Overview
Two of Australia’s greatest contemporary arts companies come together on stage for the first time.
Sydney Dance Company and the Australian Chamber Orchestra join forces for an exhilarating performance featuring the music of Jean-Philippe Rameau. Artistic Directors Rafael Bonachela (Sydney Dance Company) and Richard Tognetti (ACO) bring Rameau’s impassioned Baroque ballet and opera music roaring into the 21st century in their stunning collaboration Project Rameau.
A mutual passion for Rameau’s perfumed and powerful French Baroque dance music sparks this production by Rafael Bonachela and Richard Tognetti. Rameau’s flair for rhythm and melody, and feeling for choreography, leads many to name him the greatest ballet composer of his time, certainly the most influential. Bonachela’s dynamic choreography, innate musicality and theatricality serve to illuminate this brilliant music.
Fusing refined Baroque music with beautiful contemporary dance, Project Rameau’s premiere season played to packed theatres and critical acclaim.
This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body.
Performance History
Sydney Theatre
29 October – 3 November 2012
Queensland Performing Arts Centre
11 – 13 July 2013
Canberra Theatre Centre
12 – 14 September 2013
Kunming Theatre, Kunming, China
11 – 14 December 2013
Creatives
Presented in Collaboration with Australian Chamber Orchestra
Australian Chamber Orchestra Artistic Director
Richard Tognetti
Sydney Dance Company Artistic Director
Rafael Bonachela
Music
Jean-Philippe Rameau
Antonio Vivaldi
Johann Sebastian Bach
Choreography
Rafael Bonachela
Lighting & Set Design
Benjamin Cisterne
Costume Design
Rafael Bonachela & Fiona Holley
Music Arrangement
Graham Sadler
Vi King Lim
Jennifer Powell
Dancers and Creators
Alana Sargent, Alisha Coon, Andrew Crawford, Bernhard Knauer, Charmene Yap, Chen Wen, Chris Aubrey, Emily Amisano, Janessa Dufty, Jesse Scales, Jessica Thompson, Juliette Barton, Lachlan Bell, Natalie Allen, Richard Cilli, Todd Sutherland, Thomas Bradley
Musicians
Australian Chamber Orchestra
Sound Engineers
Adam Iuston
Hayley Forward
Simon Lear
Project Rameau Campaign Photography
Justin Ridler
Media
“Energy pours off the stage… a flawless performance.” – Sydney Morning Herald
“This performance is at the French-Champagne-and-Beluga-Caviar end of the entertainment menu – something everyone should experience at least once in their lives.” – Stage Whispers
“There was an eloquence and divinity that permeated the performance, a timeless and ethereal quality that enlivened the senses through the finery and emotive sway of Rameau’s music coupled with the precise lines, oomph, grace and intensity of the dance.” – Australian Stage
“If marriages are made in heaven, then the union of Sydney Dance Company and the Australian Chamber Orchestra for Project Rameau has proved a divine one.” – Daily Telegraph
“If only we could get these two intrepid ensembles together for an annual collaboration.” – Limelight Magazine
“Project Rameau was one of those made-in-heaven collaborations” – Michelle Potter on Dancing
Gallery
