#20: Our Community

Since the early days at Woolloomooloo, Sydney Dance Company’s public programs have opened up the sheer joy of dancing to everyone. When the Company relocated to Pier 4 in 1986, it not only acquired an exciting new location but four well-equipped professional studios and excellent facilities.

1980s dance classes advertisement.

Today, the Company runs a large and diverse program of dance classes with over 65,000 attendances each year, from beginner level to professional, including classical ballet, contemporary, jazz, hip-hop, tap, pilates and yoga, under the expert direction of Dance Class Manager Ramon Doringo.

Dance Class Manager Ramon Doringo, 1993.

A staggering 120 people once attended a single jazz class. The extensive public program also includes classes for seniors, classes for people with restricted mobility (Make Your Move), dance for corporate sector, and lots of holiday workshops for kids.

School Holiday Workshops for children ages 5 to 18. Photo by Daniel Boud.

Make Your Move Program, with Consultative Committee & Lead Facilitator Shane Carroll. Photo by Pedro Greig.

The Company made dance history in 2014 when 6000 people in Sydney, London and Glasgow performed Rafael Bonachela’s Beats for Peace for that year’s Big Dance, the three cities linked up by satellite. It was both a celebration of the Company’s 45th anniversary, and a bold statement of the unifying potential of movement. “It has the power to transform lives and make people feel happy,” said Bonachela.

Follow #SDC50Years on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter to revisit some of our highlights and greatest moments of dance over the past 50 years and share your favourite memories of Sydney Dance Company using #SDC50Years.