ab [intra] Program - National Tour 2023

Up Close: Somos

1-12 November 2023

Neilson Studio

Sydney Dance Company, Wharf 4/5

Walsh Bay Arts Precinct, Dawes Point NSW

Choreographed by Rafael Bonachela BOOK NOW

#2023SDC

Photo By: Pedro Greig

Sydney Dance Company is based in Walsh Bay Sydney. Our studios are situated on the lands and over the waters of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation.

Sydney Dance Company acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of these lands and the lands on which we will be touring and performing throughout our National Tour, paying our respects to their Elders and Cultural Custodians and all First Nations People.

Photo By: Pedro Greig

It is such a unique privilege to see the incredible response that Sydney Dance Company receives on the stages of the world. Rafael Bonachela’s ab [intra] has commanded the attention of national and international audiences alike since its creation in 2018.

In 2022, audiences across France had the pleasure of watching the Company perform ab [intra], which included a twoweek residency at the prestigious Théâtre National de Chaillot in Paris. With sold out performances around the country and much critical acclaim, it reaffirmed our role as cultural ambassadors for Australia. Upon our return, we staged a Sydney encore, the reception of which cemented ab [intra]’s enduring appeal.

After its outstanding success abroad and at home, we are delighted to present ab [intra] to Victorian audiences as part of our 2023 National Tour. I would like to thank our family of corporate and private supporters, who all play a vital role in the Company bringing ground-breaking performances to audiences, both here in Australia and around the world. The choice you make to support us is wholeheartedly appreciated. I would also particularly like to acknowledge the ongoing support of the Australian Government delivered through the Australia Council for the Arts and the NSW Government through Create NSW. With the ongoing commitment of all who have invested in our vision, we continue to be able to share the joy and inspiration of bringing the very best of contemporary dance to local, national and international stages.

Please join us in celebrating this masterwork brought to life by Sydney Dance Company’s extraordinary dancers.

Lou Oppenheim Executive Director

ab [intra]

Choreography Rafael Bonachela

Music Original score by Nick Wales featuring Klātbūtne by Pēteris Vasks

Lighting Design Damien Cooper

Production & David Fleischer

Costume Design

With thanks ab [intra] was made possible with generous support from Sydney Dance Company’s 2018 Commissioning Fund donors.

Duration Approx. 75 minutes no interval

Photo By: Pedro Greig

A note from Artistic Director Rafael

Bonachela

I am so thrilled to bring ab [intra] to regional Victoria as part of our National Tour. After an incredibly successful season in France last year, followed by a blockbuster season in Sydney, I was overwhelmed by the warm welcome we received abroad and at home, with standing ovations, beautiful reviews and a sold-out season at the renowned Théâtre National de la Danse Chaillot in Paris. Today, I’m more excited than ever to share this work with audiences far and wide.

When creating ab [intra] I wanted to capture the energy and drive I feel each time I walk into the studio.

I think about ab [intra] (meaning ‘from within’ in Latin) as an energy transfer between the internal and the external. For me it is more than the external expression of internal concepts, in this dance sphere it is a representation of energy – an energy derived from the interaction of these two facets of our worlds.

My innate human and personal instincts play a significant role in my creativity; they feed through the entire process from the point of inspiration to collaborations at every level and right through to the living moments of the final performance. I wanted to try to capture this internal instinctive process and make an external representation of it – and so ab [intra] was born.

The creative process started as a series of improvisations where I asked the dancers to be in the moment with each other, to feel and listen - to use their instincts and their impulses and then seek to capture those moments in writing. Those written phrases became the direction for a physical movement sequence, a script for dance, an energy transfer from the thought to the body.

The dancers are an integral part of my creative process, and they give life and form to my instincts and creative impulses every day. ab [intra] for me is a work that is derived from the group dynamic of the dancers and what they give in the studio and on the stage, collectively and as individuals, and I thank them for their generosity and tireless efforts.

It has been a pleasure to work with each of my collaborators on this piece. Dance relies so heavily on the intersection of creative ideas and trust, both in the studio and in the creation of the stage environment that surrounds the movement. Thank you to Damien Cooper, David Fleischer and Nick Wales for the results of your individual elements and the results of your collective efforts. I truly appreciated the process as well as the outcome.

About Rafael Bonachela

Rafael Bonachela is a Choreographer, Artistic Director and Curator whose career has seen him successfully span high art and popular culture, working across a range of art forms, including contemporary dance, art installations, pop concerts, musicals, film, commercials and fashion.

Bonachela was born in La Garriga near Barcelona (1972) where he began his early dance training before moving to London to join the legendary Rambert Dance Company where he danced from 1992 to 2004.

In 2008, Rafael premiered his first full-length production 360° for Sydney Dance Company. Less than six months later he was appointed Artistic Director, making international headlines and heralding a new era in Australian contemporary dance. His vision for the Company embraces a guiding principle that sees commissioned dance works by Australian and International choreographers alongside his own critically acclaimed creations.

In 2022, Cartier announced Rafael as a new Friend of the Maison. From his internationally recognised talent as both a dancer and choreographer, to his commitments supporting a new generation of emerging artists and choreographers, Bonachela embodies values cherished by Cartier: strength of character, virtuosity and the ability to find beauty wherever it may lie.

Bonachela’s work is strong, sober and sharp. The exploration of pure movement is where he finds his unmistakable style. The result is an incandescent dance that springs from the power of movement, in which energy and muscle strength combine with a great emotional sensitivity.

You can read more of Rafael’s biography here

A note from Composer Nick Wales

The early stages for the creation of ab [intra] saw Rafael and I searching for additional music to accompany my compositions. The second cello concerto Klātbūtne / Presence by Pēteris Vasks featuring the cellist Sol Gabetta stood out to us as possessing great passion, immediacy and drive and we decided to incorporate the first and second movements into ab [intra]

Our decision to use Vasks’ concerto informed my initial musical choices, my first gut reaction was to work with the Australian cellist Julian Thompson. Together, we recorded fragments of cello material for me to build the opening two movements of the work. The opening bars of Vasks’ concerto with it’s almost lonely ‘col legno’ and ‘pizzicato’ motifs informed some of these initial recordings.

ab [intra] begins with the textual pulsations and lamentation of a solitary cello building to an expansive almost landscape-like symphonic wall of sound. Pizzicato cello samples feature in the opening two movements, driving the work forward into ‘activation’ with the introduction of darker electronic and percussive passages, counterbalanced with visceral string textures. The electronica gives way to Vasks’ “Cadenza - Andante” with its beautiful and passionate builds, lush beauty and rich sonority.

The fourth movement of ab [intra] features piano, intricate percussion and organic electronica. I was interested in exploring ideas around soft anticipation, building ecstatic states and the inward sources of strength one can achieve through quietly looking within.

This movement slowly builds and recedes into an introspective, lament like transition for solo piano and electronics. Vasks’ “Allegro Moderato” boldly bounds forward with its neoclassical rhythmic vitality and cadenza like solo climax by cellist Sol Gabetta.

The coda of ab [intra] again features Julian Thompson with a small string orchestra. As a final layer to the music, I collaborated with songwriter Jack Colwell for a song to conclude the work.

The poetic verse Jack and I dreamed up was an ever-present reference point for my creative process as a whole: from within are we born from within are we without ourselves the pulse of others vibrating just like the lark ascending pulls us closer to the trees back to each other leave this world untouched every stone unturned, untouched, unturned

Written and Produced by Nick Wales

With Featured Cello – Julian Thompson

Drums and Percussion – Bree van Reyk

Electric Violin – Imogen Jones

Voice / song collaborator – Jack Colwell

Additional electronics and programming –Dane Yates

String Orchestra Leader – Veronique Serret

String Orchestra conductor – Roland Peelman

Music Mix and sound engineering – Bob Scott

Additional sound engineering – Phil Punch

Additional music

Pēteris Vasks, Klātbūtne – Presence:

Concerto No. 2 for cello and string orchestra (movement I. Cadenza – Andante cantablle, movement II. Allegro moderato)

By permission of Hal Leonard Australia Pty Ltd, exclusive agents for Schott Music Ltd of Mainz

Soloist – Sol Gebetta

Orchestra – Amsterdam Sinfonietta

Recording – Sony Music

Movement 1 – ‘Birth’ – Nick Wales

Movement 2 – ‘Activation’ – Nick Wales

Movement 3 – ‘Cadenza – Andante’ – Pēteris

Vasks feat. Sol Gabtta & the Amsterdam

Sinfonietta

Movement 4 – ‘Ecstatic Gestures’ – Nick Wales

Movement 5 – ‘Allegro Moderato’ Pēteris Vasks feat. Sol Gabtta & the Amsterdam Sinfonietta

Movement 6 – ‘Within’ – Nick Wales and Jack Colwel

About Nick Wales

Nick Wales’ visceral and immersive music is a hybrid between classical forms, electronic and popular music. Nick has collaborated on ten works with Sydney Dance Company, his most recent being Marina Mascarell’s The Shell, A Ghost, The Host & The Lyrebird for Ascent that premiered in Sydney in March 2023. ab [intra] is Nick’s ninth collaboration with the Company, and his eighth with Rafael Bonachela. Nick’s recent commissions include the Netflix feature film score True Spirit directed by Sarah Spillane, Le Diable bat sa femme et marie sa fille with Marina Mascarell for Ballet de l’Opéra de Lyon, cathedral for Bundanon Trust, Zampatti for MAAS and collaborations with visual artists

Lauren Brincat, Mel O’Callaghan and Hayden Fowler. Nick has worked with choreographer Shaun Parker on a number of works including the Helpmann nominated score for AM I, Happy as Larry and the outdoor works Spill and Trolleys. Nick continues to compose and collaborate with his wide and varied group of collaborators including Bree van Reyk, Rrawun Maymuru, Veronique Serret, Stereogamous, Sophie Hutchings and Sarah Blasko.

While Wales’ contemporary dance scores are both challenging and abstract, his pop sensibilities are undeniable. Traversing all genres as a founding member of ARIA nominated classical-fusion band CODA, he has also collaborated with Sarah Blasko for a number of years, the pair co-composing Sydney Dance Company’s score Emergence for Rafael Bonachela. Emergence was released as a soundtrack in 2015.

Photo By: Pedro Greig

Damien Cooper Lighting Design

Note

I’ve spent a lot of time in rehearsal for ab [intra]. Each time I watch I am struck by how much energy is in the room. The music has an intensity that drives the choreography into a world of unrelenting climaxes. So. How does a lighting designer illuminate endless crescendos? My previous designs have furiously tried to support the energy that comes from choreography and music, finding ways that support dramatic shifts, creating contrasts, driving the shows forward. But, ab [intra], I feel needs a calm space, a simple space that can support the extremities of what you are about to see.

To contrast with the energy from the dancers we have used low energy LED fixtures so that our total energy usage is under 15000 watts. That is equal to about twelve incandescent theatre lights. A far cry from the average two hundred and fifty we normally use. I’m proud Sydney Dance Company was able to reduce its energy footprint for this production.

Biography

Damien Cooper works internationally across theatre, opera and dance. Damien’s dance credits for Sydney Dance Company include; I Am-ness, The Shell, A Ghost, The Host & The Lyrebird, Resound, ab [intra], Impermanence, Cinco, Ocho, Grand, Air and Other Invisible Forces and Orb.

Other dance credits include; State (Western Australian Ballet), Of Earth and Sky (Bangarra), The Narrative of Nothing, Firebird and Swan Lake (Australian Ballet), Giselle (Universal Ballet), Birdbrain, Supernature, Habitus and Be Your Self (Australian Dance Theatre), The Frock (Ten Days on the Island Festival), Affinity (Tas Dance), Mortal Engine (Chunky Move) and Grey Rhino (Performing Lines).

Other Theatre credits include Counting & Cracking (Edinburgh International Festival/ Belvoir), Mark Colvin’s Kidney, The Great Fire,

Radiance, The Glass Menagerie, Coranderrk, Miss Julie, Stories I Want to Tell You in Person, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Peter Pan, Private Lives, Conversation Piece, Strange Interlude, Summer of the Seventeenth Doll, Neighbourhood Watch, The Seagull, Gethsemane, Keating!, Toy Symphony, Peribanez, Stuff Happens, The Chairs, The Spook, In Our Name, The Underpants and The Ham Funeral (Belvoir); Disgraced, Orlando, Arcadia, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Golden Age, Suddenly Last Summer, The Women of Troy, The Lost Echo, Riflemind and Tot Mom (Sydney Theatre Company); Macbeth and The Tempest (Bell Shakespeare); The Ring Cycle, Der Ring des Nibelungen, Aida and Cosi Fan Tutte (Opera Australia); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Houston Grand Opera, Canadian Opera, Lyric Opera Chicago); and The Magic Flute (Lyric Opera Chicago).

For lighting design, Damien has won three Sydney Theatre Awards, four Green Room Awards, and two Australian Production Design Guild Awards.

Costume & Production Design

Note

ab [intra] is a work of breadth and scale. From its inception, my collaboration with Rafael focussed on both the power and precision of the dancers. This focus in turn developed a visual language aimed to support the distinct and contrasting musical styles that underpin the work. Like the choreography itself, what we see on stage synthesises the clarity and elegance of the classical scoring as well as the contemporary pulse of Nick’s mesmerising composition.

Our space is one of distillation – a long terrain with somewhat obscured boundaries – heightening the smallness of the human figure at times, but also providing a platform for the bigness of the work to be shaped and sculpted on – as if the first blots of emulsion on a pure white canvas. The clarity and epic quality of this spatial gesture seeks to match the virtuosity of the work.

The dancers are wearing a blend of vintage clothing, contemporary fashion and classic dance wear – each chosen or designed to create a collision on stage that, like a kaleidoscope, create different patterns and visual rhythms as the movement evolves. In all cases, there is a specificity to each item, leaving us with a sense of the personal and the lived experience – albeit in restrained colour palette and minimalist stylisation.

Biography

David is a set and costume designer, working with leading theatre, dance and opera companies across Australia. He was co-resident designer for Sydney Theatre Company through 2012-2013, the recipient of the Kristian Fredrikson Scholarship in 2016 and received the Thelma Afford Award for Costume Design in Stage and Screen in 2020. His most recent credits include Impermanence, ab [intra] and Ocho for Sydney Dance Company; Scenes From A Marriage for Queensland Theatre; Aida for Opera Australia’s ‘Opera On The

Beach’; Love And Information and Calpurnia Descending for Malthouse Theatre; Opening Night, Fangirls, A Room Of One’s Own and Hedda Gabler for Belvoir St Theatre; L’amant Jaloux and Griselda for Pinchgut Opera; and Sydney Theatre Company’s Blithe Spirit, Death of A Salesman, Playing Beatie Bow, The Deep Blue Sea, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Harp In The South, Saint Joan, Top Girls, Chimerica, Australian Graffiti, Speed The Plow, Powerplays, The Golden Age, Boys Will Be Boys, Children of the Sun, Mojo, Travelling North, Machinal, Romeo and Juliet, Fury, Little Mercy, Under Milk Wood and Marriage Blanc. David is currently designing a work for Queensland Ballet.

Photo By: Pedro Greig

Photo By: Pedro Greig

Dancers

Lucy Angel

Born and raised in Wollongong, NSW, Lucy began her training at Joanne Grace School of Dance at age eight before completing her Certificate IV in dance at the Royal Academy of Dance at age 15. Lucy joined The Sarasota Ballet in Florida, USA as a trainee for their 2018-2019 season. At the end of 2019, she performed in The International Divertissement Ballet Gala with Projection Dance, as well as being a finalist in The Brisbane International Contemporary Dance Prix. Lucy joined Sydney Dance Company’s Pre-Professional Year in 2021 where she performed works by James Bachelor, Cloe Fournier, Stephanie Lake and Rafael Bonachela. Lucy commenced her traineeship with Sydney Dance Company at the end of 2022, premiering with the Company in Rafael Bonachela’s ab [intra] at DanceX.

Naiara de Matos

Naiara de Matos was born in Salvador, Brazil. In 2007, she began fulltime training with the Bolshoi Ballet School in Joinville (Brazil). Following her graduation in 2011, Naiara began working in the Young Company of Bolshoi Ballet Brazil until she was offered a position with the Salzburg Landestheater in 2013. Throughout her career, Naiara has joined companies such as Leipzig Ballet (as a soloist), Konzert Theater Bern, Augsburg Ballet and Dance Company St Gallen. She has performed a variety of classical and modern repertoire including a number of soloist and principal roles, both in Europe and further abroad. Naiara has worked with internationally renowned choreographers such as Ohad Naharin, Johan Inger, Uwe Scholz, Nadav Zelner, Martin Zimmermann, Dimo Milev, Alba Castillo, Giovanni Insaudo, Mauro Astolfi, Francesca Frassinelli and more. Naiara joined Sydney Dance Company in 2023.

Dean Elliott

Dean began his dance training in Auckland, New Zealand at age 17. In 2018, he graduated from Ev and Bow Full-time Dance Training Centre in Sydney. During his time there, he worked with many Australian dance professionals and performed in works by choreographers Larissa McGowan, Anton, Robbie Curtis and Adam Blanch. In 2018, Dean appeared as a special guest artist in the Sydney City Youth Ballet’s Australian Tour of Together Live, performing in Lucas Jervies’ PowerHouse. Dean played the role of Young Brett Whitely in Theatre of Image’s Brett and Wendy… A Love Story Bound by Art directed by Kim Carpenter and choreographed by Lucas Jervies. Dean joined Sydney Dance Company in 2019.

Dancers

Riley Fitzgerald

Riley trained with the Anita Coutts School of Dance in regional Victoria before moving to Melbourne to attend the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School, making his professional debut in The White Prince by Stephen Agisilaou. Riley then completed his Level 6 Diploma of Dance Performance at the New Zealand School of Dance in Wellington where he trained under James O’Hara and Tor Columbus. In 2019, Riley joined Sydney Dance Company, performing nationally and internationally in works such as ab [intra], Lux Tenebris, Impermanence and Six Breaths. Riley then moved to France, where he joined Ballet National de Marseille performing works by La Horde, Tania Carvalho, Oona Doherty, Lasseindra Ninja and Alexandre Roccoli and touring extensively throughout France and Europe. Riley makes his return to Sydney Dance Company in 2023.

Jacopo Grabar

Italian born Jacopo trained at Ateneo della Danza in Siena. In 2012 he joined Balletto di Siena as an apprentice and graduated to full time dancer in season 2013 –14. Jacopo received his American Ballet Theatre NTC diploma in 2013, before joining Baltic Dance Theatre (Gdańsk, Poland) the following year where he worked with choreographers including Jiří Kylián, Patrick Delcroix and the director, Izadora Weiss. In 2015 he joined ImPerfect Dancers Company (Pisa, Italy), directed by Walter Matteini and Ina Broeckx and in August 2016 joined Ballet des Stadttheater Bremerhaven, under the direction of Sergei Vanaev, where he worked with Itzik Galili and Ed Wubbe. Jacopo joined Sydney Dance Company in August 2018.

Liam Green

Having grown up in Perth, Liam trained with a range of local schools, including Dynamic Performing Arts and The Graduate College of Dance. At 15, Liam was accepted into the Advanced Diploma of Dance at WAAPA, the youngest to enter the program. Liam worked with the West Australian Ballet for five years, ending his time at the Company as a Demi-Soloist, before joining Sydney Dance Company in 2019. Liam’s repertoire is expansive and diverse, including works such as Radio and Juliet by Edward Clug, In Transit by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and WOOF by Melanie Lane. Liam has also completed a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in Finance and Economics, at The University of Western Australia.

Dancers

Madeline Harms

Born and raised in Mount Gambier, South Australia, Madeline Harms received her early training at Maryke Dance Academy before completing her high school education at the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School in Melbourne. In 2012 she received her Bachelor of Dance at the Codarts University for the Arts, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, and then went on to base herself in Europe for a further 10 years. Earlier in her career Madeline performed with Dantzaz Konpainia (Spain) with choreographers Itzik Galili and Jacopo Godani, and worked in the Netherlands as an independent dancer. In 2017, Madeline became a member of tanzmainz, the dance company of Staatstheater Mainz, Germany, under the direction of Honne Dohrmann. During this time she worked closely in creations with a variety of choreographers and toured extensively throughout Europe and abroad. Madeline joined Sydney Dance Company in 2023.

Luke Hayward

Luke was born in Alice Springs and received his early training at Central Dance Theatre and Alice Springs Gymnastics before moving to Sydney to train at Tanya Pearson’s Classical Coaching Academy and Studio Tibor. He then furthered his studies in Germany by completing a Bachelor of Dance at Palucca Hochschule für Tanz Dresden. While there, Luke interned at Yuval Pick’s National Choreographic Center De Rillieux-la-Pape and Elena Tupyseva’s Balet Moskva. Upon graduating with Honours, he received the Ingrid-Biedenkopf-Stipendium and accepted a contract with Theater Balet Moskva in Moscow, where he joined their Ballet troupe and Contemporary troupe as a Soloist for the 2016/17 Season. Luke joined Sydney Dance Company in 2019 and has worked with an extensive array of choreographers including Rafael Bonachela, Gabrielle Nankivell, Melanie Lane, Gideon Obarzanek and Ohad Naharin.

Morgan Hurrell

Born and raised in Mudgee NSW, Morgan began her early training at age 2 and attended Dance Unlimited until 2019. Focusing on her passion for contemporary dance, at age 17 Morgan had numerous offers for full-time placements. She accepted an offer to attend National College of Dance in Newcastle where she completed her Diploma of Dance. In 2021 Morgan moved to Sydney to study an Advanced Diploma of Dance with Sydney Dance Company’s Pre-Professional Year. She joined Sydney Dance Company as a Trainee at the end of 2021, supported by The Wales Family, and her first onstage performance with the Company was in Jacopo Grabar’s work Stereotipo for New Breed 2021.

Dancers

Sophie Jones

Sophie grew up in Angourie NSW and trained with Adele Lewis School of Dance. At the age of 14 she moved to Burleigh Heads, Queensland to begin full time ballet training and further her studies with Prudence Bowen Atelier. After extensive years of training she received a traineeship with the Joffrey Ballet in Chicago where she worked with numerous choreographers and performed Etudes by Harald Lander, and George Balanchine’s Serenade. After discovering an interest in contemporary dance, Sophie completed her diploma and advanced diploma with Sydney Dance Company’s Pre Professional Year in 2020 and 2021. During this time she had the opportunity to perform works by Holly Doyle, Omer Backley-Astrachan, Jessica Goodfellow and Rafael Bonachela. Sophie joined Sydney Dance Company as a Trainee in January 2022, supported by the David and Fee Hancock Foundation.

Connor McMahon

Connor began training at Planetdance in Sydney, Australia and continued his contemporary dance training at Ev & Bow, receiving his Diploma of Dance in 2021. During his final year, Connor made his musical theatre debut as Baby John in Opera Australia/GWB Entertainment’s production of West Side Story in Perth, WA, which toured nationally. Since graduating, Connor has performed in Sydney Choreographic Centre’s production Galileo with Francesco Ventriglia. Connor joined Sydney Dance Company in July 2022.

Jesse Scales

Born in Hobart, Jesse is from Adelaide where they trained with Terry Simpson and received the RAD Solo Seal. They received full scholarships to study with Complexions Contemporary Ballet in New York and Nederlands Dans Theatre in The Hague and went on to major in classical ballet at the New Zealand School of Dance. Since joining Sydney Dance Company in 2012, Jesse performed a feature role in the Australian premiere of William Forsythe’s Quintett for which they were awarded the 2015 Green Room Award for ‘Best Female Dancer’ and a nomination for the 2015 Helpmann Award for ‘Best Female Dancer’.

Jesse made their choreographic debut in Sydney Dance Company’s 2016 New Breed season, and choreographed Inertia in New Breed 2020. In 2017, the Dance Australia Critics’ Choice Survey named Jesse as ‘Most Outstanding Dancer’.

Dancers

Piran Scott

Born in Mackay, Australia, Piran trained under Lynette Denny AM at Theatre Arts Mackay. He then completed the Professional Year program with the Queensland Ballet, before joining the company as a full member in 2010, under the artistic direction of Francois Klaus. In 2013, Piran received a soloist position with the Leipzig Ballet in Germany, under Mario Schroeder. He then became a soloist with the Ballet Theater Basel in Switzerland, directed by Richard Wherlock, followed by successful seasons with the Dance Company St. Gallen under Kinsun Chan, where he was awarded Dancer of the Year 2022 in “tanz” magazine Europe. Piran has been a professional dancer for over 10 years, performing numerous classical and contemporary works. Piran joined Sydney Dance Company in 2023.

Emily Seymour

Sydney born, Emily Seymour began her training in all styles of dance at All Starz Performing Arts Studio and later studied full-time ballet at Tanya Pearson Classical Coaching Academy. In 2016, Emily was a member of Houston Ballet II for two years, following a year as an Apprentice with Houston Ballet Company. While in Houston, Emily performed in works by Stanton Welch, Alexander Ekman, John Neumeier, George Balanchine and many more. Emily joined West Australian Ballet as a Young Artist for one year before joining Sydney Dance Company in 2018. Emily’s first performance with the Company was at the Théâtre National De Chaillot in Paris, followed by Sydney Dance Company’s European Spring Tour. Since joining the Company, Emily has performed in Rafael Bonachela’s ab [intra], Frame of Mind and Lux Tenebris; Melanie Lane’s WOOF; and Gabrielle Nankivell’s Wildebeest and Neon Aether.

Kai Taberner

Originally from Sydney, Kai Taberner trained with the Valerie Jenkins Academy of Ballet and the NSW public schools dance ensembles. In 2021, Kai graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Dance Performance) from QUT in Brisbane. Kai has performed both nationally and internationally and made his choreographic debut at NIDA in 2019 with Axis Trajected. Using his multidisciplinary skills, Kai has performed for a range of companies in various styles, including Oblaat for Supercell: Festival of Contemporary Dance in Brisbane (2020), Leviathan with Circa Contemporary Circus (2020), The Australian Ballet premiere of The Creatures of Prometheus by Jayden Grogan (2021), Cirque Bon Bon at Brisbane Powerhouse (2021), and lndependance with Phluxus2Dance Collective (2020 and 2021). Kai joined Sydney Dance Company in 2022.

Dancers

Mia Thompson

Mia was born in Queensland and started her dance training at the age of four with the Yvonne Brittain Dance Academy. She went on to join Queensland Ballet’s Pre-Professional Year in 2010 where she performed alongside the Company in many productions. In 2011 Mia joined West Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA). After completing two years at WAAPA, Mia accepted a job with Queensland Ballet under the directorship of Li Cunxin. In 2016, Mia joined the Scottish Ballet and was promoted to First Artist in 2018. Her highlights include Crystal Pite’s Emergence, Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s Le Baiser de la Fée (performed on the Royal Opera House stage) and the role of the Sugarplum Fairy in Peter Darrel’s The Nutcracker. Mia joined Sydney Dance Company in 2019.

Coco Wood

Born in Ballarat, Victoria, Coco started training at the Kerry Moore School of Ballet. In 2015 she was accepted into the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School in Melbourne where she performed in many works, notably Tim Harbour’s contemporary work Romeo and Juliet and Jonathon Taylor’s Summer’s End. At the end of her schooling, Coco was accepted into third year of the Bachelor’s Degree (Honours) at the Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance in London. In 2020, Coco was accepted into Sydney Dance Company’s PreProfessional Year program, where she engaged in works by Holly Doyle, Jessica Goodfellow, Omer Backley-Astrachan and Rafael Bonachela. In 2021, Coco performed in Rhiannon Newton’s The Gift of a Warning for New Breed and joined Sydney Dance Company as a Trainee in 2022, supported by The Wales Family.

Chloe Young

Chloe graduated from Queensland National Ballet’s Advanced Diploma in Elite Performance in 2016. Chloe performed with Queensland National Ballet School as Alice in Alice in Wonderland, a soloist in Mulan, and Phyrgia in Spartacus, as well as a special guest at the Alana Haines Australian Awards (2017) and the Press Freedom Dinner (2017). In 2017, Chloe graduated from Sydney Dance Company’s Pre-Professional Year and joined the Company as Trainee in 2018. Chloe’s first onstage performance with the Company was in Rafael Bonachela’s award winning works Frame Of Mind and Lux Tenebris during the Company’s South America Tour to Chile and Colombia in 2018. She has since performed in Rafael Bonachela’s Cinco, ab [intra] and Impermanence, as well as Gabrielle Nankivell’s Wildebeest, Antony Hamilton’s Forever and Ever and Melanie Lane’s WOOF

Richard Cilli

Richard Cilli, Rehearsal Director

Born in Boorloo (Perth), Richard Cilli trained at WAAPA and Taipei National University of the Arts before joining Sydney Dance Company in 2009. His international performing career has seen him work with a range of choreographers including Rafael Bonachela, Lloyd Newson, Stephanie Lake, Anouk van Dijk, Jacopo Godani, Lucy Guerin, Gideon Obarzanek, Alexander Ekman, Adam Linder, Emanuel Gat and Kenneth Kvarnström.

Richard has danced with Sydney Dance Company, Rambert, Chunky Move, Australasian Dance Collective, Dancenorth, Lucy Guerin Inc. and K.Kvarnström & Co (Sweden). In 2010 he was awarded the Helpmann for Best Male Dancer for his performance in Rafael Bonachela’s we unfold, and in 2012 won the Australian Ballet’s 50th Anniversary Ballet Competition.

As a choreographer he has created work for Sydney Dance Company, The Australian Ballet, Pre-Professional Year, LINK Dance Company and WAAPA, as well as various independently produced works. A certified Countertechnique teacher, Richard has taught at institutions around Australia and the world, including the 2019 One Body, One Career intensive in Montreal, Canada.

Richard assumed the role of Rehearsal Director at Sydney Dance Company in 2021. Since then he has worked on Impermanence national tour, Bonachela’s dance film Years, New Breed 2021 & 2022, Ohad Naharin’s Decadance, the French tour of ab [intra], 2022’s triple bill Resound and Ascent which premiered in March 2023.

Charmene Yap

Charmene Yap, Rehearsal Associate

Charmene Yap is a multi-awardwinning dancer, rehearsal director and choreographer. She is a graduate of the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts and Purchase College New York. In her early career, Charmene was a recipient of an Australian Council Skills and Development Grant and nominee of the prestigious Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative Award.

Prior to her decade of performing with Sydney Dance Company, Charmene danced for companies Chunky Move, Tasdance, Dancenorth, Lucy Guerin Inc., Armitage Gone! Dance Company and worked with numerous choreographers including Tanja Liedtke and Antony Hamilton. She has featured in films including Think Of Yourself As Plural by David Rosetzky, Del Kathryn Barton’s Red, and Katie Noonan’s music video Quicksand. Charmene joined Sydney Dance Company as a dancer in 2010, performing the majority of works by Artistic Director Rafael Bonachela, and other Australian and international choreographers including William Forsythe, Alexander Ekman and Stephanie Lake. She has won numerous awards including the Helpmann Award for Best Female Dancer in 2012, the Australian Dance Award in 2013 for 2 One Another, and the Helpmann Award for Best Female Dancer in 2014 for 2 in D Minor.

As a choreographer, Charmene has created for stage, short films, music clips and fashion shows. This includes Grey Rhino with co-choreographer Cass Mortimer Eipper, which premiered in Sydney Festival 2022, and works performed by Sydney Dance Company and Co3 Company. She was choreographer/movement director for Belvoir’s new work Tell Me I’m Here, and assistant choreographer for Gideon Obarzanek’s Us 50 which celebrated Sydney Dance Company’s 50th Anniversary.

In September 2019, Charmene commenced her role as Sydney Dance Company’s inaugural Rehearsal Associate, supported by the Nelson Meers Foundation and Sydney Dance Company’s Dancers’ Circle, working with the company’s artistic and education departments.

In 2022, Charmene choreographed a new work Drunk Tank Pink for Sydney Dance Company’s annual New Breed season co-presented with Carriageworks and supported by The Balnaves Foundation.

Front view

Staff

Board of Directors

Brett Clegg (Chair)

Emma-Jane Newton (Deputy Chair)

David Baxby

Prof Larissa Behrendt AO

Jillian Broadbent AC

David Friedlander

Emma Gray

Alexa Haslingden

Mark Hassell

Catriona Mordant AM

Sandra McCullagh

Paris Neilson

International Patron

Dame Darcey Bussell DBE

Founding Patron

Dancers’ Circle

Julian Knights AO

Ambassadors

Judy Crawford

Bee Wood

Jules Maxwell

Dance Noir Committee Co-Chairs: Mandy Foley

Peter Reeve Committee

Sally Burleigh, Jane

Clifford, Debbie Coffey,

Georgie Fergusson, Alexa

Haslingden, Stephen

Thatcher, Michelle Walsh.

Management

Artistic Director

Rafael Bonachela

Executive Director

Lou Oppenheim

Executive Assistant

Amy Burrows Producer

Dominic Chang

Programming Coordinator

Kerry Thampapillai

Chief Financial Officer

Sean Radcliffe Accountant

Melissa Sim Payroll Assistant

Carina Mision

Director of Training and Education

Polly Brett

Head of Open Programs & Learning

Samantha Dashwood

Dance Class Manager

Ramon Doringo

Learning Manager

Justine Turner

Learning Coordinator

Jacqueline Cooper

Learning Administrator

Eugenie English

Head of Training

Linda Gamblin

Pre-Professional Year Course Coordinator

Tobiah Booth-Remmers

Training Associate

Juliette Barton

Learning Associate

Alexandria Panetta

Conditioning Studio Manager

Felicity McGee

Customer Service Manager

Michael Sieders

Philanthropy and Government Relations Director

Alan Watt

Head of Philanthropy

Michelle Boyle

Philanthropy Manager

Madeleine White

Lachlan Bell (parental leave cover)

Philanthropy Assistant

Emma Langfield

Government Relations Coordinator

Pru Tan

Corporate Partnerships Manager

Marcus Hurley

Events and Venue Hire Manager

Sandra Di Palma

Marketing, Communications and CRM Director

Priscilla Hunt

Head of CRM and Business Intelligence

Louise Davidson

Ticketing Specialist

John Calvi

Marketing Manager

Natalie Zagaglia

Marketing and Communications Coordinators

Vivienne Crowle

Laurance Corbett

Publicity Manager

Alexandra Barlow

Resident Multimedia Artist

Pedro Greig

Technical Director

Guy Harding

Company and Resident Stage Manager

Simon Turner

Production Coordinator

Tony McCoy

Head of Wardrobe

Annie Robinson

Costumiers

Nicole Artsetos

Tim Corne

Costume and Silk Set

Construction for The Ghost

Sophia Mangraviti

Venue Operations Manager

Belinda Campbell

The Company

Rehearsal Director

Richard Cilli

Rehearsal Associate

Charmene Yap

Dancers

Lucy Angel

Naiara de Matos

Dean Elliott

Riley Fitzgerald

Jacopo Grabar

Liam Green

Madeline Harms

Luke Hayward

Morgan Hurrell

Sophie Jones

Connor McMahon

Jesse Scales

Piran Scott

Emily Seymour

Kai Taberner

Mia Thompson

Chloe Young

Coco Wood

Head Physiotherapist

Ashlea-Mary Cohen

Company Doctor

Dr. Michael Berger

Sports Doctor Dr. James Lawrence

Company Teachers

Emily Amisano

Anton

Sara Black

Holly Doyle

Cathie Goss

Samantha Hines

Billy Keohavong

Chloe Leong

Iohna Mercer

Rhiannon Newton

Sydney Dance Company Wharf 4/5 15 Hickson Road

DAWES POINT

NSW 2000

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We would like to thank all our Partners for their generous support and acknowledge those who have given anonymously. Our Partners make it possible for us to create and present new work, inspire future generations of dancers and audiences, extend our reach and plan for the future. We

Take A Step & Take A Seat Campaigns

The next step has been taken and our home has been transformed, ready to welcome the next generation of dancers. We would like to thank everyone, both acknowledged and anonymous, for their visionary support of our Take

contact our

passion

thank you to our

Seat Campaigns. They have enabled the transformation of our physical space and underpinned our creativity for decades to come.

Step and Take

India Neville

Lizzi Nicoll

Emma-Jane Newton & Chris Paxton

Clare Munnelly & Andrew Ordish

Tim Rahn

Nick Read

Victoria & Peter Shorthouse

Catherine Smithson

Ruth & Bruce Smithson

Noel Staunton

Dancers’ Circle

To celebrate our milestone

50th anniversary in 2019, we are proud to have launched the Dancers’ Circle, which directly supports the growth and development of our ensemble of dancers, enabling pathways for their time with the Company and beyond.

Patron: Julian Knights AO

Hayley & James Baillie

Paul Brady & Christine Yip

Brett Clegg & Annabel Hepworth

Manuela Darling

Deborah & David Friedlander

Paula & Damien Cronin

Margaret Gibbs

Andrew & Emma Gray

The Hansen Family

Julian Knights AO & Lizanne Knights

Roslyn Packer AC

In memory of Nola McCullagh

Rachel & Neil Sinden

Pip & Dick Smith Foundation

Mary Zuber

Bequests

The Estate of C.R. Adamson

The Estate of Patricia

Cameron-Stewart

The Estate of Janet Fischer

The Estate of Patricia Leehy

The Estate of Carina Martin

The Estate of Lorelle Thomson

The Estate of Peggy Watson (Raczkowska)

Carla Zampatti Commissioning Fund 2023

With visionary support from the Carla Zampatti Foundation. Together with the generosity of the Neilson Foundation and 2023 Carla Zampatti Commissioning Fund supporters.

Pam & Doug Bartlett

Paul Brady & Christine Yip

Jillian Broadbent AC & Olev Rahn

Mandy Foley

Belinda Gibson

Kathryn Greiner AO

Our Partners

Government Partners

NEW BREED Principal Partner

Artistic Director’s Commissioning Partner (Forever & Ever)

Major Partners

Artistic Director Partner

Major Partner

Trusts & Foundations

Government Supporters

Company Partners

Associate Partners

Supporters Capi, Committee for Sydney, Tattersalls Club, Stedmans

Sydney Dance Company is assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body.

Sydney Dance Company is supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW.

We thank the Naomi Milgrom Foundation for its support of our Forever & Ever Education Program, enabling school students to access transformative contemporary dance experiences.

Photo By: Pedro Greig

Photo: Pedro Greig

“The value and the power of the arts has never been more important than it is now. Dance, music and creativity bring us together, give us hope and help us feel alive.”

Rafael Bonachela, Artistic Director