Sydney Dance Company unveils 2016 season

Sydney Dance Company 2016 featuring dancer Chloe Leong. Photo by Irenaeus HerokSydney Dance Company announced its 2016 Artistic Program this week, unveiling that the new season will comprise two premieres by Artistic Director Rafael Bonachela, choreographies from Sweden’s Alexander Ekman and Adelaide-based Gabrielle Nankivell, and newly commissioned dance works from four up-and-coming Australian choreographers, yet to be revealed.

 

A highlight of the season will be an extensive national tour in which the company will present the new work from Artistic Director Rafael Bonachela named Lux Tenebris alongside Ekman’s acclaimed Cacti. The tour will visit 18 venues in six states and territories around Australia, from Sydney to Canberra, Melbourne and Darwin, and throughout regional NSW, QLD and WA. Dubbed CounterMove, the program will open at Sydney’s Roslyn Packer Theatre in Walsh Bay on February 26 before later launching its tour at Canberra Theatre Centre on May 19.

 

Sydney Dance Company 2016 featuring dancer Bernhard Knauer. Photo by Irenaeus HerokA second SDC season in October sees Bonachela share the bill with Nankivell, one of the country’s most promising choreographers and the winner of the 2015 Tanja Leidtke Fellowship. She’ll present her 2014 production Wildebeest, a standout work originally commissioned as part of SDC and Carriageworks’ New Breed program.

 

New Breed will return in late November, introducing four next-generation Australian choreographers that are each given the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create work on SDC dancers.

 

In addition to 78 scheduled performances in Australia in 2016, SDC continues its strong tradition of international touring, presenting the stunning triple bill Interplay at Switzerland’s prestigious STEPS Festival in April. 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.

 

For further information on Sydney Dance Company’s 2016 Artistic Program, visit www.sydneydancecompany.com.

 

Photos: Sydney Dance Company’s Bernhard Knauer and Chloe Leong. Photos by Irenaeus Herok.