Sydney Dance Company’s Artistic Director Rafael Bonachela today announced the exciting news of the Company’s planned return to the stage, the studio and the screen for the remainder of 2021.
Bonachela said, “I am delighted that Sydney Dance Company is emerging from lockdown with a packed program of dance — on stage, on screen and in the studio. We have been overwhelmed by the support of our local and global community over the last few months, and I am thrilled that we are able to serve that community with opportunities to experience the power of dance, either in person, or digitally. After the challenges we have all faced, it is a privilege to be able to bring our audiences and dance class participants with us on the next stage of the Company’s journey and to celebrate dance together.”
Sydney Dance Company’s iconic Wharf Studios will reopen to the general public on 18 October. As outlined in the NSW Government’s ‘Roadmap to Recovery’, dance classes will be subject to restrictions under the Public Health Order when reopening. Requirements for participating in studio dance classes include verification of full COVID-19 vaccination status or medical exemption upon entry, masks mandatory indoors including during class,1.5m social distancing and classes capped at 20 people.
For those unable to attend live in-studio classes, Sydney Dance Company is launching a new way to dance from home with Classes Livestream. Proudly supported by LG SIGNATURE, this innovative hybrid format brings the studio to your loungeroom to enable participants to dance live with Sydney Dance Company’s teachers and stay connected with the dance community.
Each week, 16 in-studio classes in a range of styles will be livestreamed from Studio 1: Clifford Studio at Sydney Dance Company. Access to a single livestream class is $18, or a 10 FlexiPack is $140 (save $40). Livestream Plus+ Membership is available for $29.95 a week, which includes unlimited access to both livestream classes AND our Classes On Demand library.
Sydney Dance Company’s Years will be presented from 4 – 6 November, for free. A meditation on the layers of legacy that shape both our past and our future, Years, a new work on film choreographed by Bonachela and featuring solos from Sydney Dance Company’s ensemble, delves deep into the essence of movement and musicality.
Set to esteemed Australian musician Stephen Emmerson’s reimagining of ‘Bach’s Goldberg Variations’, Years is an online creation, produced in lockdown and filmed in Sydney Dance Company’s new Neilson Studio Theatre. In partnership with renowned collaborators Bianca Spender (costume design) and Clemens Habicht (direction), Years sees Bonachela reflect on echoes of the past to find clarity at the heart of a turbulent world.
Widely admired for its beauty, invention and architecture, Bach’s ‘Goldberg Variations’ is universally recognised as a landmark in Western music; a spiritual, intellectual and powerful masterpiece. Emmerson’s interpretation is a “powerful exposition” (Sydney Morning Herald) and will be performed by Emmerson with celebrated Australian pianist Sonya Lifschitz. Years is a moving and elegant work with a limited online season, free to watch with registration on the Sydney Dance Company website.
Cath James, artistic director of South East Dance said, “We are so excited to be co-presenting the world premiere of this new digital dance work, Years, choreographed by Rafael Bonachela, Sydney Dance Company’s artistic director. Rafael and I danced together at Rambert Dance Company in the early days of our careers, and I’ve been following his choreographic journey ever since.”
James adds, “As a dance organisation with a long history of championing, producing and presenting dance on screen, this is a fantastic opportunity for South East Dance’s audiences to be introduced to this incredibly talented company. As borders reopen and our new home for dance The Dance Space opens next year, we hope to develop this new relationship with Sydney Dance Company as part of our commitment to bringing international perspectives on dance to South East England.”
Bonachela said, “Over the last two years, we have had to postpone our international touring plans, so I am delighted that, thanks to the Australian Government and the British Council’s exciting UK/AU 2021 Season, we are able to continue to make and strengthen global connections by presenting Years with our good friends at South East Dance in the UK. From the challenges of COVID have come some incredible opportunities, and I am very grateful.”
Sydney Dance Company will also present its New Breed series from 25 November – 11 December. Sydney Dance Company, in partnership with Carriageworks and Principal New Breed Partner The Balnaves Foundation, is proud to announce a return to the stage with the eighth edition of New Breed, continuing a collective commitment to emerging choreographers.
New Breed will mark Sydney Dance Company’s first live, onstage performance since Sydney’s 2021 lockdown commenced in June. Four talented choreographers will create new works featuring a rich diversity of choreographic ideas to be performed by Sydney Dance Company’s company dancers. The New Breed choreographer line-up will be announced soon.
For more information on Sydney Dance Company and all of these offerings, visit www.sydneydancecompany.com.
Share this:
