3 minute read
Training the Future
“It’s an edgy picture … invigorating to watch because of the vitality, commitment and skill of the dancers.” The Sydney Morning Herald 2019 marked the sixth year of Sydney Dance Company’s Pre-Professional Year program and the strength, skill and maturity of the graduating ensemble was a testament to the way the course has developed and flourished since its inception. It has become a critical element of the advanced training and education programs at Sydney Dance Company and a unique, yet integral part of the dance training ecology in Australia. The 2019 PPY ensemble consisted of 26 dancers, who worked with 29 Australian-based guest teachers and choreographers, as well as seven international guest choreographers from across the globe: Greece, Israel, U.K, Canada, Spain and Belgium. Four of the 2019 cohort were supported in their studies by scholarships from Stephen and Julie Fitzgerald, the Doug Hall Foundation, the Wales Family Foundation and Mary Zuber. The Hepzibah Artist Development Program, which supports the next generation of Australian artists, helped to ensure that professional development opportunities were afforded to both emerging, visiting choreographers and creatives and the PPY dancers themselves. PPY19 dancers studied for Advanced Diplomas and Diplomas of Dance. Key body practices exercised by the young dancers included Yoga and mindfulness with Jolie Brook; Pilates with Ingrid Shaw; Ballet mechanics and functionally efficient movement with Head of Training Linda Gamblin and Company Exercise Physiologist Annie Jefferies; injury prevention and safe practice with Company Physiotherapist Ashley-Mary Cohen; resilience and self-care lectures and workshops with ‘Balance’ EAP psychologist Sallie Grey; and conscious and safe movement with Course Coordinator Omer Backley-Astrachan. Through the course ethos of collaborating in a co-creative environment, the dancers navigated their way through 2019 with curiosity and intrigue, culminating in a successful PPY19 Revealed season; a quadruple-bill performed over three performances at Carriageworks in December. The season included Idan Cohen’s Orfeo ed Euridice, Leah Marojevic’s Homage, The Consumerist Spectacle by Vicki Van Hout and an excerpt from Rafael Bonachela’s Lux Tenebris. PPY19 Revealed was generously supported by Hermès Australia. “It has been a delight to be involved in the creative growth of these amazing dancers over the past year and I am overjoyed to see them performing an excerpt from my own work, Lux Tenebris; they really have brought it to life!” Rafael Bonachela. Earlier in the year PPY participated in the creation of Sydney Dance Company commissioned dance-film project On The Edge, directed by choreographer and film-maker Sue Healey. The weeklong dance film project concluded with a shoot day at Leura, in the Blue Mountains, where the dancers interacted with the breath-taking landscapes. The well-established relationship with NAISDA Dance College continued in 2019, with two days of workshops and a mock audition experience for the students. Force Majeure Artistic Director Danielle Micich and independent choreographer Victoria Hunt led the workshops. The collaboration concluded with PPY students traveling to NAISDA in Wyong where they learned dances unique to indigenous culture with the NAISDA cohort. In a step away from the physical, the dancers were taught by former Company Dancer and renowned educator Shane Carroll in the skills required for project proposals for fundraising and grant applications. The dancers created their own mock funding project which they presented and discussed in the studio in front of industry guests in order to simulate the experience. Overall, the calibre of dancers emerging from PPY continues to rise and their post-training career trajectories continue to impress. Telea Jensen graduated from PPY 2019 in the knowledge that she would be joining the Sydney Dance Company ensemble as the company trainee for 2020.
