PPY24 Revealed

Sydney Dance Company’s Pre-Professional Year students of 2024 present PPY24 Revealed.

PPY24 Revealed celebrates the cohorts of 2024 at Riverside Theatres, with works by renowned Australian choreographers Frances Rings, James Batchelor, Prue Lang, Cass Mortimer Eipper, Miranda Wheen, alongside an excerpt of Sydney Dance Company’s 2 One Another, choreographed by Artistic Director Rafael Bonachela.

Tickets on sale now!

About Pre-Professional Year

The Pre-Professional Year program is a full-time dance course offered by Sydney Dance Company that provides aspiring professional dancers with a unique training experience in a professional environment. The students who make up the Pre-Professional Year ensemble join us from regional and metropolitan Australia

PPY24 Revealed

30 November, 7:30pm
1 December, 6:30pm
Riverside Theatres, Parramatta

Ticket Prices: $45 – $49

Read the program in full below.

A Library of Extraordinary Things
Miranda Wheen

Reflecting on the still life painter’s meticulous study of light, colour, shape and perspective, this work is a meditation on the small pleasures found in everyday things – what they signify, who has made them, who has loved them, and how they resonate differently through time. 

In Fiona Hill’s original score – which references women’s handicraft, poetry and music –  fragments of memory and experience float in and out of our consciousness, inviting us to embrace moments of whimsy, delight and care as they arise

Choreographer: Miranda Wheen in collaboration with the performers
Composer: Fiona Hill
Music Mix: Bob Scott
Spoken word: Lucy Miller
Violin and sung vocals: Fiona McVicar
Harpsicord: Fiona Hill
Works used: Bach, Prelude in A minor from The Well Tempered Clavier Book II (1742)
Chan eil mi gun mhulad orm (I am not unsorrowful), traditional Scots ‘clapping song’ from the Isle of Barra, used at the end of the waulking process when the cloth that had been made was folded and patted down. (Traditional)
Sappho text from ‘If not, Winter’, Fragments of Sappho by Anne Carson (600BC)
Composer: Fiona Hill
Lighting Design: Karen Norris
Costume Design: Harriet Ayers
Cast: PPY2 Full Company

Pattern Pulse
Cass Mortimer Eipper

Pattern Pulse delves into the enduring allure of cyclical rhythms that thread through life. Inspired by the tinny, repetitive melody of my 3-year-old child’s toy guitar, the choreography is shaped by images of an AI-generated figure, which served as inspiration, dancing through the decades of its life. The original melody, recorded from the guitar, forms the core, gradually unfolding into a layered, evolving score that intertwines with the dancers’ interpretations of this imagined journey. This transformation mirrors the patterns that captivate us, echoing the rhythms that resonate from childhood through to old age.

Choreographer: Cass Mortimer Eipper in collaboration with the performers
Composer: Peter McAvan
Lighting Design: Karen Norris
Costume Design: Harriet Ayers
Cast: PPY1 Full Company

The Language of Poppy
Prue Lang

This work draws inspiration from the intricate and vibrant vitality of the living, breathing natural world in the 21st century. It emerges from my octopus-inspired practice, which investigates physical intelligence through the sensory body. The piece is performed using pointe shoes, socks, and sneakers, exploring the interplay of friction and texture to generate diverse and nuanced choreographic modalities. In collaboration with my esteemed composer, Chiara Costanza, the work unfolds as a visual-musical journey that celebrates the complexities of physical intelligence and the beauty of difference.

Choreographer: Prue Lang in collaboration with the performers
Composer: Chiara Costanza
Lighting Design: Karen Norris
Costume Design: Harriet Ayers
Cast: PPY2 Full Company

Circulation
James Batchelor

Circulation is part of a wider project Resonance by James Batchelor and collaborators that explores lineages of contemporary dance history and embodied memory through the lens of three different generations of Australian dancers. It grew out of an invitation by the Tanja Liedtke Foundation to respond to the archive of the late choreographer Tanja Liedtke. This process with the Pre-Professional Year students explored their own relationship to the history of her work, creating an evolution of movement vocabulary passed down by Tanja’s collaborators.

Choreographer: James Batchelor in collaboration with the performers
Composer: Morgan Hickinbotham
Lighting Design: Karen Norris
Costume Design: Harriet Ayers
Cast: Santi Barker, Vivienne Clements-Lee, Julien Cravero, Lauren Davidson, Vincent Garcia, Zoe Jewell, Arabella Kiefer, Isobella Laidlaw, Alexandra Lusty, Charlie MacArthur, Ayesha Peerbaye, Hannah Roberts, Maggie Teasdale, Georgia Vincent, Ariana Wolf.

Water sketches part 1 & 2
Frances Rings

Earlier in the year I was invited by Linda Gamblin to do a 1-week choreographic workshop with the PPY2 students. We explored the theme of water, and particularly their own memory of water. This became our base phrase for a deeper exploration how this precious resource is under threat due to the climate emergency. As an Aboriginal woman, mother and artist, the legacy we leave to our young people is a priority. I felt this opportunity to come together was meaningful and special. A sharing of experiences, knowledge, story and trust. Thank you to the PPY team, my rehearsal directors Juliette Barton, Tammy Bouman, and the wonderful PPY2 students.

Choreographer: Frances Rings in collaboration with the performers
Sound: Лале Ли Си, Зюмбюл Ли Си, Гюл Ли Си by Philip Koutev Ensemble; Stio by SHXCXHCXSH
Lighting Design: Karen Norris
Costume Design: Harriet Ayers
Cast: PPY2 Full Company

Excerpt of 2 One Another
Rafael Bonachela

2 One Another, originally debuted in 2012, weaves a vivid, exultant and sensual study of human interaction – charting the myriad actions and reactions, gestures and relationships, connections and disconnections that make up a life. 2 One Another is set against a pulsing baroque-meets electronica soundtrack, composed by Nick Wales. Shot through with the poetry fragments of Samuel Webster, this is dance at its most engaging and multi-dimensional. Pre-Professional Year will perform an excerpt of 2 One Another restaged by Charmene Yap, Rehearsal Associate and Juliette Barton, Training Associate.

Choreographer: Rafael Bonachela
Sound: Nick Wales
Lighting Design: Karen Norris
Costume Design Consultant: Peter Simon Phillips
Costume Maker: Fiona Holley
Costume Realisation: Harriet Ayers
Cast: PPY2 Full Company

Attending a performance
Located on the corner of Church and Market Streets, Riverside Theatres is situated in the heart of Parramatta. It is within walking distance of car parks and all forms of public transport. You can visit their website for more information.

Your Ticket
You will receive your tickets on the day of the performance. On arrival at Riverside Theatres, download your eTicket and have it ready on your mobile phone for scanning.