NEW BREED 2018

MEET THE NEW BREED OF AUSTRALIAN CHOREOGRAPHERS 2018 7 August release immediate For

29 NOV – 8 DEC

CARRIAGEWORKS SYDNEY

Sydney Company and Carriageworks, in conjunction with The Balnaves Foundation, announce four Australian choreographers commissioned to create works for the acclaimed New Breed initiative that supports Australia’s next generation of dance-makers.

‘An eclectic and consistently satisfying night of dance’ Time Out Sydney

Co-presented by two of Australia’s most dynamic arts organisations – Carriageworks and Sydney Dance Company – with the generous support of The Balnaves Foundation, New Breed 2018 will provide Australian choreographers Prue Lang (Melbourne), Katina Olsen (Sydney/Sunshine Coast), Holly Doyle (Sydney) and Janessa Dufty (Yamba) with an invaluable opportunity to work with Australia’s finest contemporary dancers on a newly commissioned dance piece.

These four new works will comprise the New Breed 2018 season from 29 November to 8 December 2018. The New Breed initiative made its debut in November 2014, supporting five emerging Australian choreographers through the commissioning and presentation of new dance work. Four sold out seasons in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 ensued.

Adelaide-based New Breed 2014 choreographer Gabrielle Nankivell was the recipient of the 2015 Tanja Liedtke Fellowship for her New Breed premiere, Wildebeest. Wildebeest was part of Sydney Dance Company’s stunning double bill Untamed in 2016, and nominated for a Helpmann Award for Best in a , Dance or Physical Theatre Production in 2017. It went on to bepart of Sydney Dance Company’s European Spring Tour in April 2018, which included sold-out performances at the Chaillot - Théâtre National de la Danse in Paris.

The fifth instalment in the New Breed initiative, will see Carriageworks, Sydney Dance Company and The Balnaves Foundation continue their commitment to the future of Australian , by supporting independent choreographers Prue Lang, Katina Olsen, Holly Doyle and Janessa Dufty. From August, these dance makers will benefit from the extensive support of all the departments of Australia’s leading contemporary dance company, in readiness for their premiere season, later this year.

‘★★★★ A great night of dance: all of it brand-spanking new, performed by some of the best movers on the planet and offered at $35 a ticket… exhilarating’ The Australian

Sydney Dance Company Artistic Director Rafael Bonachela says, ‘For almost half a century, Sydney Dance Company has been the home of contemporary dance in Australia, with a strong dedication to nurturing the next generation of Australian choreographic artists. We are proud to further contribute to this legacy through a unique program, and to invest in what we believe is the very foundation of the future of Australian contemporary dance – its creators.’

Carriageworks Director Lisa Havilah says, ‘Carriageworks’ partnership with Sydney Dance Company to support the development and presentation of this series of new works continues our commitment to collaboration and to showcasing new work from Australia’s most innovative emerging choreographers. We are thrilled to continue to

provide this ongoing platform for contemporary dance with Sydney Dance Company and the Balnaves Foundation.’

Victoria Balnaves of The Balnaves Foundation says, ‘The Balnaves Foundation is delighted to again be supporting Sydney Dance Company in engaging outstanding new choreographic talent through the 2018 New Breed program. The New Breed program is a vital platform for emerging choreographers to push boundaries, explore creativity and expand their professional practice. The outcome of this innovative program has been extraordinary to date and has resulted in New Breed performances being taken on tour Australia wide as well as overseas. This next season should be especially exciting as it the first time the New Breed program has showcased all female created works.’

‘★★★★ New Breed is well worth seeing…Extraordinary… powerful… memorable’ Sydney Morning Herald

ABOUT SYDNEY DANCE COMPANY

Sydney Dance Company is Australia’s leading contemporary dance company, presenting new works in Sydney, around Australia and internationally, under the Artistic Direction of Rafael Bonachela. Since 1985 the Company has been resident in purpose-built studios at Pier 4 in Sydney’s Walsh Bay, minutes from the city’s famed Harbour Bridge. Its studios house the largest public dance class program in Australia, attracting nearly 80,000 participants each year. Sydney Dance Company’s DancED program is a national initiative supporting dance education for all ages, from primary students through to pre-professional dancers. A legendary force in contemporary dance in Australia, Sydney Dance Company will celebrate its 50th year in 2019.

ABOUT CARRIAGEWORKS

Carriageworks is the largest and most significant contemporary multi-arts centre of its kind in Australia. Engaging artists and audiences with contemporary ideas and issues, Carriageworks has a reputation for presenting large-scale immersive programs that are artist led and emerge from Carriageworks’ commitment to reflecting social and cultural diversity. The Carriageworks artistic program is ambitious, risk taking and unrelenting in its support of artists.

ABOUT THE BALNAVES FOUNDATION

The Balnaves Foundation is a private philanthropic organisation established in 2006 by the Balnaves family to provide support to charitable enterprises across Australia. The Foundation disperses over $2.5 million annually to organisations that aim to create a better Australia through education, medicine and the arts, with a focus on young people, the disadvantaged and Indigenous communities.

Tickets are currently on sale for this limited season presentation, from 29 November to 8 December 2018, Carriageworks, 245 Wilson Street St Eveleigh.

DATES: THU 29 NOV – SAT 8 DEC [VARIOUS] 8PM

SAT 8 DEC 2PM

COST: $35

DETAILS & TICKETS: www.carriageworks.com.au/ www.sydneydancecompany.com

The New Breed initiative is made possible through generous support from The Balnaves Foundation.

CHOREOGRAPHER BIOGRAPHIES

PRUE LANG

After studying at the VCA Melbourne, Prue joined Meryl Tankard’s Australian Dance Theatre. In 1996 she moved to France working for the Choreographic National Centre in Angers, Compagnie Cre-Ange in Paris, as well as creating her own independent projects in Paris. In 1999 she began an important and transformative collaboration with William Forsythe as a leading soloist and choreographer of the Frankfurt Ballet and The Forsythe Company. During her tenure

she created five original works for the company. She also participated in the MK2 film One Flat Thing, Reproduced and online media project Synchronous Objects, and became a researcher for the MOTION BANK project.

In 2005 she began working as an independent choreographer presenting her work in international festivals, theatres and museums throughout the world including Theatre National de Chaillot Paris, Rencontres Choregraphiques Internationales de Seine-Saint-Denis Paris, Festival Temps d’Images Paris, Festival Faits d’Hiver Paris, Tanzplatform Deutschland, HAU Berlin, Mousonturm Frankfurt, Tanzhaus NRW Düsseldorf, Context Festival Hebbel-am-ufer Berlin, London Festival of Architecture, TATE Modern London, Adelaide International Arts festival, Chunky Move Australia.

During this time in Europe Prue was additionally commissioned by the Frankfurt Ballet, MD Kollektiv Koln, TATE Modern, Leigh Warren & Dancers. She also co-created a film for the French-German television ARTE, published a chapter on Forsythe in Gerald Siegmund’s William Forsythe: Denken in Bewegung (Henschel: Berlin) and lead extensive workshops and conferences on choreographic practice and improvisation.

In 2014 Prue moved back to Melbourne to continue her work in Australia. She began the Plant research lab from which to transmit, develop and create her choreographic practice in Melbourne. In 2015 she presented SPACEPROJECT at Dance Massive. In 2016 she created Handovers + Translations for the Gertrude Glasshouse gallery. In 2017 she presented Stellar Project for Dance Massive and became the Resident director of Lucy Guerin Inc.

Parallel to this she created Zaurak for the MDKollektiv in Cologne, presenting in Tanzhaus Dusseldorf and Stadtstheater Darmstadt. In 2018 she created a new work for the NGV Triennial, followed by YONI, a commission by the Keir Choreographic Award.

Throughout her career, Prue has been voted Most Outstanding Dancer, Most Innovative Production and Most Outstanding Choreographer by Europe’s Balletanz's Annual Critics' Survey, awarded in Hybrid Art by the Prix d’Arts Electronica, and has won Green Room awards for her Design, Original Choreography and Best Ensemble in Australia.

KATINA OLSEN

Katina Olsen is a proud Wakka Wakka and Kombumerri choreographer/dancer and also has Norwegian and German ancestry.

Katina’s choreographic interests lie in the fusions of her Indigenous cultural dance and storytelling with contemporary dance, film, moving sculpture and installation.

Katina holds a BFA (Dance) from Queensland University of Technology and a Diploma in Dance from Queensland Dance School of Excellence.

Katina’s choreographic highlights include movement direction for a segment from the ABC TV series Cleverman 2 and Walking into the Bigness (Malthouse), collaborating with Dance Makers Collective on their Australian Dance Award nominated DADS and Instar as part of Big Dance in Small Chunks (Parramatta Riverside). Katina also recently choreographed Min Min for QUT’s graduating year for Dance 17 and worked with Indigenous youth artists on Digi Youth Arts, Unsettle project in collaboration with the Queensland Museum.

Katina’s performance highlights include Interwoven (Atamira Dance Company, Festival 2018), Mozart Airborne (Expressions Dance Company, QPAC), Champions (Martin del Amo, Sydney Festival), Tangi Wai (Victoria Hunt, Liveworks Festival), Long Grass, (Vicki Van Hout, Sydney Festival), Cultivate (Force Majeure), Murder (Erth Visual & Physical Inc.), I Am Eora (Wesley Enoch), Forseen (Frances Rings/Narelle Benjamin).

From 2007 to 2010 Katina performed nationally and internationally with Bangarra Dance Theatre in works Clan, True Stories: X300 and Emeret Lu, Mathinna, Rites of Spring (Australian Ballet/Bangarra Dance Theatre), Awakenings, Fire - A Retrospective: 20th Year Anniversary and Of Earth & Sky.

In 2014 Katina received an Australia Council JUMP Mentorship with Philip Channells in disability inclusive dance and choreographic practice in Norway and a Group JUMP Mentorship (Dance Makers Collective) with Michelle Silby, Ausdance NSW.

In 2017, Katina was profiled by BlakDance at PAX/APACA and is one of their NEXT GENERATION Indigenous choreographers.

HOLLY DOYLE

Holly comes from Sydney and has over 15 years dance experience, training under the direction of Gilli O’Connell, Tibor Horvath, Matthew Shilling, Anton Bogdanovych, Matt Trent, Kristina Chan and various other tutors from the Australian dance community.

Holly studied dance at Newtown High School of the Performing Arts, where she received extensive contemporary and classical training for seven years. Completing her Higher School Certificate in 2011, Holly was awarded first in the state for Classical Ballet. Holly was also presented with a ‘Dedication to Dance’ award in 2011 in recognition of her consistent determination and focus.

Holly’s choreographic achievements include being awarded ‘Australian Dancer of the Year’ at the Showcase National Dance Championships for her contemporary work This Bitter Earth. In 2012, Holly was invited to perform her choreography at the National High Schools Dance Festival in Philadelphia. Holly’s work was awarded the highest merit award at this Festival.

Holly joined the Company in 2013 for De Novo and performed in Rafael Bonachela‘s Emergence and Alexander Ekman (Cacti). She was also part of the collaboration with Kaldor Public Art Projects for the contemporary art exhibition 13 Rooms where Sydney Dance Company featured in Allora and Calzadilla’s Revolving Door.

It is thanks to the generosity of a special group of Partners, and their support of our A Year on The Wharf program, that Holly was able to continue to train, tour and perform with the Company beyond her initial three-month scholarship.

Holly has featured in Rafael Bonachela‘s 2 One Another (2013-2015); Project Rameau (2013), 2 in D Minor (2014), Scattered Rhymes (2014), Frame of Mind (2015), New Breed (2015) and Triptych (2015). Frame of Mind won the 2015 Helpmann Award for ‘Best Choreography in a Dance Work’ and ‘Best Dance Work’.

She has worked with guest choreographers Stephanie Lake (Elektra, 2014), Jacopo Godani (Raw Models, 2014), Gideon Obarzanek (L’Chaim!, 2014), Andonis Foniadakis (Parenthesis, 2014), Charmene Yap (Do we, New Breed, 2014), Cass Mortimer Eipper (Dogs and Baristas, New Breed, 2014), Gabrielle Nankivell (Wildebeest, New Breed, 2014) and Cheng Tsung-lung (Full Moon).

Holly was named in the 2014 Dance Australia Critics Survey for being a ‘Dancer to Watch’ in Charmene Yap’s Do we, New Breed.

JANESSA DUFTY

Janessa is of Australian and Filipino heritage. She grew up in Yamba, a small coastal town in Northern New South Wales, and started dancing at the age of 5 at the Adele Lewis School of Dance. She received a scholarship to attend the Queensland Dance School of Excellence where she finished her senior studies and gained her Royal Academy of Dance Solo Seal Award. While in Brisbane she also performed in the Queensland Ballet’s production of Excalibur, directed by Francois Klaus.

At the age of 18 she continued her dance development at the New Zealand School of Dance (NZSD), majoring in Contemporary. After completing her diploma at the NZSD, Janessa joined New Zealand’s acclaimed Black Grace Dance Company. She performed in numerous works created by Artistic Director/Choreographer Neil Ieremia which included Amata, Human Language, and War Brides. During her two years with Black Grace she toured internationally to the U.S.A, Canada, Noumea, Australia and throughout New Zealand.

Janessa joined Sydney Dance Company in 2009. She has performed in Rafael Bonachela’s we unfold (2009- 2011); 360° (2009); 6 Breaths (2010-2011); LANDforms (2011); The Land of Yes & The Land of No (2011); 2 One Another (2012-2015); Project Rameau (2012-2013); Emergence(2013 and 2015); Les Illuminations (2013- 2014), Scattered Rhymes (2014), Frame of Mind (2015), New Breed (2015) and Triptych (2015). Frame of Mind won the 2015 Helpmann Award for Best Choreography in a Dance Work and Best Dance Work.

She has also worked with guest choreographers on New Breed (2009) and performed in Sid’s Waltzing Masquerade (Aszure Barton, 2009); Mercury (Kenneth Kvarnstrom, 2009); Satisfying Musical Moments (Emanuel Gat, 2010); Desire (Lisa Wilson, 2012); Fanatic (Larissa McGowan, 2013 and 2015); Cacti (Alexander Ekman, 2013 and 2015); Parenthesis (Andonis Foniadakis, 2014); White Elephant (Lee Serle, New Breed 2014), Wildebeest (Gabrielle Nankivell, New Breed (2014) and William Forsythe’s Quintett (2015). In November/December 2011, Janessa was part of the highly acclaimed tour of Between Breath & Form to New York, Barcelona and London.

Janessa was a part of the 2013 collaboration with Kaldor Public Art Projects for the contemporary art exhibition 13 Rooms where Sydney Dance Company featured in Allora and Calzadilla’s Revolving Door.

Janessa was named in the 2012 and 2014 Dance Australia Critics Survey for Most Outstanding Dancer.

In 2013 she also toured North America, South America and Russia with the acclaimed 2 One Another, winner of the Best Ensemble Award in the 2012 Green Room Awards and the 2013 Australian Dance Award for Outstanding Achievement in Choreography and Outstanding Performance by a Company.

MEDIA CONTACTS

For more information, images or interview requests, please contact:

Alexandra Barlow, Sydney Dance Company, [email protected] / 0416 128 282

Kym Elphinstone, Articulate for Carriageworks, [email protected] / 0421 106 139

Fleur Townley, Lanham PR for The Balnaves Foundation, [email protected] / 0405 278 758

Follow #NewBreed @SydneyDanceCo @carriageworks on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.