Performances

Les Illuminations

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

An intimate evening of breathtaking dance, contemporary design and spectacular music up close with Sydney Dance Company and Katie Noonan. Featuring choreography by Rafael Bonachela and costumes by Toni Maticevski, Les Illuminations celebrates the centenary of one of the world’s greatest composers, Benjamin Britten.

Performed in two acts, the first dedicated solely to Britten’s music, Les Illuminations is a reflection of love in all forms. First performed in the early 1940s and devoted to lifelong companion Peter Pears, the score for Britten’s Les Illuminations is set around the suite of romantic poems by French poet Arthur Rimbaud.

Recently named one of Australia’s top 100 singers of all time (Herald Sun, 2013), this is the second time Katie Noonan joins Sydney Dance Company, having previously collaborated with Rafael Bonachela for LANDforms (2011). Les Illuminations marks Toni Maticevski’s second foray into contemporary dance costume design, with his first venture winning a 2012 Helpmann Award.

Performance History

World premiere at Sydney Opera House on 27 August 2013

The Studio, Sydney Opera House
28 – 31 August 2013

QPAC Concert Hall, Brisbane
14 June 2014

Roslyn Packer Theatre Walsh Bay
25 September – 10 October 2015 (As part of Triptych)

 

Creatives

Choreography
Rafael Bonachela

Music
Benjamin Britten

Musician
Katie Noonan

Orchestra
Performed with members from Sydney Symphony Orchestra (2013) and Queensland Symphony Orchestra (2014)

Costumes
Toni Maticevski

Lighting and Stage Design
Benjamin Cisterne

Original Cast
Juliette Barton, Thomas Bradley, Andrew Crawford, Janessa Dufty, Cass Mortimer Eipper, Fiona Jopp, Bernhard Knauer, Charmene Yap

Les Illuminations Campaign Photography
Ellis Parrinder

Media

Les Illuminations is so hot it sizzles” Daily Telegraph

“Bonachela’s choreography is brilliant and the dancers are extraordinary while Katie Noonan is simply spellbinding.” – Daily Telegraph

“Utterly beguiling … some of the finest, most inventive evenings of dance you are likely to see on the world stage.” – Limelight Magazine

“The season was all too brief and a wider audience deserves to see a work that makes such a bold theatrical statement.” – SX

“An intriguing show and well worth seeing.” – Dance Australia

“Bonachela has found heart, truth and spirit in bringing elements of literature, music and dance together. It’s inspired and vigorous and these qualities seem to have found contagion in all involved, on stage and off.” – Crikey

“The dancers are absolutely superb; there is no question of their technical skill, style or strength. And the passion, in all senses of the word, and intimacy between them is palpable.” – XS Entertain

“If it does return to a venue near you, and I feel sure it will, book early for Les Illuminations. It will give you plenty to talk about.” – XS Entertain