Sydney Theatre
April 2010
By Nicole Saleh.
New Creations is the world premiere of two contrasting works for Sydney Dance Company. It fulfils the vision of artistic director Rafael Bonachela, delivering diversity to audiences with a commissioned dance work from Australian choreographer Adam Linder, programmed alongside Bonachela’s own distinct creation.
Inspired by the unconscious act of breathing, 6 Breaths is a collaboration by choreographer Rafael Bonachela and Italian composer Ezio Bosso. The original musical score draws upon Bosso’s personal experience of discovering the importance of breath after undergoing surgery.
Bonachela uses the dancers’ physicality, creating clean movements and shapes to bring to life the simplistic beauty of the musical score. The sounds of the piano and cellos guide the choreography and mood of the piece through a cycle of 6 types of breaths, from the breath of life through to the last breath. The dancers’ quick and swift movements to the staccato of the piano are contrasted to the sounds of the cello propelling the dancers’ effortless lifts and turns.
The video art by Tim Richardson enhances this captivating work. Puzzle-like pieces fly through space to create a statue of first a man, then a woman. The statue formations on screen are still and lifeless, while the dancers on stage show that where there is breath, there is also life.
As the piece builds, layer upon layer, so does the choreography through each formation of the dancers. The twelve dancers are impeccable in their unison and their fluid movements create a breathtaking and beautiful piece of work, captivating the audience from start to finish.
Are We That We Are is a significant piece of work for internationally recognised choreographer Adam Linder. It is the first time that this award winning choreographer is showing his work in his home country after leaving ten years earlier to pursue his craft overseas. Linder is both choreographer and guest artist, exploring the psychology of human altered states of consciousness. This provocative piece showcases six strong and commanding dancers who in contrast to Bonachela’s work, perform on stage with sharp, convulsed and sometimes ugly movements. In this piece an echoing voice asks the question over and over “do you not think reality is too obvious to be real?” Linder explores this thought provoking question as the piece heightens with red pulsating lights that build in momentum as the music crescendos and entrances the audience.
New Creations showcases the versatility and strength of the Sydney Dance Company dancers, who succeed in bringing to life two very exciting yet different choreographic works.
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