Sydney Festival reveals 2017 program

Wesley Enoch’s inaugural programSydney Festival returns January 7–29 for new Director Wesley Enoch’s inaugural program, which features a renewed focus on theatre and dance, with a strong commitment to support new Australian work. The 2017 program is bursting with free and ticketed events across dance, theatre, circus, opera and contemporary and classical music.

 

Enoch stated, “Launching my first program is like inviting a whole lot of friends and family to a party. My job is to cater for a range of tastes and provide an array of opportunities for everyone to feel enriched. A festival is an act of generosity. Everyone can come and enjoy Sydney Festival but like every party it is always best when you meet new people and feel like you have given something in every exchange you make. Sydney Festival is like a cultural New Year’s resolution. Here is the opportunity to share some time with friends and strangers and do new things that enrich your life.”

 

Overall, Sydney Festival 2017 will be comprised of 150 events, a staggering 73 of which are free. 454 performances will take place across 46 venues, featuring 1,021 artists from 15 countries. With 16 world premieres, nine Australian premieres and 14 Australian exclusives, summer in Sydney is not to be missed.

 

Here are the dance highlights for Sydney Festival 2017:

 

– Perhaps most sensationally, Sydney Dance Company will collaborate with the Art Gallery of NSW for a unique project entitled Nude Live. The collaboration will see SDC respond to more than 100 powerful artworks spanning two centuries from the gallery’s summer exhibition Nude: Art from the Tate collection, which will feature as part of the Sydney International Art Series. Dancers will move and breathe, their bodies and souls bared as they explore one of art’s greatest subjects, the unclothed human body.

 

Cry Jailolo and Balabala will be presented by Indonesia’s EkosDance Company, exploring coral reef destruction from climate change and overfishing.

 

Blood on the Dance Floor will be performed by Indigenous artist Jacob Boehme. The work is his response to being diagnosed with HIV and turning to his ancestors for answers.

 

– A choreographic lab named Burrbgaja Yalirra will explore new cultural pathways in contemporary dance.

 

– On the heels of its 2015 Sydney Festival hit Puncture, FORM Dance Projects will premiere Champions, inspired by the soccer team Western Sydney Wanderers, and developed in consultation with coaches and athletes. Directed by Martin del Amo, the work will feature an all-female dream team of 11 contemporary dancers.

 

– In a commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Canadian Confederation, Sydney Festival will present a diverse range of works from Canada in 2017. As part of this, Company 605 will present Inheritor Album, merging raw athletic power and urban-infused dance.

 

– Additionally, Sydney Festival will launch Circus City in Parramatta in 2017. Running for ten days from January 12–22, Circus City will feature four shows, including Canada’s Cirque Éloize as the headliner. Cirque Éloize will present iD, a high-energy blend of circus arts and urban dance that’s been seen by over one million people since its premiere.

 

– Dancenorth will also revive its 2015 work Spectra, which blends contemporary dance, Japanese Butoh, live music and digital artwork.

 

For more information on the Sydney Festival, visit sydneyfestival.org.au. Festival Multipacks are now on sale. Single tickets go on sale Monday, October 31.