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SYDNEY DANCE COMPANY ARTISTIC PROGRAM 2017
Sydney Dance Company opens the 2017 season with the world premiere of the double bill, Orb - an extraordinary lunar mystery. Together with Ocho, the latest collaboration in eight parts by Artistic Director Rafael Bonachela and composer Nick Wales, Orb presents the world premiere of Full Moon by Cheng Tsung-lung. This striking piece by the Artistic Director of Taiwan’s phenomenal Cloud Gate 2, harnesses the power of the moon and the mythology, fable and poetry of mankind to thrill the audience.
“Living in our modern world, the vibrant city lights have endlessly fascinated me and occupied the interspaces of my sight and feelings at night. On the contrary, the moon, nature’s symbolic beauty of night, shines light into my eyes and helps me uncover the mysteries of the unconscious world which I do not know, yet I feel exist.” - Cheng Tsung-lung.
Orb opens at Sydney’s Roslyn Packer Theatre Walsh Bay on 28 April, ahead of seasons at Arts Centre Melbourne, opening 17 May, and Canberra Theatre Centre 25 May.
From 5 October, Sydney Dance Company presents the 100th performance of an international masterpiece, 2 One Another at Roslyn Packer Theatre Walsh Bay. Since it’s 2012 premiere, Rafael Bonachela’s multi award-winning masterpiece has left critics and audiences speechless and must be felt to be believed. Crackling with exultant power and intricate physical conversation, a pulsing pixelated backdrop, baroque-meets-electronica soundtrack and fragments of poetry. 2 One Another is a bright hour of irrefutable sensuality, delivering a visceral charge that has
Sydney Dance Company The Wharf, Pier 4, 15 Hickson Road, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
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rocked audiences the world over.
Following 78 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. From 24 February to 12 March, the company will perform Frame of Mind, Raw Models and Wildebeest throughout the USA in New York, Boston, Swarthmore and Amherst.
Launching at Sydney Opera House on 14 March and being delivered to primary schools in Western Sydney, with a regional tour to follow, Sydney Dance Company and Co3 Australia will present Antony Hamilton’s Crazy Times; a fascinating exploration of the fast changing world we are born into today, and the unknown world that we will face in the future. Four dancers will embark on a dream-like journey through a world where things are not always as they seem. Filled with fantastical costumes and the animation of everyday objects, this piece will take children on a lo-fi, surrealist, action-packed adventure, driven by the pulse of high energy and mind-bending dance moves. Children will be immersed in the interactive elements of this program and will have the opportunity to participate in a movement- based demonstration with acclaimed Sydney Dance Company dancers.
In June, Sydney Dance Company hits the road again for a national tour with a wildly powerful double bill featuring Rafael Bonachela’s multi award-winning Frame of Mind and the smash-hit Wildebeest by Australia’s own Gabrielle Nankivell.
In Frame of Mind, Rafael Bonachela brings the presence and power of 17 of Australia’s most accomplished dancers to the stage for an emotionally charged performance. In a faded room, time passes from day to night, and over again, as the dancers transition from impassioned solos to tender duets, intricate trios and high-energy ensembles. Inspired by the desire to be in two places at once, Frame of Mind is performed to a pulsing contemporary-classical soundtrack by US composer Bryce Dessner, best known as a member of hit rock band The National.
The Frame of Mind national tour opens in Parramatta on 23 June, ahead of seasons in regional NSW, regional Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and the Northern Territory until 26 August. See the full list of venues at sydneydancecompany.com/tours.
Sydney Dance Company 2017 SEASON DETAILS
Sydney Dance Company
Sydney Dance Company is a legendary force in contemporary dance, touring globally under the Artistic Direction of Helpmann Award-winning Rafael Bonachela.
2017
‘An ensemble of technically blessed young dynamos.’ – Herald Sun
1. International Touring
Sydney Dance Company The Wharf, Pier 4, 15 Hickson Road, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
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From 24 February to 12 March the Company will perform Frame of Mind, Raw Models and Wilderbeest throughout the USA in New York, Boston, Swarthmore and Amherst.
2. Crazy Times by Antony Hamilton Antony Hamilton’s Crazy Times takes primary school audiences on a lo-fi, surrealist, action adventure, driven by the pulse of high energy and mind-bending dance moves.
Launching at Sydney Opera House on 14 March and available for in-school performances in Sydney from 20 March to 6 April, followed by a regional tour (dates and locations to come).
3. Orb Ocho by Rafael Bonachela Full Moon by Cheng Tsung-lung #SDCOrb
The double-bill Orb presents Ocho, the latest collaboration in eight parts by Artistic Director Rafael Bonachela and composer Nick Wales and the world premiere of Full Moon by Cheng Tsung-lung. This striking piece by the Artistic Director of Taiwan’s phenomenal Cloud Gate 2, harnesses the power of the moon and the mythology, fable and poetry of mankind to thrill the audience.
28 Apr – 13 May Roslyn Packer Theatre Walsh Bay
17 – 20 May Arts Centre Melbourne
25 - 27 May Canberra Theatre Centre
Single tickets from $30*. Book now sydneydancecompany.com/orb
4. Australian Tour: Frame of Mind
23 June – 26 Aug
A wildly powerful double bill featuring Rafael Bonachela’s multi award-winning Frame of Mind and the smash hit Wildebeest by Australia’s own Gabrielle Nankivell.
23 – 24 June: Riverside Theatres, Parramatta, NSW 28 June: Capitol Theatre, Tamworth, NSW 1 July: Dubbo Regional Theatre & Convention Centre, Dubbo, NSW 5 July: The Art House, Wyong, NSW 8 July: Civic Centre, Wagga Wagga, NSW 12 July: The Capital, Bendigo, VIC 14 July: Frankston Arts Centre, Frankston, VIC 19 July: Theatre North, Launceston, TAS 21 – 22 July: Theatre Royal, Hobart, TAS
Sydney Dance Company The Wharf, Pier 4, 15 Hickson Road, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
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2 August: Sir Robert Helpmann Theatre, Mt. Gambier, SA 5 August: Northern Festival Centre, Port Pirie, SA 9 August: Middleback Theatre, Whyalla, SA 12 August: Chaffey Theatre, Renmark, SA 17 – 19 August: Northern Festival Centre, Adelaide, SA 23 August: Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs, NT 26 August: Darwin Entertainment Centre, Darwin, NT
5. 2 One Another By Rafael Bonachela #SDC2OneAnother
2 One Another is a multi award-winning tour de force of astonishing stamina and physicality. Having toured the world it returns to Sydney for its 100th high-octane performance this October. Set against a pulsing, pixelated backdrop, this multi-dimensional piece features a baroque-meets-electronica soundtrack and exquisite poetry fragments by Samuel Webster.
5 – 14 Oct Roslyn Packer Theatre Walsh Bay
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. A legendary force in contemporary dance in Australia, Sydney Dance Company will celebrate its 50th year in 2019. More information, www.sydneydancecompany.com
CHOREOGRAPHER BIOS
RAFAEL BONACHELA Artistic Director, Sydney Dance Company
Rafael Bonachela was born in Barcelona where he began his early dance training before moving to London, and in 1992 joined the legendary Rambert Dance Company.
He remained with Rambert as a dancer and Associate Choreographer until 2006 at which time he successfully set up the Bonachela Dance Company (BDC) to concentrate on the rapid rise of his choreographic career.
As a choreographer, Rafael has been commissioned to make works for Candoco, George Piper Dances, ITDANSA Danza Contemporanea de Cuba, Transitions Dance Company and Dance Works Rotterdam amongst others.
In 2008, he premiered his first full-length production 360° for Sydney Dance Company. Less than six months later, he was appointed Artistic Director making headlines around the dance world.
Sydney Dance Company The Wharf, Pier 4, 15 Hickson Road, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
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Rafael’s vision for the Company embraces a guiding principle that has seen the repertoire grow with the addition of commissioned dance works from Australian and visiting international guest choreographers.
These premiere works are often programmed alongside his own creations, ensuring diversity for audiences and providing much sought after opportunities for his remarkable ensemble of dancers to be exposed to the work of some of the most in-demand choreographers of our time.
Over the past seven years, Rafael has created numerous danceworks for Sydney Dance Company including we unfold (2009), 6 Breaths (2010), LANDforms (2011), 2 One Another (2012), Project Rameau (2012), Emergence (2013), Simple Symphony (2013) Les Illuminations (2013), 2 in D Minor (2014), Scattered Rhymes (2014), Frame of Mind (2015) and Variation 10 (2015).
In addition, he has remounted outstanding repertoire from BDC such as Soledad and Irony of Fate (2010) and The Land of Yes & The Land of No (2011).
Rafael’s achievements in dance have been widely recognised both within the industry and in the broader community.
In 2012 he was listed as one of Sydney Magazine’s Top 100 Most Influential People for his efforts to popularise dance since taking on the job of Artistic Director with Sydney Dance Company and as curator of Australia’s international festival of contemporary dance, Spring Dance at the Sydney Opera House.
In 2013 he was honoured with an Officer’s Cross of the Order of Civil Merit by His Majesty the King of Spain, and was named winner of the dance category for The Monthly’s 2013 Arts Awards.
Rafael’s 2012 work, 2 One Another has won numerous awards including ‘Best Ensemble’ (Green Room Awards 2012), ‘Outstanding Achievement in Choreography’ (Australian Dance Awards 2013), and ‘Outstanding Performance bya Company’ (Australian Dance Awards 2013).
Most recently, his 2015 production, Frame of Mind was awarded ‘Best Choreography in a Dance Work’ and ‘Best Dance Work’ at the 2015 Helpmann Awards.
Rafael’s internationally recognised talent has seen him work not only with contemporary dance at the highest level but also with artists from popular culture. He embraces the opportunity to collaborate on both dance and cross art-form projects, a philosophy which has seen him work with companies artists including singers Kylie Minogue, Tina Turner, Sarah Blasko and Katie Noonan; fashion designers Dion Lee and Toni Maticevski; visual artists Jennifer Allora and Guillermo Calzadilla (for Revolving Door, 13 Rooms, Kaldor Project, 2013); and artist Mira Calix (Inside There Falls, Sydney Festival, 2015).
With Sydney Dance Company he has also collaborated with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Queensland Symphony Orchestra.
Rafael is currently working on a new piece, Lux Tenebris, which will premiere as part of Sydney Dance Company’s season of CounterMove , opening 29 February 2015 at Roslyn Packer Theatre Walsh Bay, touring nationally until 17 August. www.sydneydancecompany.com/people/artistic-director/
CHENG TSUNG-LUNG Artistic Director/Choreographer, Cloud Gate 2
Sydney Dance Company The Wharf, Pier 4, 15 Hickson Road, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
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Cheng Tsung-lung grew up in Taipei, Taiwan where his family owned a slipper factory. Hawking slippers on the sidewalks was part of his childhood and adolescent life. The dynamics of street life and pedestrians’ behaviour later became the source of inspiration for his choreography.
After graduating from the Dance Department of Taipei National University of the Arts, Cheng performed internationally with Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan from 2002 to 2004. He served as the Resident Choreographer for Cloud Gate 2 from 2006 to 2010.
He is the winner of the No Ballet International Choreography Competition, Germany (2006), the Premio Roma Danza International Choreography Competition in Italy, the 16th MASDANZA Choreography Competition in Spain (2011), and the Taishin Arts Award (2012) - the most prestigious arts prize in Taiwan. Cheng was honored as “Artist of 2011” by the Performing Arts Reviews, Taiwan, and awarded the Performing Arts Fellowship by the Asian Cultural Council to spend ten months in New York in 2012.
Cheng has choreographed and restaged works for Transitions Dance Company at the Laban Centre, London; Expressions Dance Company, Brisbane, Australia; the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts; and Focus Dance Company, Taiwan. His productions with Cloud Gate 2 include: A Dignified Joke, Change, The Wall, Happiness and Music, Crack, Blue Hour, Dorian Gray, and Beckoning.
In 2016, his work 13 Tongues, commissioned by Taiwan International Festival of Arts (TIFA), was premiered by Cloud Gate 2 at the National Theater, the National Performing Arts Center in Taipei, Taiwan.
Antony Hamilton Choreographer
Antony Hamilton is an independent choreographer. His award winning creations involve a sophisticated melding of movement, sound and visual design. His major works include the seminal Black Project 1 (2012), critically acclaimed MEETING (2015) and NYX for the 2015 Melbourne Festival. He has created numerous national and international commissions including Keep Everything and I Like This for Chunky Move, Black Project 3 for The Lyon Opera Ballet and Sentinel for Skanes Dansteater.
Antony was the inaugural recipient of the Russell Page Fellowship in 2004, Tanja Liedtke Fellowship in 2009, a Creative Australia Fellowship in 2012, and Sidney Myer Creative Fellowship in 2014. He was guest dance curator at The National Gallery of Victoria in 2013-14, honorary Resident Director at Lucy Guerin Inc in 2014 and inaugural Resident Artist at Arts House in 2015.
MEDIA CONTACT
For information, images or interviews contact: Alexandra Barlow, Publicist, [email protected]
Sydney Dance Company The Wharf, Pier 4, 15 Hickson Road, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia