Performances

De Novo

March 27 - April 6
Somos
Neilson Studio, Sydney Dance Company
October 22 - November 1
Continuum
Roslyn Packer Theatre, Walsh Bay
December 3 - December 13
New Breed
Carriageworks, Eveleigh

Repertoire Archive

2024

Love Lock
Choreography / Melanie Lane
Inspired by the power of love stories, Melanie Lane’s bold new work Love Lock deconstructs love songs to create a folk dance that celebrates the fantasies and realities of love.
Duration: 25 minutes
momenta – Contemporary Dance Work
Choreography / Rafael Bonachela
A journey into the poetry and physicality of human bonds.
Duration: 75 minutes

2023

The Shell, A Ghost, The Host & The Lyrebird
Choreography / Marina Mascarell
This piece poses many questions: the body's meaning and its capacity to transform; the relationship with technology, and the connection with nature.
Duration: 26 minutes
I Am-Ness
Choreography / Rafael Bonachela
I Am-ness calls for the convergence of the moving body and creative mind, charting a world in flux where simplicity dominates, and expectations are subverted.
Duration: 15 minutes
Somos
Choreography / Rafael Bonachela
Meaning “we are” in Spanish, Somos features a cascade of intimate solos, duets and trios with a distinct Spanish flavour.
Duration: 50 minutes

2022

Summer
Choreography / Rafael Bonachela
An uplifting new work from Rafael Bonachela, capturing the lightness and positivity of new beginnings. With a score by Australian composer Kate Moore, recorded by the Australian String Quartet and striking costumes by the masters of colour Romance Was Born, Summer will have your spirits soaring.
Duration: 16 minutes
The Universe is Here
Choreography / Stephanie Lake
Fusing movement and music, The Universe is Here brings blistering light to the stage and a fizzing glimpse of a haunted dreamscape. Poetic, fresh and forceful, Stephanie Lake's work is intricate and dynamic dance that hits you in the solar plexus.
Duration: 35 minutes

2021

Impermanence
Choreography / Rafael Bonachela
A visceral and thrilling exploration of the juxtaposition of beauty and devastation, this full-length work features a new score full of emotional power from Grammy Award-winning composer Bryce Dessner performed in association with the Australian String Quartet.
Duration: 65 minutes

2020

Cuatro
Choreography / Rafael Bonachela
Four dancers. Four musicians. Four Films.
Duration: 14 minutes

2019

Us 50
Choreography / Gideon Obarzanek
Us 50 is a grand-scale work by Gideon Obarzanek featuring 50 performers made up of past dancers that have graced our stage, current Company dancers, and members of our community.
Duration: 40 minutes
Neon Aether
Choreography / Gabrielle Nankivell
Gabrielle Nankivell’s premiere, Neon Aether, is a theatrical adventure into the infinite unknown. Inspired by science fiction and outer space, audiences will be transported into a vivid, ethereal world beyond the clouds.
Duration: 25 minutes
Cinco
Choreography / Rafael Bonachela
Be moved by a “dazzling technical display of flexibility” (★★★★, Sydney Morning Herald) in the world premiere of Rafael Bonachela’s Cinco. Watch “elastic dynamic dancing” (The Daily Telegraph) from our award-winning dancers, in delicate costumes by revered fashion designer Bianca Spender, set to Alberto Ginastera’s soaring String Quartet No.2.
Duration: 26 minutes

2018

ab [intra] – Contemporary Dance Work
Choreography / Rafael Bonachela
ab [intra],​ meaning ‘from within’ in Latin is ‘an exploration of our primal instincts, our impulses and our visceral responses’, says choreographer Rafael Bonachela. From tenderness to turmoil, ​ab [intra]​ is a journey of intense human existence that will command your attention.
Duration: 70 minutes
Forever & Ever
Choreography / Antony Hamilton
Set to a sonically stimulating score by The Presets’ Julian Hamilton, Forever & Ever fuses together a killer mix of dance, techno, high fashion and vivid lighting to hypnotic effect.
Duration: 36 minutes

2017

Ocho
Choreography / Rafael Bonachela
Explosive and powerful, Ocho, is "sexy, athletic choreography…" (Time Out Sydney), showcasing the dancers' virtuosity. Fusing a brutalist industrial dreamscape with a surging electronic score by Nick Wales that features haunting vocals by Aboriginal singer ​Rrawun Maymuru​ of the Mangalili clan, ​Ocho explores​ the infinite connections that exist between us all.
Duration: 40 minutes
Full Moon
Choreography / Cheng Tsung-lung
Cheng Tsung-lung's Full Moon harnesses the power of the moon and the mythology and poetry of mankind to thrilling effect.
Duration: 38 minutes
WOOF
Choreography / Melanie Lane
WOOF​ generates variations of collective actions that speak from matters of the heart. In an imagined physical future, stealing from classical dances, romantic paintings and pop culture, a re-invention of community takes place. In dialogue with Clark’s bold musical score, ​WOOF​ relentlessly forges a duality of instability and empowerment, harnessing the fantasy of a post-human collective spirit.
Duration: 20 minutes

2016

Lux Tenebris
Choreography / Rafael Bonachela
Lux Tenebris​ explores light and darkness with fiercely physical movement and deep, electronic beats by composer Nick Wales.
Duration: 40 minutes

2015

Frame of Mind
Choreography / Rafael Bonachela
Frame of Mind features a dramatic contemporary-classical soundtrack by Bryce Dessner (from American hit rock band The National), recorded by San Francisco’s virtuosic Kronos Quartet. ​Frame of Mind w​on four Helpmann Awards in 2015 – Best Choreography, Best Dance Work, Best Male Dancer and Best Female Dancer – in its critically acclaimed premiere season.
Duration: 35 minutes

2014

Wildebeest
Choreography / Gabrielle Nankivell
Gabrielle Nankivell’s eloquent creation, Wildebeest, showcases the power of dancers as individuals and strength en masse. Moody and animalistic, it’s backed by a stormy and industrial score by Luke Smiles.
Duration: 30 minutes

2010

6 Breaths
Choreography / Rafael Bonachela
Since the 2010 premiere of Rafael Bonachela’s award-winning 6 Breaths the work has toured to New York, London, Barcelona, the Venice Biennale in Italy and the prestigious Movimentos Festival in Germany. A symphony of dance, music by Italian composer Ezio Bosso and costume design by Josh Goot, this emotive work will take your breath away.
Duration: 40 minutes

Overview

From the frontlines of dance comes a program of three revolutionary works – a suite of playful, subversive and inspired pieces that push at the boundaries of performance.

This is dance that doesn’t play it safe. From the minds of three esteemed choreographers, channelled through the exquisite dancers of Sydney Dance Company, comes a trio of works that break new ground. Whether they’re mashing up pop culture or poking fun at the sacred cows of dance, these are pieces that throw caution to the wind and hurl themselves into the void of the new.

From an inspired collaboration with internationally acclaimed singer-songwriter Sarah Blasko and composer Nick Wales comes Emergence, a dance work by Rafael Bonachela, Artistic Director of Sydney Dance Company featuring the alluring costume creations of Australian fashion designer Dion Lee. A breathtaking cross-genre leap, Emergence sees the entire company ensemble take to the stage as a stunning soundscape take sensual, physical form.

Irreverent, humorous and brilliant, Cacti is the critically acclaimed brainchild of Swedish dance prodigy Alexander Ekman. At just 28 years old, Ekman is already in high demand internationally, and this piece, devised for the legendary Nederlands Dans Theater 2, shows exactly why. Cacti is not only a subversive, entertaining commentary on the pretentions of contemporary dance, it is also a brilliantly conceived and bracingly physical piece of choreography.

From Australian rising star Larissa McGowan comes Fanatic, a hilarious pop-culture collision that pits Alien vs Predator in an interstellar dance throwdown between two titanic sci-fi film franchises. Giddy and virtuosic, wry and recognisable, this is dance for the digital age – kinetic, immediate and exceedingly funny.

Inspired and unexpected, De Novo promises a very different evening of entertainment, as it unleashes three fresh wily dance works on an unsuspecting audience.

Performance History

World premiere 1 March 2013 at Sydney Theatre

Sydney Theatre, Sydney, NSW
1 – 23 March 2013

National Tour
Darwin Entertainment Centre, NT
14 – 15 July 2015

Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs, NT
18 July 2015

Middleback Theatre, Whyalla, SA
22 July 2015

Northern Festival Centre, Port Pirie, SA
25 July 2015

Chaffey Theatre, Renmark, SA
29 July 2015

Sir Robert Helpmann Theatre, Mt Gambier, SA
1 August 2015

Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide, SA
5–8 August 2015

Ulumbarra Theatre, Bendigo, VIC
12 August 2015

Frankston Arts Centre, Frankston, VIC
15 August 2015

Theatre Royal Hobart, Hobart, TAS
20-22 August 2015

Princess Theatre, Launceston, TAS
27 August 2015

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Creatives

Emergence
Choreography: Rafael Bonachela
Music: Nick Wales & Sarah Blasko
Costume design: Dion Lee
Lighting design: Benjamin Cisterne
Original cast: 
Natalie Allen, Chris Aubrey, Juliette Barton, Thomas Bradley, Chen Wen, Alisha Coon, Andrew Crawford, Holly Doyle, Janessa Dufty, Cass Mortimer Eipper, Bernhard Knauer, Alana Sargent, Jesse Scales, Todd Sutherland, Jessica Thompson, Charmene Yap
Running time: 37 minutes

Fanatic
Choreography: Larissa McGowan
Concept: Larissa McGowan, Sam Haren, Steve Mayhew
Dramaturg: Sam Haren
Sound Construction: Steve Mayhew
Lighting Design: Benjamin Cisterne
Cast A: Natalie Allen, Chris Aubrey, Thomas Bradley
Cast B:
Janessa Dufty, Bernhard Knauer, Cass Mortimer Eipper
Running time: 15 minutes

Cacti
Choreography and Costumes: Alexander Ekman
Stage Design: Alexander Ekman and Thomas Visser
Lighting Design: Thomas Visser
Lyrics: Spenser Theberge
Cast: Juliette Barton, Thomas Bradley, Chen Wen, Alisha Coon, Andrew Crawford, Holly Doyle, Janessa Dufty, Keian Langdon, Cass Mortimer Eipper, Bernhard Knauer, Alana Sargent, Jesse Scales, Todd Sutherland, Jessica Thompson, Charmene Yap, Sam Young-Wright
Running time: 27 minutes

De Novo Campaign Photography: Ellis Parrinder

Media

Sydney Dance Company has never looked stronger, sexier or more playful than in this thrilling triple bill… 10/10″ – Sun-Herald

Sydney Dance Company set fire to expectations with a stunning three-piece program” – 
Drum Media

…infectious playful energy and absolutely incisive wit.” – 
Time Out Sydney

Blindingly brilliant” –
Crikey.com


Cacti is a delight: witty, effervescent, playful, surreal and joyously physical.” – The Australian


“… witty, smart and danced with kick-arse joy.” – The Monthly