“The history of the Company is in the bodies of the dancers and the memories of the audience.” – Gideon Obarzanek
Information
Dates 1 – 9 November
Location Sydney
Duration 1hr 45mins (including interval)
Warning Performance contains theatrical haze, flashing lights, loud music and noises.
Sydney Dance Company
celebrates 50 years of defining contemporary dance with a thrilling double bill
from Rafael Bonachela and Gideon Obarzanek,
choreographers who have, in their unique ways, defined the art form and helped
take Australian dance to the world.
Bonachela and Obarzanek have joined forces to celebrate a
half-century of Sydney Dance Company dance making in an epic double bill
climaxing in Us
50 by Obarzanek. Set to a rhythmic electronic score by UK
musician Clark (composer
of WOOF), this “exhilarating,
heart-warming piece” (★★★★☆
Limelight) features 50 performers on stage each night; current dancers, former dancers and you, our audience.
Completing the double bill
is Bonachela’s “physically robust and emotionally delicate” (The Sydney
Morning Herald) 6 Breaths. Since it’s 2010
premiere 6
Breaths has toured to New York, London, Barcelona 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.
Join Sydney Dance Company in a celebration of its past, present and future. This is an anniversary you cannot miss!
Artistic Director’s Commissioning Partner (Us 50)
We also thank the Naomi Milgrom Foundation for its support of our Us 50 Education Program, enabling young people to access outstanding contemporary dance through performances and workshops with Sydney Dance Company.
Save 15% on Season Two tickets when purchased as part of a Sydney Subscription. Subscribe Now.
Follow #2019SDC #SDCTurns50 @SydneyDanceCo on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Buy a Gift Voucher here.
| 1 Nov (Preview) | 7:30pm | Roslyn Packer Theatre Walsh Bay, Sydney | Buy |
| 2 Nov (Opening Night) | 7:30pm | Roslyn Packer Theatre Walsh Bay, Sydney | |
| 4 Nov (Schools Matinee) | 12pm | Roslyn Packer Theatre Walsh Bay, Sydney | |
| 5 Nov | 6:30pm | Roslyn Packer Theatre Walsh Bay, Sydney | Buy |
| 6 Nov | 6:30pm | Roslyn Packer Theatre Walsh Bay, Sydney | Buy |
| 7 Nov | 7:30pm | Roslyn Packer Theatre Walsh Bay, Sydney | Buy |
| 8 Nov | 7:30pm | Roslyn Packer Theatre Walsh Bay, Sydney | Buy |
| 9 Nov (Matinee) | 2pm | Roslyn Packer Theatre Walsh Bay, Sydney | Buy |
| 9 Nov | 7:30pm | Roslyn Packer Theatre Walsh Bay, Sydney | Buy |
Times & Prices
Dates 1 – 9 November
Location Sydney
Duration 1hr 45mins (including interval)
Warning Performance contains theatrical haze, flashing lights, loud music and noises.
Fri 1 Nov, 7.30pm (Preview) Sat 2 Nov, 7.30pm (Opening Night) Mon 4 Nov, 12pm (Schools Matinee) Tue 5 Nov, 6.30pm Wed 6 Nov, 6.30pm Thu 7 Nov, 7.30pm Fri 8 Nov, 7.30pm Sat 9 Nov, 2pm (Matinee) Sat 9 Nov, 7.30pm
Book in a subscription to save 15%*
Chair’s Evening Subscriptions from $120*
Preview performance (Fri 1 Nov): All tickets $45*
Single standard tickets: $45 – $98*
Under 30’s (Tues - Thurs, Sat 2pm): $35*
Under 20’s (Tues - Thurs, Sat 2pm): $25*
Group bookings: Receive $10 off tickets for groups 10+. The organiser receives their ticket for free. Bookings via the phone only: 02 9221 4811
Behind the Scenes Events
Date & Time Saturday 9 November, 12 – 1pm
Ticket price $10
Join us for an exclusive sneak peek into the life of a professional dancer. This is a unique opportunity to witness a behind the scenes class, which the Company take on stage, before their performance of Bonachela / Obarzanek.
Choreographer: Rafael Bonachela
Composer: Ezio Bosso
Concept: Rafael Bonachela & Ezio Bosso
Video Artist: Tim Richardson
Costume Designer: Josh Goot
Lighting Designer: Benjamin Cisterne
Choreographer: Gideon Obarzanek
Assistant Choreographer: Charmene Yap
Composer: Chris Clark
Costume Designer: Harriet Oxley
Lighting Designer: Ben Cisterne
Why Subscribe?
1. Best Seats – Enjoy priority booking ahead of the general public so you can renew your favourite seats and book in your year of extraordinary dance.
2. Best Price – Save 15% on tickets to Season One and Two.
3. Behind The Scenes Experiences – Go behind the curtain with our 2019 artists and Company dancers. Find out fun facts and what life is like as a dancer.
4. Flexibility – Unlimited free ticket exchanges.
5. Exclusive Offers – Receive a range of arts and dining offers.
Subscriber Benefits
All 2019 Subscribers will be posted a subscription card that entitles them to the following benefits valid from 1 January until 31 December 2019. All promo codes and links required will be supplied with subscription cards and via email.
Unlimited FREE ticket exchanges with Sydney Dance Company ($5 fee waived)
Invitations to Sydney Dance Company behind the scenes events
Free programs and monthly eNewsletter
Save 10% on Sydney Dance Company dance wear launched in January 2019.
3 complimentary classes available for each subscriber. To redeem present your card at Studio Reception for the classes to be loaded onto your card. View Class Timetable here.
Receive tickets at concession price for the exhibition The essential Duchamp (27 Apr – 11 Aug 2019) at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Simply display your Sydney Dance Company subscriber card at the Gallery’s ticketing and information desk on arrival to receive the discount.
Receive 10% off full price adult tickets for the ACO’s 2019 mainstage performances nationwide. Redeem using the promo code provided with your subscription card.
Receive 20% off Adult tickets at Dendy Newtown and Dendy Opera Quays upon presentation of a valid Sydney Dance Company subscriber card. This offer is not valid on Saturdays after 5pm, public holidays, Dendy Arts, Dendy Lounge, Festivals, special events and premieres. Not valid in conjunction with any other offer. Only available when purchasing tickets in person at the Dendy Box Office.
Receive 10% discount on full priced single tickets to Ensemble Theatre plays in 2019. Book via phone to access this special offer. T: 02 9929 0644 – Quote the code provided with your subscription card.
Enjoy concession priced tickets to Griffin Theatre Company productions in 2019. Redeem by using the promo code provided with your subscription card online, via (02) 9361 3817, or at the box office. Offer excludes ATYP @ Griffin events.
Receive an 8% discount* on single tickets to Opera Australia’s 2019 performances in the Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House, Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour and the State Theatre, Arts Centre Melbourne. Quote the promo code provided with your subscription card when booking directly with Opera Australia. Phone (02) 9318 8200 (Sydney) or (03) 9685 3700 (Melbourne), or visit opera.org.au and enter the promo code before selecting your performance and seats. *Valid until 7 December 2019. Limit of 4 tickets per production per customer. Not to be used in conjunction with any other offer. Excludes performances of West Side Story at the Sydney Opera House and Arts Centre Melbourne, Evita and events on New Year’s Eve.
Receive 10% off tickets to Pinchgut Opera’s Concert Series in 2019. Pinchgut Opera present Bach & Telemann in Sydney and Melbourne, an evening of uplifting elegance and grace, and a special one-night only concert in Sydney featuring shining countertenor Valer Sabadus. Use promo code provided with your subscription card when booking tickets to unlock this special offer through this link.
Enjoy 20% off full price A Reserve or General Admission tickets to Dust and One Infinity. Use promo code provided with your subscription card for use on Sydney Festival bookings only via sydneyfestival.org.au. The offer will be valid from 3 December 2018 – 28 December 2018 unless ticket allocations are exhausted earlier.
Receive a 10% discount (A, B & C reserves) on all Sydney Symphony 2019 Subscription Season concerts, available from 19 November 2018. Quote promotion code provided with your subscription card when you book online or call (02) 8215 4600. Visit www.sydneysymphony.com for performance details. (Terms and conditions apply: Cannot be used in conjunction with Special Events, special offers, concessions, subscription packages or Sydney Symphony Presents performances. Booking fee may apply. Valid via the Sydney Symphony Box Office only.)
$10 off Adult A-reserve tickets to 2019 main season plays presented the Drama Theatre and Roslyn Packer Theatre. This offer is subject to availability with a maximum purchase of two tickets per member, per production, and excludes Saturday evening performances. The valid productions in 2019 main season are Mary Stuart, How to Rule the World, Mosquitoes, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Torrents, Lord of the Files, Avalanche: A Love Story, The Real Thing, Cosi, The Beauty Queen of Leenane. Ticket on sale dates are available on the individual play pages at www.sydneytheatre.com.au. This offer cannot be used in conjunction with any special offer or concession and is not valid for Season Tickets.
Subscribe to the full year from only $111.50*.
Media Reviews
“It’s not every year that a Sydney icon celebrates its golden jubilee, which is why it’s a big deal that Sydney Dance Company is turning 50.” – TimeOut Sydney
★★★★☆ “Obarzanek’s Us 50 is an exhilarating, heart-warming piece that explores the relationship between the dancers and the audience, and the joy that forms when a community gathers to share a piece of movement.” – Limelight Magazine
“The performance was exhilarating: physically robust and emotionally delicate, a rare combination.” – Sydney Morning Herald on 6 Breaths
★★★★☆ “Us 50 ends with fifty human beings front-stage ranked in rows, creating a sea of well synchronised, articulate hands, not drowning but waving, to the future. And that’s my kind of church.” – Daily Review
★★★★☆ “A heartwarming celebration of Australian dance, it’s hard not to get into the birthday spirit.” Bachtrack on Us 50
★★★★☆ “The highlight was Riley Fitzgerald and Dimitri Kleioris’s Crying Breath duo, which attained that spellbinding combination of heart-stopping athleticism and riveting emotion.” Bachtrack on 6 Breaths
“The lights were bright, but not blinding enough to obscure the very obvious existence of about 900 people with their gaze squarely on us. Still, it’s pretty hard not to grin, at least for a moment, when you’re an amateur looking out into the theatre, standing on the boards some of your favourite performers have treaded. I didn’t belong, but there was something of a thrill to being so boldly, although apologetically, out of place… There was no rush of endorphins, only a welling of appreciation, that they would let a total beginner take a punt at this, but mostly that they would do so with such care and generosity.” – The Music on Us 50
“A revival of Rafael Bonachela’s 6 Breaths was danced thrillingly.” – The Australian
“Gideon Obarzanek’s Us 50, choreographed for Sydney Dance Company’s 50th anniversary program, blissfully returns to the stage some of SDC’s most memorable artists… The piece looks deceptively simple but ebbs and flows to Chris Clark’s propulsive score with a great deal of subtlety and a deep vein of emotion… utter bliss.” – The Australian
Cheat Sheet
1. DON’T GET FOMO: It’s our birthday and we want to celebrate with you – our audience!
2. PERFORM ON STAGE WITH US: 25 audience members each night will join
the Company on stage. You’ll have ear pieces for directions and Company dancers
will guide you. Dance experience not required.
3. WITNESS HISTORY ON STAGE: Alumni dancers from the 1970s, 80s, 90s, and 2000s are gracing our stage – witness their historical encore performance after leading stellar dance careers!
4. I SAW IT FIRST: Be the first to see world premiere of Us 50, an epic work of 50 performers on
stage, including past and present Company Dancers as well as members of our
audience.
5. WORLD CLASS COLLABORATIONS: Our collaborations are with highly
acclaimed creatives, including Italian composer Ezio Bosso the current
Conductor of Verona di Opera, Australian fashion icon Josh Goot and UK
electronic musician Clark.
Rafael Bonachela, 6 Breaths
“The very act of breathing is fundamental to life and as Ezio’s music and the choreography evolved together, our collective creativity was synchronised.”
Rafael Bonachela is originally from Barcelona. This year marks his 10th year as Artistic Director and resident choreographer at Sydney Dance Company. Since 2009, he has created 14 works for the Company’s repertoire. Read more.
WATCH: Rafael Bonachela's 6 Breaths in rehearsal.
Fun Fact:
The work is divided into 6 movements and represents the cycle of life, from the first breath to the last.
Gideon Obarzanek, Us 50
“For an institution whose most powerful legacy is ephemeral, its history is not only passed on through the bodies of the dancers but is also accumulated in the memories of its audience.” – Obarzanek
Gideon Obarzanek is a director, choreographer and performing arts curator. He is currently Co-Artistic Director & Co-CEO of the new Melbourne Festival. Gideon founded dance company Chunky Move in 1995 and was CEO and Artistic Director until 2012. In 2013 Gideon was a resident artist at the Sydney Theatre Company where he wrote and directed his first play I Want to Dance Better at Parties. Read more.
WATCH: Our three-part trailer for Us 50 rehearsals with our 10 alumni
Fun Fact: Gideon was also a dance with the Company from 1989 - 1992.
Ezio Bosso, 6 Breaths
“I have synaesthesia and all my music comes from that point. Images, situations which fit my memory and the cells of the music start to create my scores.”
For 6 Breaths, Ezio hand selected an ensemble of 6 cellists and a pianist from the top orchestras in London. Each of the cellos represented breathing lungs, swelling and contracting with life.
Ezio Bosso has led an internationally acclaimed musical career as a composer, performer, and conductor. In August this year he became the Conductor for the prestigious Arena di Verona, the largest outdoor concert venue in the world.
Fun fact: The classical composition was recorded in the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London in 2010.
Clark, Us 50
“Working with Gideon on Us 50 allowed me to think about music and dance as a relationship that speaks to time unfolding through generations of bodies… The music feels like a hall of mirrors, reflecting and distorting the rituals and ruptures that ripple through a community.”
Chris Clark has worked with music and sound for 16 years. Signed at an early age to the British indie label Warp Records, he has released ten albums as well as a multitude of EPs and singles. His last studio album, Kiri Variations was released in July this year. Clark also composed the electrifying score for Melanie Lane’s WOOF as part of our Season One triple bill in March.
WATCH: Clark’s live show for his album Death Peak, featuring choreography from Melanie Lane.
LISTEN: Clark shares his favourite tunes on Spotify in our latest blog post.
Fun Fact: Melanie Lane, Clark's wife, is a choreographer and performer and choreographs his live shows. He has also scored four of her contemporary dance works.
6 Breaths
The set design was created nine years ago by notable Australian digital artist Tim Richardson. Inspired by the old testament quote , ‘… and the Lord formed Man out of the dust in the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and Man became a living soul’, he interpreted something so ancient into creating a 3D scan of two of the dancers at that time, Richard Cilli and Annabel Knight. That was then digitalised and used in the film to create imagery where particles of dust, swirl and manifest into the forms of humans, creating the larger than life digital installation back drop for the stage.
Us 50
Gideon Obarzanek’s choreography will see each Company dancer move to mirror an alumni dancer, this emulation of movement represents the oral tradition of story-telling, transmitting from one generation to the next, but in the form of movement.
Their performative movements are enhanced by the decadent shine and sparkle of Harriet Oxley’s luxe-textured costumes, that serve to make the dancers’ bodies resonate in the brightly lit, white stage floor and backdrop.
Her deliberate choice in costume colours reflect the spectrum of age and stages of life in the group – current company dancers wear softer pastels and jewel-like hues, while alumni dancers wear shades of blood red and maroon to personify the DNA and lifeblood that has coursed through the Company’s last 50 years.
25 Audience members will then join them on stage interweaving through the rich colours of the dancers to continue this transmission of movement, and gently led by Company dancers to mirror their moves gliding across the stage in rhythmic unison.
“It’s so exciting to perform Rafael Bonachela’s work and to perform the new creations of guest artists. I definitely feel like it’s a Company where the dancers constantly grow and it’s what excites me about the year.” – Company dancer Luke Hayward
There are 17 full time dancers in Sydney Dance Company including one Trainee. All dancers rehearse five days a week (six when required), commencing with a ballet or contemporary technique class at 9.30am, then rehearsals until 6pm. Rehearsals range from run-throughs of current repertoire to creating new work for upcoming seasons.
Many dancers also undertake additional training of their choice, such as cycling, swimming or cross training. Contemporary dancers often perform in bare feet or socks dyed to their skin tone, although you may see them wearing different footwear in some pieces. The dancers also see the Company physiotherapist a few times a week for tailored pre-hab sessions.
READ: Find out more about the six new dancers who joined the Company this year.
The term ‘choreography’ refers to a sequence of steps that become phrases and make up a dance piece. Like actors remembering their lines, dancers learn and remember these movement phrases during rehearsals so that they can perform them perfectly on stage. To enable future casts to perform the piece, companies use a number of archival methods, including video-recording, passing it on from human to human (bringing back an original cast dancer to teach a new dancer), and taking notes that describe the intangible parts of the work, for example, ‘how it feels’. There is also choreology – various styles of dance notation which use visual symbols to represent an order of movement.
Roslyn Packer Theatre Walsh Bay is located at 22 Hickson Road, Walsh Bay. It is one of a number of industrial, heritage buildings converted into arts spaces along Sydney’s Harbour. Situated on the site of two old Bond Stores from the 1890s, the theatre took three years to build, opening in 2004. From the beautiful bare brick walls to intact warehouse machinery, the rugged sandstone wall in the scene dock to wooden panels in the foyers made from timber salvaged from building demolished during the Walsh Bay development, the building speaks of its past. The total capacity for each performance of Bonachela / Obarzanek is 845, including the stalls and dress circle.
A contemporary dance crowd is diverse. Anything from what you’d wear to see a band, through to smart casual or formal, is appropriate.
The Walsh Bay area has many restaurants and bars with stunning harbour views, where you can enjoy a meal and a drink before or after the show.
Venues include: Ventuno, Walsh Bay Kitchen and Lotus Dumpling Bar.
Find out more:
Watch our trailer and behind the scenes videos.
Read our Q&As with choreographer Gideon Obarzanek and Rafael Bonachela.
Read Clark’s latest blog about composing for Us 50 and listen to his musical favourites on our Spotify playlist.
Information
Dates 1 – 9 November
Location Sydney
Duration 1hr 45mins (including interval)
Warning Performance contains theatrical haze, flashing lights, loud music and noises.
Sydney Dance Company
celebrates 50 years of defining contemporary dance with a thrilling double bill
from Rafael Bonachela and Gideon Obarzanek,
choreographers who have, in their unique ways, defined the art form and helped
take Australian dance to the world.
Bonachela and Obarzanek have joined forces to celebrate a
half-century of Sydney Dance Company dance making in an epic double bill
climaxing in Us
50 by Obarzanek. Set to a rhythmic electronic score by UK
musician Clark (composer
of WOOF), this “exhilarating,
heart-warming piece” (★★★★☆
Limelight) features 50 performers on stage each night; current dancers, former dancers and you, our audience.
Completing the double bill
is Bonachela’s “physically robust and emotionally delicate” (The Sydney
Morning Herald) 6 Breaths. Since it’s 2010
premiere 6
Breaths has toured to New York, London, Barcelona 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.
Join Sydney Dance Company in a celebration of its past, present and future. This is an anniversary you cannot miss!
Artistic Director’s Commissioning Partner (Us 50)
We also thank the Naomi Milgrom Foundation for its support of our Us 50 Education Program, enabling young people to access outstanding contemporary dance through performances and workshops with Sydney Dance Company.
Save 15% on Season Two tickets when purchased as part of a Sydney Subscription. Subscribe Now.
Follow #2019SDC #SDCTurns50 @SydneyDanceCo on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Buy a Gift Voucher here.
| 1 Nov (Preview) |
| 7:30pm |
| Roslyn Packer Theatre Walsh Bay, Sydney |
| Buy |
| 2 Nov (Opening Night) |
| 7:30pm |
| Roslyn Packer Theatre Walsh Bay, Sydney |
| 4 Nov (Schools Matinee) |
| 12pm |
| Roslyn Packer Theatre Walsh Bay, Sydney |
| 5 Nov |
| 6:30pm |
| Roslyn Packer Theatre Walsh Bay, Sydney |
| Buy |
| 6 Nov |
| 6:30pm |
| Roslyn Packer Theatre Walsh Bay, Sydney |
| Buy |
| 7 Nov |
| 7:30pm |
| Roslyn Packer Theatre Walsh Bay, Sydney |
| Buy |
| 8 Nov |
| 7:30pm |
| Roslyn Packer Theatre Walsh Bay, Sydney |
| Buy |
| 9 Nov (Matinee) |
| 2pm |
| Roslyn Packer Theatre Walsh Bay, Sydney |
| Buy |
| 9 Nov |
| 7:30pm |
| Roslyn Packer Theatre Walsh Bay, Sydney |
| Buy |
Times & Prices
Dates 1 – 9 November
Location Sydney
Duration 1hr 45mins (including interval)
Warning Performance contains theatrical haze, flashing lights, loud music and noises.
Fri 1 Nov, 7.30pm (Preview) Sat 2 Nov, 7.30pm (Opening Night) Mon 4 Nov, 12pm (Schools Matinee) Tue 5 Nov, 6.30pm Wed 6 Nov, 6.30pm Thu 7 Nov, 7.30pm Fri 8 Nov, 7.30pm Sat 9 Nov, 2pm (Matinee) Sat 9 Nov, 7.30pm
Book in a subscription to save 15%*
Chair’s Evening Subscriptions from $120*
Preview performance (Fri 1 Nov): All tickets $45*
Single standard tickets: $45 – $98*
Under 30’s (Tues - Thurs, Sat 2pm): $35*
Under 20’s (Tues - Thurs, Sat 2pm): $25*
Group bookings: Receive $10 off tickets for groups 10+. The organiser receives their ticket for free. Bookings via the phone only: 02 9221 4811
Behind the Scenes Events
Date & Time Saturday 9 November, 12 – 1pm
Ticket price $10
Join us for an exclusive sneak peek into the life of a professional dancer. This is a unique opportunity to witness a behind the scenes class, which the Company take on stage, before their performance of Bonachela / Obarzanek.
Creatives
Choreographer: Rafael Bonachela
Composer: Ezio Bosso
Concept: Rafael Bonachela & Ezio Bosso
Video Artist: Tim Richardson
Costume Designer: Josh Goot
Lighting Designer: Benjamin Cisterne
Choreographer: Gideon Obarzanek
Assistant Choreographer: Charmene Yap
Composer: Chris Clark
Costume Designer: Harriet Oxley
Lighting Designer: Ben Cisterne
Why Subscribe?
1. Best Seats – Enjoy priority booking ahead of the general public so you can renew your favourite seats and book in your year of extraordinary dance.
2. Best Price – Save 15% on tickets to Season One and Two.
3. Behind The Scenes Experiences – Go behind the curtain with our 2019 artists and Company dancers. Find out fun facts and what life is like as a dancer.
4. Flexibility – Unlimited free ticket exchanges.
5. Exclusive Offers – Receive a range of arts and dining offers.
Subscriber Benefits
All 2019 Subscribers will be posted a subscription card that entitles them to the following benefits valid from 1 January until 31 December 2019. All promo codes and links required will be supplied with subscription cards and via email.
Unlimited FREE ticket exchanges with Sydney Dance Company ($5 fee waived)
Invitations to Sydney Dance Company behind the scenes events
Free programs and monthly eNewsletter
Save 10% on Sydney Dance Company dance wear launched in January 2019.
3 complimentary classes available for each subscriber. To redeem present your card at Studio Reception for the classes to be loaded onto your card. View Class Timetable here.
Receive tickets at concession price for the exhibition The essential Duchamp (27 Apr – 11 Aug 2019) at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Simply display your Sydney Dance Company subscriber card at the Gallery’s ticketing and information desk on arrival to receive the discount.
Receive 10% off full price adult tickets for the ACO’s 2019 mainstage performances nationwide. Redeem using the promo code provided with your subscription card.
Receive 20% off Adult tickets at Dendy Newtown and Dendy Opera Quays upon presentation of a valid Sydney Dance Company subscriber card. This offer is not valid on Saturdays after 5pm, public holidays, Dendy Arts, Dendy Lounge, Festivals, special events and premieres. Not valid in conjunction with any other offer. Only available when purchasing tickets in person at the Dendy Box Office.
Receive 10% discount on full priced single tickets to Ensemble Theatre plays in 2019. Book via phone to access this special offer. T: 02 9929 0644 – Quote the code provided with your subscription card.
Enjoy concession priced tickets to Griffin Theatre Company productions in 2019. Redeem by using the promo code provided with your subscription card online, via (02) 9361 3817, or at the box office. Offer excludes ATYP @ Griffin events.
Receive an 8% discount* on single tickets to Opera Australia’s 2019 performances in the Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House, Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour and the State Theatre, Arts Centre Melbourne. Quote the promo code provided with your subscription card when booking directly with Opera Australia. Phone (02) 9318 8200 (Sydney) or (03) 9685 3700 (Melbourne), or visit opera.org.au and enter the promo code before selecting your performance and seats. *Valid until 7 December 2019. Limit of 4 tickets per production per customer. Not to be used in conjunction with any other offer. Excludes performances of West Side Story at the Sydney Opera House and Arts Centre Melbourne, Evita and events on New Year’s Eve.
Receive 10% off tickets to Pinchgut Opera’s Concert Series in 2019. Pinchgut Opera present Bach & Telemann in Sydney and Melbourne, an evening of uplifting elegance and grace, and a special one-night only concert in Sydney featuring shining countertenor Valer Sabadus. Use promo code provided with your subscription card when booking tickets to unlock this special offer through this link.
Enjoy 20% off full price A Reserve or General Admission tickets to Dust and One Infinity. Use promo code provided with your subscription card for use on Sydney Festival bookings only via sydneyfestival.org.au. The offer will be valid from 3 December 2018 – 28 December 2018 unless ticket allocations are exhausted earlier.
Receive a 10% discount (A, B & C reserves) on all Sydney Symphony 2019 Subscription Season concerts, available from 19 November 2018. Quote promotion code provided with your subscription card when you book online or call (02) 8215 4600. Visit www.sydneysymphony.com for performance details. (Terms and conditions apply: Cannot be used in conjunction with Special Events, special offers, concessions, subscription packages or Sydney Symphony Presents performances. Booking fee may apply. Valid via the Sydney Symphony Box Office only.)
$10 off Adult A-reserve tickets to 2019 main season plays presented the Drama Theatre and Roslyn Packer Theatre. This offer is subject to availability with a maximum purchase of two tickets per member, per production, and excludes Saturday evening performances. The valid productions in 2019 main season are Mary Stuart, How to Rule the World, Mosquitoes, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Torrents, Lord of the Files, Avalanche: A Love Story, The Real Thing, Cosi, The Beauty Queen of Leenane. Ticket on sale dates are available on the individual play pages at www.sydneytheatre.com.au. This offer cannot be used in conjunction with any special offer or concession and is not valid for Season Tickets.
Subscribe to the full year from only $111.50*.
Media Reviews
“It’s not every year that a Sydney icon celebrates its golden jubilee, which is why it’s a big deal that Sydney Dance Company is turning 50.” – TimeOut Sydney
★★★★☆ “Obarzanek’s Us 50 is an exhilarating, heart-warming piece that explores the relationship between the dancers and the audience, and the joy that forms when a community gathers to share a piece of movement.” – Limelight Magazine
“The performance was exhilarating: physically robust and emotionally delicate, a rare combination.” – Sydney Morning Herald on 6 Breaths
★★★★☆ “Us 50 ends with fifty human beings front-stage ranked in rows, creating a sea of well synchronised, articulate hands, not drowning but waving, to the future. And that’s my kind of church.” – Daily Review
★★★★☆ “A heartwarming celebration of Australian dance, it’s hard not to get into the birthday spirit.” Bachtrack on Us 50
★★★★☆ “The highlight was Riley Fitzgerald and Dimitri Kleioris’s Crying Breath duo, which attained that spellbinding combination of heart-stopping athleticism and riveting emotion.” Bachtrack on 6 Breaths
“The lights were bright, but not blinding enough to obscure the very obvious existence of about 900 people with their gaze squarely on us. Still, it’s pretty hard not to grin, at least for a moment, when you’re an amateur looking out into the theatre, standing on the boards some of your favourite performers have treaded. I didn’t belong, but there was something of a thrill to being so boldly, although apologetically, out of place… There was no rush of endorphins, only a welling of appreciation, that they would let a total beginner take a punt at this, but mostly that they would do so with such care and generosity.” – The Music on Us 50
“A revival of Rafael Bonachela’s 6 Breaths was danced thrillingly.” – The Australian
“Gideon Obarzanek’s Us 50, choreographed for Sydney Dance Company’s 50th anniversary program, blissfully returns to the stage some of SDC’s most memorable artists… The piece looks deceptively simple but ebbs and flows to Chris Clark’s propulsive score with a great deal of subtlety and a deep vein of emotion… utter bliss.” – The Australian
Cheat Sheet
1. DON’T GET FOMO: It’s our birthday and we want to celebrate with you – our audience!
2. PERFORM ON STAGE WITH US: 25 audience members each night will join
the Company on stage. You’ll have ear pieces for directions and Company dancers
will guide you. Dance experience not required.
3. WITNESS HISTORY ON STAGE: Alumni dancers from the 1970s, 80s, 90s, and 2000s are gracing our stage – witness their historical encore performance after leading stellar dance careers!
4. I SAW IT FIRST: Be the first to see world premiere of Us 50, an epic work of 50 performers on
stage, including past and present Company Dancers as well as members of our
audience.
5. WORLD CLASS COLLABORATIONS: Our collaborations are with highly
acclaimed creatives, including Italian composer Ezio Bosso the current
Conductor of Verona di Opera, Australian fashion icon Josh Goot and UK
electronic musician Clark.
Rafael Bonachela, 6 Breaths
“The very act of breathing is fundamental to life and as Ezio’s music and the choreography evolved together, our collective creativity was synchronised.”
Rafael Bonachela is originally from Barcelona. This year marks his 10th year as Artistic Director and resident choreographer at Sydney Dance Company. Since 2009, he has created 14 works for the Company’s repertoire. Read more.
WATCH: Rafael Bonachela's 6 Breaths in rehearsal.
Fun Fact:
The work is divided into 6 movements and represents the cycle of life, from the first breath to the last.
Gideon Obarzanek, Us 50
“For an institution whose most powerful legacy is ephemeral, its history is not only passed on through the bodies of the dancers but is also accumulated in the memories of its audience.” – Obarzanek
Gideon Obarzanek is a director, choreographer and performing arts curator. He is currently Co-Artistic Director & Co-CEO of the new Melbourne Festival. Gideon founded dance company Chunky Move in 1995 and was CEO and Artistic Director until 2012. In 2013 Gideon was a resident artist at the Sydney Theatre Company where he wrote and directed his first play I Want to Dance Better at Parties. Read more.
WATCH: Our three-part trailer for Us 50 rehearsals with our 10 alumni
Fun Fact: Gideon was also a dance with the Company from 1989 - 1992.
Ezio Bosso, 6 Breaths
“I have synaesthesia and all my music comes from that point. Images, situations which fit my memory and the cells of the music start to create my scores.”
For 6 Breaths, Ezio hand selected an ensemble of 6 cellists and a pianist from the top orchestras in London. Each of the cellos represented breathing lungs, swelling and contracting with life.
Ezio Bosso has led an internationally acclaimed musical career as a composer, performer, and conductor. In August this year he became the Conductor for the prestigious Arena di Verona, the largest outdoor concert venue in the world.
Fun fact: The classical composition was recorded in the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London in 2010.
Clark, Us 50
“Working with Gideon on Us 50 allowed me to think about music and dance as a relationship that speaks to time unfolding through generations of bodies… The music feels like a hall of mirrors, reflecting and distorting the rituals and ruptures that ripple through a community.”
Chris Clark has worked with music and sound for 16 years. Signed at an early age to the British indie label Warp Records, he has released ten albums as well as a multitude of EPs and singles. His last studio album, Kiri Variations was released in July this year. Clark also composed the electrifying score for Melanie Lane’s WOOF as part of our Season One triple bill in March.
WATCH: Clark’s live show for his album Death Peak, featuring choreography from Melanie Lane.
LISTEN: Clark shares his favourite tunes on Spotify in our latest blog post.
Fun Fact: Melanie Lane, Clark's wife, is a choreographer and performer and choreographs his live shows. He has also scored four of her contemporary dance works.
6 Breaths
The set design was created nine years ago by notable Australian digital artist Tim Richardson. Inspired by the old testament quote , ‘… and the Lord formed Man out of the dust in the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and Man became a living soul’, he interpreted something so ancient into creating a 3D scan of two of the dancers at that time, Richard Cilli and Annabel Knight. That was then digitalised and used in the film to create imagery where particles of dust, swirl and manifest into the forms of humans, creating the larger than life digital installation back drop for the stage.
Us 50
Gideon Obarzanek’s choreography will see each Company dancer move to mirror an alumni dancer, this emulation of movement represents the oral tradition of story-telling, transmitting from one generation to the next, but in the form of movement.
Their performative movements are enhanced by the decadent shine and sparkle of Harriet Oxley’s luxe-textured costumes, that serve to make the dancers’ bodies resonate in the brightly lit, white stage floor and backdrop.
Her deliberate choice in costume colours reflect the spectrum of age and stages of life in the group – current company dancers wear softer pastels and jewel-like hues, while alumni dancers wear shades of blood red and maroon to personify the DNA and lifeblood that has coursed through the Company’s last 50 years.
25 Audience members will then join them on stage interweaving through the rich colours of the dancers to continue this transmission of movement, and gently led by Company dancers to mirror their moves gliding across the stage in rhythmic unison.
“It’s so exciting to perform Rafael Bonachela’s work and to perform the new creations of guest artists. I definitely feel like it’s a Company where the dancers constantly grow and it’s what excites me about the year.” – Company dancer Luke Hayward
There are 17 full time dancers in Sydney Dance Company including one Trainee. All dancers rehearse five days a week (six when required), commencing with a ballet or contemporary technique class at 9.30am, then rehearsals until 6pm. Rehearsals range from run-throughs of current repertoire to creating new work for upcoming seasons.
Many dancers also undertake additional training of their choice, such as cycling, swimming or cross training. Contemporary dancers often perform in bare feet or socks dyed to their skin tone, although you may see them wearing different footwear in some pieces. The dancers also see the Company physiotherapist a few times a week for tailored pre-hab sessions.
READ: Find out more about the six new dancers who joined the Company this year.
The term ‘choreography’ refers to a sequence of steps that become phrases and make up a dance piece. Like actors remembering their lines, dancers learn and remember these movement phrases during rehearsals so that they can perform them perfectly on stage. To enable future casts to perform the piece, companies use a number of archival methods, including video-recording, passing it on from human to human (bringing back an original cast dancer to teach a new dancer), and taking notes that describe the intangible parts of the work, for example, ‘how it feels’. There is also choreology – various styles of dance notation which use visual symbols to represent an order of movement.
Roslyn Packer Theatre Walsh Bay is located at 22 Hickson Road, Walsh Bay. It is one of a number of industrial, heritage buildings converted into arts spaces along Sydney’s Harbour. Situated on the site of two old Bond Stores from the 1890s, the theatre took three years to build, opening in 2004. From the beautiful bare brick walls to intact warehouse machinery, the rugged sandstone wall in the scene dock to wooden panels in the foyers made from timber salvaged from building demolished during the Walsh Bay development, the building speaks of its past. The total capacity for each performance of Bonachela / Obarzanek is 845, including the stalls and dress circle.
A contemporary dance crowd is diverse. Anything from what you’d wear to see a band, through to smart casual or formal, is appropriate.
The Walsh Bay area has many restaurants and bars with stunning harbour views, where you can enjoy a meal and a drink before or after the show.
Venues include: Ventuno, Walsh Bay Kitchen and Lotus Dumpling Bar.
Find out more:
Watch our trailer and behind the scenes videos.
Read our Q&As with choreographer Gideon Obarzanek and Rafael Bonachela.
Read Clark’s latest blog about composing for Us 50 and listen to his musical favourites on our Spotify playlist.
Featuring works
6 Breaths
Choreography
Rafael Bonachela
Duration
40 mins
First performed
2010
Us 50
Choreography
Gideon Obarzanek
Duration
40 mins
First performed
2019