Performances

Years

October 22 - November 1
Continuum
Roslyn Packer Theatre, Walsh Bay
December 3 - December 13
New Breed
Carriageworks, Eveleigh

Set to esteemed Australian musician Stephen Emmerson’s reimagining of Bach’s ‘Goldberg Variations’ and performed with celebrated Australian pianist Sonya Lifschitz, Years is an online work, created in lockdown and filmed in Sydney Dance Company’s new Studio 5: Neilson Studio.

Watch this stunning work online, free from 4 – 6 November 2021.

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

Years


Date
4 – 6 November, 8pm (AEDT)
5 November, 11am & 8pm (GMT)


Set to esteemed Australian musician Stephen Emmerson’s reimagining of Bach’s ‘Goldberg Variations’ as a dialogue for two pianos, Years is a meditation on the layers of legacy that shape both our past and our future.

Bach’s ‘Goldberg Variations’ is universally recognised as a landmark in Western music; a spiritual, intellectual and powerful masterpiece. Emmerson’s counterpoint-rich adaptation will be performed with celebrated Australian pianist Sonya Lifschitz whose “powerful exposition” (The Sydney Morning Herald) of Bach’s work has earned her critical acclaim in Australia and internationally.

Choreographed by Rafael Bonachela, featuring solos from the incredible dancers of Sydney Dance Company, and conceived as an online work, Years delves deep into the essence of movement and musicality.

In partnership with renowned collaborators Bianca Spender (costume) and Clemens Habicht (director),Years sees Bonachela reflect on echoes of the past to find clarity at the heart of a turbulent world.


“'(Bach’s ‘Goldberg Variations)…has the mysterious capacity to go on revealing itself without ever divulging the secret at its heart.” - Michael Ignatieff (In notes accompanying the recording of the Goldberg Variations by Andras Schiff (Sony, 1982)).

Don’t miss the free online season of this moving, elegant work from 4 – 6 November 2021.

Online screenings of Years are presented as part of Who Are We Now? The UK/AU Season 2021, by Sydney Dance Company and South East Dance as part of Brighton Digital Festival

Years will be available to watch for 48 hours from the official screening time with the unique link sent by email.

Thursday 4 November 8pm (AEDT)

Friday 5 November 8pm (AEDT)

Friday 5 November 11am (GMT)

Friday 5 November 8pm (GMT)

Saturday 6 November 8pm (AEDT)

With thanks

Artistic Director’s Commissioning Partner 2021 (Years).

Supported by

Years is also generously supported by: Arab Bank Australia, Tony Berg AM and Carol Berg AM, David Mathlin, Jules Maxwell, Rebel Penfold-Russell OAM, Penelope Seidler AM, Matt Shelmerdine, Bianca Spender and Sam McGuinness.

Years is supported by the Australian Government as part of the UK/Australia Season 2021-22

The digital performances of YEARS are presented by South East Dance as part of Brighton Digital Festival.

Sydney Dance Company acknowledges the Gadigal people, the Traditional Owners of the lands on which Years was made. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present.

Creatives

Director: Clemens Habicht

Choreography: Rafael Bonachela

Music: ‘Goldberg Variations’, BVW988, composed by Johann Sebastian Bach and adapted by Stephen Emmerson

Musicians: Stephen Emmerson and Sonya Lifschitz

Costume: Bianca Spender

 

 

The Music

JS Bach’s timeless masterpiece, ‘Goldberg Variations’, is re-imagined for two pianos by Stephen Emmerson and Sonya Lifschitz. Written for ‘…connoisseurs, for the refreshment of their spirit’, the work conjures up the same sense of awe that comes from watching a sunrise, touching sandstone, or listening to the patterns in the sounds of the rain. The exquisite counterpoint and the transcendent spiritual beauty of Bach’s masterpiece, made poignant and irresistible by the two pianists engaging in a musical dialogue, adds a sheen of pure wonder to the overall musical experience.

Emmerson’s stunning transcription needs no defence against the purists: far from being merely static museum pieces, these timeless works maintain their relevance through the ongoing, dynamic traditions of performance. It is through a performer’s engagement with a work that its meanings are continually renegotiated in contemporary terms.

+

Years


Date
4 – 6 November, 8pm (AEDT)
5 November, 11am & 8pm (GMT)


Set to esteemed Australian musician Stephen Emmerson’s reimagining of Bach’s ‘Goldberg Variations’ as a dialogue for two pianos, Years is a meditation on the layers of legacy that shape both our past and our future.

Bach’s ‘Goldberg Variations’ is universally recognised as a landmark in Western music; a spiritual, intellectual and powerful masterpiece. Emmerson’s counterpoint-rich adaptation will be performed with celebrated Australian pianist Sonya Lifschitz whose “powerful exposition” (The Sydney Morning Herald) of Bach’s work has earned her critical acclaim in Australia and internationally.

Choreographed by Rafael Bonachela, featuring solos from the incredible dancers of Sydney Dance Company, and conceived as an online work, Years delves deep into the essence of movement and musicality.

In partnership with renowned collaborators Bianca Spender (costume) and Clemens Habicht (director),Years sees Bonachela reflect on echoes of the past to find clarity at the heart of a turbulent world.


“'(Bach’s ‘Goldberg Variations)…has the mysterious capacity to go on revealing itself without ever divulging the secret at its heart.” - Michael Ignatieff (In notes accompanying the recording of the Goldberg Variations by Andras Schiff (Sony, 1982)).

Don’t miss the free online season of this moving, elegant work from 4 – 6 November 2021.

Online screenings of Years are presented as part of Who Are We Now? The UK/AU Season 2021, by Sydney Dance Company and South East Dance as part of Brighton Digital Festival

Years will be available to watch for 48 hours from the official screening time with the unique link sent by email.

Thursday 4 November 8pm (AEDT)

Friday 5 November 8pm (AEDT)

Friday 5 November 11am (GMT)

Friday 5 November 8pm (GMT)

Saturday 6 November 8pm (AEDT)

With thanks

Artistic Director’s Commissioning Partner 2021 (Years).

Supported by

Years is also generously supported by: Arab Bank Australia, Tony Berg AM and Carol Berg AM, David Mathlin, Jules Maxwell, Rebel Penfold-Russell OAM, Penelope Seidler AM, Matt Shelmerdine, Bianca Spender and Sam McGuinness.

Years is supported by the Australian Government as part of the UK/Australia Season 2021-22

The digital performances of YEARS are presented by South East Dance as part of Brighton Digital Festival.

Sydney Dance Company acknowledges the Gadigal people, the Traditional Owners of the lands on which Years was made. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present.

+

Creatives

Director: Clemens Habicht

Choreography: Rafael Bonachela

Music: ‘Goldberg Variations’, BVW988, composed by Johann Sebastian Bach and adapted by Stephen Emmerson

Musicians: Stephen Emmerson and Sonya Lifschitz

Costume: Bianca Spender

 

 

The Music

JS Bach’s timeless masterpiece, ‘Goldberg Variations’, is re-imagined for two pianos by Stephen Emmerson and Sonya Lifschitz. Written for ‘…connoisseurs, for the refreshment of their spirit’, the work conjures up the same sense of awe that comes from watching a sunrise, touching sandstone, or listening to the patterns in the sounds of the rain. The exquisite counterpoint and the transcendent spiritual beauty of Bach’s masterpiece, made poignant and irresistible by the two pianists engaging in a musical dialogue, adds a sheen of pure wonder to the overall musical experience.

Emmerson’s stunning transcription needs no defence against the purists: far from being merely static museum pieces, these timeless works maintain their relevance through the ongoing, dynamic traditions of performance. It is through a performer’s engagement with a work that its meanings are continually renegotiated in contemporary terms.