Performances

Forever & Ever

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

This extraordinary double bill featured Rafael Bonachela’s award-winning Frame of Mind and a brand new work by internationally acclaimed choreographer Antony Hamilton called Forever & Ever.

Frame of Mind is set to a dramatic contemporary-classical soundtrack by Bryce Dessner from The National, performed LIVE by the Australian String Quartet, and features an evocative set by Ralph Myers.

Forever & Ever is a world premiere which “lays siege to the senses with a mighty display of shock and awe.” (The Australian). Set to a sonically stimulating score by The Presets’ Julian HamiltonForever & Ever fuses together a killer mix of dance, techno, high fashion and vivid lighting to hypnotic effect. Exploring ideas of order, chaos, popular culture and human behaviour, this boundary-pushing work is a bold and thrilling theatrical experience.

Performance History

Roslyn Packer Theatre Walsh Bay
16 – 27 Oct 2018

Creatives

Frame of Mind

Choreography: Rafael Bonachela
Designer: Ralph Myers
Costume Design Realisation: Aleisa Jelbart
Lighting Designer: Benjamin Cisterne
Music: Original compositions by Bryce Dessner
Live score: Performed by Australian String Quartet
Dramaturgical Consultant: Samuel Webster

Forever & Ever

Choreographer: Antony Hamilton
Composer: Julian Hamilton
Costume Design: Paula Levis

Audience & Media

“Forever & Ever lays siege to the senses with a mighty display of shock and awe. It’s immediate, visceral stuff, as Wednesday’s opening night reception proved. The roars of approval went on and on.” – The Australian

“★★★★★ mind-warping…The collision of beats, movement, fashion and even f**king lasers feels like a rave at an avant garde London Fashion Week show with models swapped out for vogueing cyborgs.” – Pedestrian TV

“★★★★ There is nothing like a strong contrast in a double bill and the Sydney Dance Company’s latest is certainly that: a revival of polished grace and a premiere of something completely different.” – Sydney Morning Herald

“★★★★ 1/2 Two wildly different but thrilling works – with the dancers showing that they can take pretty well whatever is thrown at them and nail it with precision and flair.” – Limelight

“★★★★ It’s an inventive and adventurous ride…original and evocative.” – Time Out

“★★★★ A thrilling theatrical experience.” – Daily Review

This program was remarkable for showing us the breadth of what contemporary dance can accomplish. But the most exciting bit was that both works were stunningly danced.” – Michelle Potter

Curious, engaging, forceful.” – Sydney Arts Guide

“…wonderfully impactful… a mesmerising vision…” – The Plus Ones

“★★★★…Bonachela’s Frame of Mind delivers an emotionally engaging and overarching choreographic mastery…electric” – Daily Review

“★★★★ 1/2″ – The Age

“Frame of Mind delivers captivating scores, wonderful choreography and dance fuelled with emotion…” – ABC Arts

“Frame of Mind drills a hole into your heart and brain and makes you leak emotion in that sneaky, visceral way only dance can do.” – Concrete Playground Sydney

Mind officially blown. If you get a chance go and see Forever & Ever a new work by @sydneydanceco with incredible score by Julian Hamilton from @ThePresets. F**king amazing and it’s only on for a bit. Do it!!!! So worth it. I can’t stop thinking about it.” – Paul Mac (Musician)

Antony Hamilton’s Forever & Ever was like a Moebius comic crossed with Joy Division’s “Atmosphere” video with a slamming techno score by Julian Hamilton, creating a whole world to get lost in. Bryce Dessner’s angular, climactic compositions complement the controlled chaos beautifully in Frame of Mind too.” – Ben Marshall (Head of Contemporary Music at Sydney Opera House)

“Forever & Ever was a brutal, pagan, mechanistic death rave and I LOVED IT; the collective heartbeat of the theatre roared with dread and pleasure. Terrifying choreo from @antonyhamilton ; terrifying score by @jlnhmltn ; killer campaign by @zmorellini@nine_things (Audience Member)

Extraordinary night…Music, costumes, choreography, dancers… and them lasers! Wow!” – Jacqui Bonner (Audience Member)

Absolutely amazing. The dancers are phenomenal as are both pieces.” – Sheree Zellner (Audience Member)

Magic makers creating new worlds.” – Stereogamous

Poetry in motion” Audience Member