go on sale at 10am Tuesday October 6. Tickets to individual performances will be available from November 25. Book at www.sydneydancecompany.com/2016.

Details of our 2016 Education Program will be announced on October 13.

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FEBRUARY/ MARCH

SYDNEY Sydney Dance Company presents CounterMove Double bill World premiere, Rafael Bonachela, Lux Tenebris Alexander Ekman, Cacti Roslyn Packer
Theatre Walsh Bay, Sydney, 26 February – 12 March  

 

APRIL
INTERNATIONAL TOUR, SWITZERLAND/ GERMANY Sydney Dance Company presents Interplay Triple bill Rafael Bonachela, 2 in D Minor Jacopo Godani, Raw Models Gideon Obarzanek, L'Chaim Tour dates, April 8 – 23 STEPS Festival, Switzerland 8 April, Lugano 10 April, Fribourg 13 April, Lörrach, Germany 15 April, Zurich 17 April, Zug 20 April, Monthey 23 April, Neuchatel  

MAY
CANBERRA/ MELBOURNE Sydney Dance Company presents CounterMove Double bill Rafael Bonachela, Lux Tenebris Alexander Ekman, Cacti Canberra Theatre Centre, 19 – 21 May Southbank Theatre, Melbourne, 25 May – 4 June  

 

JUNE/ JULY/ AUGUST
NATIONAL TOUR – REGIONAL NSW, QUEENSLAND, WESTERN AUSTRALIA Sydney Dance Company presents CounterMove Double bill World premiere, Rafael Bonachela, Lux Tenebris Alexander Ekman, Cacti Tour dates June 17 – August 27 New South Wales 17 – 18 June, Wollongong 22 June, Orange 25 June, Newcastle 29 June, Port Macquarie Queensland 2 July, Rockhampton 6 July, Gladstone 9 – 10 July, Cairns 15 – 16 July, Gold coast Northern Territory 29 July, Darwin Western Australia 3 Aug, Geraldton 6 Aug, Mandurah 9 Aug, Albany 13 Aug, Bunbury New South Wales 20 Aug: Bathurst 24 Aug: Griffith 27 Aug: Dubbo  

 

OCTOBER
SYDNEY Sydney Dance Company presents Untamed World premiere, Rafael Bonachela, Title TBC Gabrielle Nankivell, Wildebeest Roslyn Packer Theatre Walsh Bay, Sydney, 18 – 29 October

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER
SYDNEY Sydney Dance Company presents New Breed Four world premieres New works by the cream of Australia's up and coming choreographers, commissions to be announced Carriageworks, Sydney, 29 November – 4 December