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| "Neon Aether" performed by Sydney Dance Company Photo: Pedro Grieg |
Directed by
Rafael Bonachela.
The Sydney
Dance Company
Canberra
Theatre May 2 – 4. 2019.
Reviewed by
Bill Stephens
The Sydney
Dance Company has been a regular visitor to the Canberra Theatre since its
inception in 1969. During that time it has built up a loyal and informed
audience. Rafael Bonachela took over the reins of the company in 2009 and ever
since has enthusiastically embraced its ethos of fostering and showcasing the
work of Australian dancers and dance makers.
Already
acclaimed internationally for his inventive choreography when he took on the
artistic direction of the Sydney Dance Company, Bonachela has lead by example,
re-inventing the company and creating a string of stunning dance works. He’s
also featured the work of cutting edge international choreographers in his programs,
and provided opportunities for local choreographers to create works for the
company.
Typically he
has chosen to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the company with
this triple bill for which he has
created a new work,”Cinco”, bookended by
two contrasting works by outstanding Australian female choreographers,
Gabrielle Nankivell, “Neon Aether”, and
Melanie Lane, “WOOF”. Though totally
different in concept and execution, each work shared the company’s current
aesthetic of stripped back presentation style relying on striking musical
choices, inventive lighting and haze effects, and minimalist costuming to complement
the brilliance of the current crop of dancers.
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| "Neon Aether" performed by Sydney Dance Company Photo: Pedro Grieg |
The program commenced with Nankivell’s “Neon Aether” in which eight dancers costumed in Harriet Oxley’s soft outer-space-inspired costumes, primarily working in unison to Luke Smiles’ apocalyptic soundscape, performed six episodes each punctuated by black-outs, exploring concepts of air, magnetism and the infinite unknown. Although the concept was challenging, the movement style was fascinating to watch, often quite beautiful and absorbing.
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| "Cinco" performed by Sydney Dance Company Photo: Don Arnold |
Bonachela chose a dramatic string quartet by Alberto Ginastera for his work, “Cinco”, a Spanish word meaning “ five “. Bonachela explained at the well-attended pre-show talk, that the quartet was composed in five parts, referencing the 50th anniversary of the company, and his own 10 year association. He made the work on five dancers, Davide Di Giovanni, Holly Doyle, Riley Fitzgerald, Chloe Leong and Charmene Yap.
Lighting
designer, Damien Cooper, who also designed the lighting for “Neon Aether”,
complemented the theme by using just five lights to illuminate the virtuosic
performances of the five dancers, costumed in Bianca Spender’s softly floating
silk unisex costumes, as they fearlessly attacked Bonachela’s fascinatingly
complex choreographic combinations.
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| "Woof" performed by Sydney Dance Company Photo: Pedro Grieg |
Former Canberra choreographer, Melanie Lane, used twelve dancers for her work “WOOF” which commences, intriguingly, in silence with a series of posed tableaus. Eventually the dancers begin to move in unison groups employing a vocabulary of increasingly eccentric and bizarre movements. As the work progresses, Aleisa Jelbert’s shiny grey costumes, which mimic everyday wear, become smudged by a black powder each dancer wears on their hands.
Performed to
an electronic soundscape by Clark, and beautifully lit by Verity Hampson,
“WOOF” is an amusing, complex and challenging work, which provides a satisfying
conclusion for a dazzling program and fitting demonstration, of why, after 50
years, the Sydney Dance Company is regarded internationally as a leader among
contemporary dance companies.
This review first published in the digital edition of CITY NEWS on 3rd May 2019.
