I Am-ness

Rafael Bonachela’s I Am-ness calls for the convergence of the moving body and creative mind, charting a world in flux where simplicity dominates, and expectations are subverted.

Bonachela revisits the powerful and emotive work of the Latvian composer Pēteris Vasks, previously celebrated in the critically-acclaimed ab [intra].

Vask’s Lonely Angel sets a resolute yet hushed melancholy on strings, creating an ode to our shared sense of being, and canvassing the nature of existence with euphoric tenderness.

I Am-ness is an exacting search for the stuff of life.

Choreographer Rafael Bonachela

Music ‘Lonely angel’, meditation for violin and strings by Pēteris Vasks

Lightning Designer Damien Cooper

Costume Designer Rafael Bonachela

★★★★ “This poignant choreography is housed in a dark blue set moodily filled with mist and to a keening score for string ensemble – you can practically hear the violins sighing with unfulfilled yearning.” – Sydney Morning Herald

★★★★ “15 minutes of bodies, light and music connecting in quiet harmony” – Limelight

“… reflects… the co-existence of the physical and the conscious, the body and the mind, expressed by the morphing, intertwining, touching and responding, flowing and endless movement of the divine dancers creating a beautiful, rippling organism.” – The Wonderful World of Dance

“It is an ethereal work for a quartet of dancers, and it is one of those works that washes over you, sensual, reflective, and beautifully fluid.” – Fjord Review

“I Am-ness is the usual expected display of skill, training and artistic excellence from the company.” – Arts Hub

”Bonachela’s exacting, labyrinthine choreography is fabulous as the dancers swoop, slither, roll, leap, separate and then writhe sculpturally together, jump and are caught by the other dancers…” – Sydney Arts Guide

Premiere

Canberra Theatre Centre
Canberra, ACT
9 – 11 March 2023
Bill: Ascent
Works: Forever & Ever, I Am-ness and The Shell, A Ghost, The Host & The Lyrebird

2024 Performances

Orange Civic Theatre
Orange, NSW
21 – 22 February
Bill: Ascent
Works: Forever & Ever, I Am-ness and The Shell, A Ghost, The Host & The Lyrebird

Capitol Theatre Tamworth
Tamworth, NSW
24 – 25 February
Bill: Ascent
Works: Forever & Ever, I Am-ness and The Shell, A Ghost, The Host & The Lyrebird

Mercat de les Flors
Barcelona, Spain
14 – 16 March
Bill: Ascent
Works: Forever & Ever, I Am-ness and The Shell, A Ghost, The Host & The Lyrebird

Royal Opera House
London, UK
25 – 28 March
Bill: Ascent
Works: Forever & Ever, I Am-ness and The Shell, A Ghost, The Host & The Lyrebird

2023 Performances

Canberra Theatre Centre
Canberra, ACT
9 – 11 March
Bill: Ascent
Works: Forever & Ever, I Am-ness and The Shell, A Ghost, The Host & The Lyrebird

Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House
Sydney, NSW
15 – 26 March
Bill: Ascent
Works: Forever & Ever, I Am-ness and The Shell, A Ghost, The Host & The Lyrebird

The Art House
Wyong, NSW
6 May
Bill: Ascent
Works: Forever & Ever, I Am-ness and The Shell, A Ghost, The Host & The Lyrebird

Adelaide Festival Centre
Adelaide, SA
11 – 13 May
Bill: Ascent
Works: Forever & Ever, I Am-ness and The Shell, A Ghost, The Host & The Lyrebird

Ulumbarra Theatre
Bendigo, VIC
31 May
Bill: Ascent
Works: Forever & Ever, I Am-ness and The Shell, A Ghost, The Host & The Lyrebird

Lighthouse Theatre
Warrnambool, VIC
3 June
Bill: Ascent
Works: Forever & Ever, I Am-ness and The Shell, A Ghost, The Host & The Lyrebird

Darwin Entertainment Centre
Darwin, NT
19 July
Bill: Ascent
Works: Forever & Ever, I Am-ness and The Shell, A Ghost, The Host & The Lyrebird

Araluen Arts Centre
Alice Spring, NT
22 July
Bill: Ascent
Works: Forever & Ever, I Am-ness and The Shell, A Ghost, The Host & The Lyrebird

Theatre Royal Hobart
Hobart, TAS
27 – 29 July
Bill: Ascent
Works: Forever & Ever, I Am-ness and The Shell, A Ghost, The Host & The Lyrebird

Princess Theatre Launceston
Launceston, TAS
2 August
Bill: Ascent
Works: Forever & Ever, I Am-ness and The Shell, A Ghost, The Host & The Lyrebird

Newcastle Civic Theatre
Newcastle, NSW
9 August
Bill: Ascent
Works: Forever & Ever, I Am-ness and The Shell, A Ghost, The Host & The Lyrebird

Glasshouse
Port Macquarie, NSW
12 August
Bill: Ascent
Works: Forever & Ever, I Am-ness and The Shell, A Ghost, The Host & The Lyrebird

Arts Centre Melbourne
Playhouse, VIC
29 August – 2 September
Bill: Ascent
Works: Forever & Ever, I Am-ness and The Shell, A Ghost, The Host & The Lyrebird