Melanie Lane / Rafael Bonachela Sydney Dance Company

It is Australia’s leading contemporary dance company. With an ensemble of 17 dancers, the Sydney Dance Company, which was started in 1969 and has been headed by choreographer Raphael Bonachela since 2009, displays a powerful and flexible style elevated by polished technique. The Spanish choreographer, who made his mark by highlighting human complexity through intensely abstract dance, brings Impermanence to the stage, a piece that aims to establish a dialogue between destruction and beauty. Shocked by the tragic fires of Notre-Dame de Paris as well as those that hit Australia in 2019 and 2020, the choreographer conceived this piece for a large group where the grace of dance is juxtaposed with devastated landscapes. Propelled by the music of Bryce Dessner, leader of the Cincinnati rock band The National, and performed live by the Australian String Quartet, the performers unleash a full range of raw emotions. Together they take the audience on a race filled with contrasting colors and landscapes. Then, choreographer Melanie Lane presents Love Lock, a piece that fantasizes about the future of folk dance. How do cultures evolve in a fast-paced world? What domination and cross-pollination phenomena manifest themselves in these traditional dances?  Through these two pieces, the Sydney Dance Company exhibits dance of virtuosic fluidity. 
 

Love Lock de Melanie Laine
What does the future of folk dance look like? Drawing on ancestral collective experiences, Melanie Laine celebrates dance as a way to move, stay alert and emancipate.

Impermanence de Rafael Bonachela
A visceral and captivating exploration of how beauty and devastation can be juxtaposed. The score by composer Bryce Dessner, performed live by a string quartet, draws inspiration from the fires that ravaged the Australian bush and Notre-Dame de Paris.