2025 Education Brochure by SydneyDanceCompany

2025 Education Program

Welcome to Sydney Dance Company’s 2025 Education Program! We are excited to share the many ways young people can connect with Sydney Dance Company in 2025.

Whether it’s through the energy of a dance workshop, the anticipation of watching live performance, the real-world application of creative tasks through our resource packs, or specially designed virtual workshops, we cannot wait to work with your students. Dance changes you. More than simply witnessing something beautiful, or engaging with culture, to experience dance is to be positively altered, and this is all the more powerful when shared with young people.

(02) 9258 4800 or email education@sydneydancecompany.com

click this image for a

“Dance

allows individuals and communities to shape their cultural identity and express their deepest feelings. These experiences continue to resonate throughout our lives, transforming our minds, bodies and souls”

Rafael Bonachela, Artistic Director

January

Summer School Holiday workshops

2 – 24 January

School workshops available to be delivered from Term 1

March

Melbourne Season: Somos 13 – 23 March

Sydney Season 1: Somos 27 March – 13 April

February

May

National Tour: momenta

• Bendigo, 7 May

• Frankston, 10 May

• Geelong, 14-15 May

April

Sydney Season 1: Somos

• 27 March – 6 April

• Secondary School Matinees 2 & 3 April

• Relaxed School Matinee 10 April

National Tour: momenta

• Mildura, 30 April

Winter School Holiday workshops 14 – 24 April

June

July

March

Club Origami - Sydney Season

Dates to be announced soon

National Tour: momenta

• Hobart, 18-19 July

Winter School Holiday workshops

7 – 18 July

September

Spring School Holiday workshops:

29 September – 10 October

November

PPY25 Revealed

28 – 29 November

August

National Tour: momenta

• Newcastle, 6 August

INDance – Sydney Season

11 – 24 August

October

Sydney Season 2: Continuum

• 22 October – 1 November

• Primary School Matinee

28 October

• Secondary School Matinee

30 October

Spring School Holiday workshops

29 September – 10 October

December

Sydney New Breed Season 3 – 13 December

School Matinees

Our tailored matinees connect students with cutting-edge contemporary dance performances. Through pre-show talks and demonstrations, students will be offered insights into our Artists’ creative processes. Students will engage in a post-show panel discussion and Q&A with Company dancers, creatives and arts professionals, developing a deeper understanding of various performing arts industry career pathways, and the process of bringing a performance to life.

Secondary Matinees (suitable for upper primary through to year 12 and tertiary dance students).

Sydney Season 1

Secondary

Wednesday 2 April 11am & Thursday 3 April 11am

Sydney Season 1 Relaxed Thursday 10 April 11am

Sydney Dance Company, Neilson Studio

Sydney Season 2 Primary Tuesday 28 October 12pm Roslyn Packer Theatre, Sydney

Sydney Season 2 Secondary Thursday 30 October 12pm Roslyn Packer Theatre, Sydney

Watch this video for further insights into a Sydney Dance Company School Matinee

Matinee Details

Secondary School Matinees

• Suitable for Upper Primary (Grades 5 & 6), Grades 7-12, and tertiary or full-time dance students

• Ticket Price - $32/student (schools receive one complimentary teacher ticket for every 20 student tickets purchased)

• Duration: 2 hours (approximately)

Primary School Matinees

• Suitable for Grades 3-6

• Ticket price: $25/student (Schools receive one complimentary teacher ticket for every 20 student tickets purchased)

• Duration: 1 hour (approximately)

Extended Matinee Experience - Workshops

• For Sydney performances, workshops can be scheduled on the same day as a matinee, depending on studio availability. Alternatively, we can arrange a workshop related to the matinee performance at your school on a day that works best for you. Fill in this Booking Form if you are interested in booking an accompanying Workshop and the Education Team will be in touch.

Resource Packs

Digital Resource Packs are included with all ticket purchases, pulling back the curtain on creative processes, design choices, choreographic and appreciation tasks. These resource packs provide you and your students with an understanding on what to expect during the performance and enrich the students’ understanding of the performance in the classroom to enable an ongoing and in-depth learning of contemporary dance.

Interested in booking but need more information?

Fill in this Booking Form and the Education Team will be in touch.

Sydney — Season 1 2025

Somos

School Matinee performances at the Roslyn Packer Theatre, Walsh Bay:

• Somos School Matinee, Wednesday 2 April, 11am

• Somos School Matinee, Thursday 3 April, 11am

• Somos Relaxed School Matinee, Thursday 10 April, 11am

Meaning “we are” in Spanish, Somos features a cascade of intimate solos, duets and trios with a distinct Spanish flavour. Set to music by powerhouse Hispanic artists and performed in the Neilson Studio, this intimate setting will provide your students with unparalleled connection to our Company dancers as they witness their formidable artistry and breathtaking physicality closer than ever before.

To ensure you don’t miss this electrifying performance showcasing Australia’s best contemporary dancers, book your tickets below.

Sydney

— Season 2 2025 Continuum

Matinee performances at the Roslyn Packer Theatre, Walsh Bay:

• Primary School Matinee, Tuesday 28 October, 12pm

• Secondary School Matinee, Thursday 30 October, 12pm

This exciting triple bill features works by a trio of superb Australian choreographers featuring a new work by Sydney Dance Company’s Artistic Director Rafael Bonachela, a mainstage premier of Tra Mi Dinh’s acclaimed New Breed work Somewhere between ten and fourteen, and a new commission by Stephen Page, former Artistic Director of Bangarra Dance Theatre.

Please note: the matinee performance may not feature all three works, or all works in their entirety, depending on the duration of each of the works. This will be determined closer to the season.

Book your tickets below.

Read what teachers and students have said about our past School Matinee Performances:

“The work tied in perfectly with the school dance content. Students were able to analyse the live dance work, appreciate and identify the compositional process, view performance skills and qualities in a live setting! We want more!” — Teacher, Bomaderry High School

“The matinee supports how we teach the composition process. It inspires students to be more creative and gives them insight into the work that is required to create a performance. It helps students appreciate dance as an artform.”

— Teacher, Reddam House

“We were so mesmerised by the dance, the lights, and the costumes. It was also very exciting that we got to talk to the dancers afterwards.”

— Primary Students, Fairfield Public School

National Tour 2025

In 2025, Sydney Dance Company will have a range of works touring the country. Keep reading to learn more about these works and check in with your local theatre to see what show is performing in your area.

Somos

Meaning “we are” in Spanish, Somos features a cascade of intimate solos, duets and trios with a distinct Spanish flavour. Set to music by powerhouse Hispanic artists, this intimate setting will provide your students with unparalleled connection to our Company dancers as they witness their formidable artistry and breathtaking physicality closer than ever before.

momenta

momenta is a journey into the poetry and physics of human connection. The latest work by celebrated choreographer Rafael Bonachela, this mesmerising piece presents a kaleidoscope of energies, capturing the essence of fleeting moments suspended between past and future, where individual trajectories collide and intertwine.

National Tour 2025

Sydney Dance Company performances will be held in the following locations. Booking links will be added here when they’re available. Please contact your local venue for group ticket bookings and more information. More dates and locations to be announced soon

Workshops on Tour

Alongside the National Tour performances, Sydney Dance Company’s Teaching Artists can deliver workshops in your school in some locations or virtually at any time that suits your schedule.

Teaching Artists will deliver contemporary dance workshops that are adaptable to a variety of skill levels and dance experience. With curriculum links in dance, PDHPE, music, drama as well as many cross-curriculum links into history, geography and humanities, our workshops are a positive and inclusive experience for your students to develop dance technique, creative thinking and performance skills in a fun and engaging environment.

More information about National Tour Teaching Artist Workshops and the available locations will be released soon.

Secondary Schools, Tertiary Institutions, Dance Studios and Community Groups (aged 12+)

• Duration: Up to 2 hours

• Cost: $395 + GST

Creative Contemporary Workshops are a unique opportunity to experience how the Company creates and performs new and original movement as seen on stage. Participants are guided through a contemporary technique warm up, taught a section of Sydney Dance Company repertoire, and challenged with a composition task from one of our productions.

Are you interested in booking a workshop but need more information?

Fill in this Booking Form and the Education Team will be in touch.

Fill in this form

Primary Schools, Dance Studios and Community Groups (aged 8-12)

• Duration: Up to 1 hour

• Cost: $295 + GST

Introduction to Contemporary Workshops is designed for students aged 8-12 and are aimed primarily at beginners, although can be tailored for any experience level. The workshops are an entrylevel taster of the techniques and approaches to contemporary dance and creative movement.

Workshops

Sydney Dance Company offers a range of dance workshops that can be delivered Face-to-Face or Virtually. In both delivery methods, workshops and classes can be adapted to suit your school study program (dance, performing arts, PDHPE) and accommodate the diverse learning needs of students including those with different skill levels and prior dance experience. Sydney Dance Company workshops will challenge, engage and inspire your students regardless of their previous dance experience or learning environment. Workshops can be offered in the following dance styles:

• Contemporary Creative (Technique, Sydney Dance Company repertoire & creative task for secondary school-aged school)

• Contemporary Technique (Technique and Sydney Dance Company repertoire)

• Lyrical

• Ballet

• Jazz

• Theatre Jazz

• Hip Hop

• JFH

For more information, contact: 02 9258 4800 or email education@sydneydancecompany.com.

Face-To-Face

Workshops can be delivered as an incursion (delivered at your school/studio) or excursion at our studios located in the Walsh Bay Arts Precinct, subject to availability. Sydney Dance Company Teaching Artists will guide your students through warm-up, technique and teach a genre-specific routine.

Please note: incursion workshops for schools more than 35km from Sydney CBD will incur travel expenses.

Secondary School / dance studios (ages 12+)

• Up to 2 hours (Contemporary Creative)

• 90 mins (all other styles)

• $395 + GST (per session, up to 35 students)

Please contact education@sydneydancecompany.com for enquiries regarding bespoke participant numbers

Virtual

Virtual workshops are delivered through Zoom or Microsoft Teams while students are at school, in the studio, or undertaking remote learning. Sessions are delivered by a Sydney Dance Company Teaching Artist and supported by a Virtual Studio Technician (VST) who can assist with technical support and online child-safe practices. Sydney Dance Company Teaching Artists will guide students through warmup, technique and teach a genre-specific routine modified for virtual delivery.

Virtual Workshops

• 60 mins - $295 + GST (per session, up to 40 students)

• 90 mins - $395 + GST (per session, up to 40 students)

Primary School (ages 8-12)

• Up to 60 minutes

• $295 + GST (per session, up to 35 students)

Please contact education@sydneydancecompany.com for enquiries regarding bespoke participant numbers

Primary Education Workshop Series

Primary School Dance Program

Sydney Dance Company is excited to launch the Primary Education Workshop Series in 2025. This primary school dance program engages and challenges school students of all ages through a series of curriculum-aligned dance lessons that reinforce the importance of holistic learning through creative movement and dance.

Through individualised consultation and collaboration with you and your school, this bespoke workshop series is tailored to suit the specific needs of your class to meet the curriculum outcomes in areas of composition, appreciation and performance.

Through a positive, inclusive and engaging environment the Primary Education Workshop Series supports diverse learners in the classroom.

Typical delivery of this program is one 60-minute lesson per cohort per week over 4 to 8 weeks during the school day however the specifics can be discussed with you during consultation to allow for the most effective and engaging delivery for your students.

This program not only builds skills in dance as an artform but also encourages collaboration, critical thinking, curiosity and creativity.

Workshop Content

Are you interested in booking a workshop but need more information?

Fill in this Booking Form and the Education Team will be in touch.

Fill in this form

“The teachers were highly professional in their expectations of the students, they were able to share their knowledge, language and dance expertise, that me as a teacher would not readily know or utilise.”

— Primary School Teacher, Cranbrook Junior School

Potential Syllabus Outcomes

Warm up and integrated movement activities Performing

Composition Tasks

Teacher Resources

Sydney Dance Company’s digital dance platform Classes On Demand hosts over 100 videos in a range of dance styles. Looking for a way to reinvigorate your own practice, or bring something different to your classes? Claim your free Dance Teacher Bundle now!

This bundle includes a beginner JFH class and a beginner lyrical class.

Looking for more ways to connect digitally?

Subscribe to Classes On Demand for access to videos, connect in the digital community, create playlists of your favourite videos and explore new styles and ways of teaching with Sydney Dance Company!

Subscribe now and receive a 7 day free trial.

Sydney Dance Company’s digital Resource Packs are designed to enrich student learning and include behind-the-scenes access to cast and creative biographies, information on the stimulus of the work and the creative process, as well as curriculumaligned appreciation and composition tasks.

Dance Locale

Dance Locale is a suite of five short films, created in collaboration with the NSW Government’s Festival of Place, using site-specific dance to celebrate and activate public spaces in NSW. This Resource Pack explores site-specific dance and dance for film.

Includes:

• Five short films (3-8 minutes each)

• Cast and Creative Bios

• 1 x Appreciation Task

• 2 x Composition Tasks

Resource Packs include access to sections of filmed work for use in educational settings and are $75.00 each.

Advanced Training

Youth Ensemble

New Primary Ensemble in 2025!

Sydney Dance Company is excited to launch a Primary Ensemble in 2025, in addition to our Junior and Senior Ensembles.

Primary Ensemble is designed for upper primary school students (ages 10-12) interested in extending their training in contemporary dance.

About Youth Ensemble

Are your students passionate and curious to explore contemporary dance further? Sydney Dance Company’s Youth Ensemble is an extension program which works in conjunction with regular studio training to provide dancers with a sense of creative expression, technical development and the opportunity to learn contemporary repertoire from industry specialists.

Delivered throughout Terms 1, 2 and 3, the Youth Ensemble is for dancers at an intermediate to advanced level ages 10-12, 12-15 and 15-18.

Involvement in Youth Ensemble is by audition only; more information is available on our website.

Auditions for 2025 will be on Sunday 19 January. Click below for more information and to apply now.

Youth Intensive

Sydney Dance Company runs Youth Intensive programs every year. These one-week programs provide an opportunity for young aspiring dancers to learn from Sydney Dance Company, extending formal training, sparking creativity, and challenging young artists through daily technique classes, creative development and Sydney Dance Company repertoire.

Involvement in Youth Intensive is by application only; more information is available on our website.

“Some of the highlights for the Junior Youth Ensemble this year has definitely been being able to work with a range of choreographers and therefore a range of different styles of contemporary. As well as this, I think being able to expand my ability to improvise and create movement on my own.”

— Youth Ensemble dancer, 2024

“I have enjoyed being able to explore movement more freely and thoroughly in the Youth Ensemble. It has really improved my ability to do creative tasks at dance outside of the Youth Ensemble course.”

— Youth Ensemble dancer, 2024

Pre-Professional Year

Sydney Dance Company’s Pre-Professional Year provides a unique opportunity for aspiring professional dancers aged 18-24 to experience full-time training with Sydney Dance Company. Encompassing a wide spectrum of industry-based dance practices, the Pre-Professional Year dancers train as an ensemble and work with over 40 choreographers, teachers and company affiliates each year. The expansive and highly curated program offers a diverse range of practices and movement philosophies, forging a direct link to the global contemporary dance community.

Dancers in the Pre-Professional Year work towards completing CUA60120 - Advanced Diploma of Professional Dance (Elite Performance) over two years, with the option to finish after one year with a CUA51520 - Diploma of Professional Dance (Elite Performance). Sydney Dance Company is a Registered Training Organisation (RTO #45863).

For more information, read the 2025 Prospectus here.

“Pre-Professional Year is a course for introspection, evolution and reflection, diving into our mental and physical selves. It encourages individuality and provides us with the tools to successfully progress beyond the course. The culture of Sydney Dance Company has allowed me to be a more vulnerable and fearless person, aiding me in making the most out of every opportunity.”

— Vivienne Clements-Lee

Pre-Professional Year 2023 - 2024

See what previous participants have to say about their experience in the PreProfessional Year in the video below:

Are you interested in the Pre-Professional Year but need more information?

Complete this Contact Form and the Learning Team will be in touch.

Fill in this form

Professional Development

Professional Intensive

Sydney Dance Company is excited to be running a Summer Professional Intensive from Monday 27 January to Friday 31 January 2025.

This five-day program is designed to extend your professional development, spark your creativity and challenge your artistry, providing an opportunity for artists, choreographers and educators to learn from Sydney Dance Company’s Artistic Team and industry leading specialists.

The Professional Intensive is an application-based program. Tertiary graduates, dancers and educators with a high level of ballet or contemporary dance training aged 18+ are encouraged to apply for this invaluable opportunity with Australia’s leading contemporary dance company.

The five-days will include contemporary technique classes in a variety of styles and methodologies, improvisation tasks, and a creative development and the opportunity to learn Sydney Dance Company repertoire which will culminate in an informal sharing session. The aim of the program, held in the iconic Wharf studios, is to leave you feeling creatively motivated and inspired as an artist.

Applications close on Sunday 19 January. Apply now!

See what previous participants have to say about their experience in the Professional Intensive in the video below:

Accredited Short Courses

As a Registered Training Organisation (RTO #45863) Sydney Dance Company offers Accredited Short Courses aimed at extending the knowledge and skills of those with a comprehensive understanding of contemporary dance. Accredited short courses are suitable for senior dance students and professionals as well as performing arts teachers working in creative industries or education wishing to expand their skillset. On the successful completion of a course, a nationally recognised Statement of Attainment for the unit of competency will be awarded.

View 2025 Accredited Short Course offerings here

Professional Learning

Sydney Dance Company understands that as teachers there are few opportunities to continue to develop your skills or learn something new for yourself which is why we offer customised upskilling programs for primary, secondary and dance studio teachers.

These sessions can be delivered in Sydney, in our National Tour locations or virtually and can be aligned with your desired learning outcome, whether it’s tips on how to guide improvisations, workshopping choreographic taskwork for your lesson plans or learning repertoire to keep you moving.

“For the students to be able to understand contemporary dance, the origins of Sydney Dance Company and have a better understanding of real contemporary rather than commercial competition contemporary dance. It has definitely inspired the students to be more dedicated in their contemporary dance classes and to explore more varied movements and concepts.”

— Teacher, Harbour Performing Arts Centre, NSW, Secondary Workshop

“The workshop was well paced, and the dance teachers were wonderful and engaging!”

— Primary Teacher, Huskisson Primary School, NSW, Primary Workshop

“The workshop was phenomenal. The Teaching Artist was wonderful in creating a safe and welcoming learning environment for my students. The experience was invaluable and something the students will take with them for the rest of their lives.”

— Secondary Teacher, Wellington Point State High School, QLD, Secondary Workshop

Students relish the chance to meet dancers, whether in person or online. This is where they become sponges, and long after the event, I see and hear student use the things they took away from the workshop or performance and use it in their dance and choreography. It is a powerful thing.

— Champion Bay State High School, WA, Virtual Offering

“We love that the Artistic Director Rafael Bonachela is always present to speak about the work and all the elements that go into it. We love that the Company dancers are on stage before and after the performance and really appreciate this! So many creatives and stories.”

— Secondary Teacher, Campbelltown Performing Arts High School, NSW, Secondary Matinee

“The resources are excellent! I have been integrating the resources into our unit of work on ‘creating dance from a stimulus’ which has been just perfect!”

— St Brendan-Shaw College, Resource Packs

Photos by Rafael Bonachela, Daniel Boud, Pedro Greig, Wendell Teodoro, Gez Xavier Mansfield and Ben Symons.