Description

STEPHEN PETRONIO COMPANY
THE GOTHAM SUITE
Presented by Sydney Dance Company and Arts Projects Australia

Click here to view
THE GOTHAM SUITE E-Card

After taking Australian audiences and critics by storm in 2003 with Underland, his commissioned work for Sydney Dance Company, acclaimed New York choreographer Stephen Petronio returns in October with his own ensemble - the Stephen Petronio Company. The Company, which celebrated its 20th Anniversary in 2004, will perform on our shores for the first time, performing first in the Sydney Theatre at Walsh Bay (October 4 - 15) ahead of the Melbourne International Arts Festival (October 19 - 21).

The Gotham Suite is Petronio's homage to New York City post 9/11. The most recent of the three works The Island of Misfit Toys, created in 2004, is presented alongside two brilliant 2002 works - the solo Broken Man, performed by Petronio himself, and City of Twist. Choreographer Petronio is a riveting performer of considerable power and his inclusion as a dancer in The Gotham Suite program is a bonus for Australian audiences. The dancers of the Company astound with their mastery of his distinctive movement vocabulary.

Petronio has built his body of work in collaboration with some of New York’s most talented artists. For The Gotham Suite (a sub-title coined by the choreographer) Petronio has enlisted a who's who of New York's downtown art world, including Cindy Sherman, Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson, and Tara Subkoff. Together they explore the dark side of human nature and life in a big city.

The solo Broken Man is set to a keyboard score by Blixa Bargeld. As danced by Petronio, a pervasive sadness and uncertainty about life are communicated through its meditative and elegantly personal movement.

Created as a series of adult nursery rhymes, The Island of Misfit Toys features a collage of compositions by experimental rock icon Lou Reed and giant distorted dolls designed by Cindy Sherman.

City of Twist is inspired by the changing and shifting landscape of New York City and created partially in response to the events in New York on September 11 in 2001. Dancers move amongst resident lighting designer Ken Tabachnick’s projected cityscape to an atmospheric score by legendary performance artist Laurie Anderson.

Imitation of Christ’s renowned fashion designer Tara Subkoff, who designed the costumes for Underland in 2003, is reunited in collaboration with Petronio as costume designer for all three works.

Sydney Dance Company is pleased to co-produce the Australian Debut Season of the Stephen Petronio Company, a further extension of SDC's unique relationship with this choreographer and with his Company.

Venues, Dates & Bookings

More Information

Artistic Director / Choreographer
Stephen Petronio

Set Design
Cindy Sherman

Composers
Blixa Bargeld, Broken Man
Laurie Anderson, City of Twist
Lou Reed, The Island of Misfit Toys

Costume Design
Tara Subkoff/Imitation of Christ

Lighting Design
Ken Tabachnick

Cast
Gerald Casel
Thang Dao
Gino Grenek
Elena Demianenko
Ashleigh Leite
Jimena Paz
Stephen Petronio
Shila Tirabassi
Amanda Wells

Education

Student Support

The collaboration between choreographer Stephen Petronio and each of the visual artists and composers provides an ideal opportunity for students to discover how individuals of varying talents can work together to achieve inspiring results. The fusion of contemporary dance together with the skills of a songwriter, composer, fashion designer, visual artist and theatrical lighting designer are laid bare on the stage for all the audience to see.

Subject suitability
Years 9 – 12
Dance, Visual Arts, Music 1 & 2, Music Extension, Textiles and Design, Drama, Entertainment Industry

For further information please call 02 9258 4806

What The Critics Say

Performance History

4-15 October 2005
Sydney Theatre, Walsh Bay
Sydney, Australia

19-22 October 2005
Presented as part of the
Melbourne International Arts Festival
the Arts Centre
Melbourne, Australia