Sydney Dance’s new directions

Sydney Dance Company artistic director Rafael Bonachela is a busy man: his company, accustomed to staging works one at a time over the course of a season, is this month mounting four different works across Sydney and Melbourne.

Melbourne audiences are getting a look at the Helpmann award-winning We Unfold, while here in Sydney, dance lovers are being treated to New Creations, a collection of three short pieces by Bonachela and visiting Israeli choreographer Emanuel Gat.

First to that Helpmann, awarded to Richard Cilli last month thanks to his impressive work in We Unfold.
“The piece was nominated quite a few times for quite a few awards and never won anything, so to actually get it was great,” the softly-spoken Bonachela told Sydney Star Observer.

“Especially for (Richard); he’s a beautiful dancer and he deserves it. I couldn’t make it to the Helpmanns, and I did tell him he’d win. Maybe it’s an omen — I should never go to awards, that way we’ll keep winning.”
Now in his fourth season as artistic director, Bonachela decided the time was right to give Sydney audiences more of a taste of his background as an international choreographer. Hence New Creations was born.

“I thought it’d be nice to share a bit of my past with the city I’m living in. They’re both award-winning works. The first, Irony of Fate, is a duet between a violinist and a dancer, with music played live by Ruth Palmer, a violinist from London. That’s why it’s called Irony of Fate — I saw Ruth play many years ago and wanted to work with her, and now we are.”

The second piece, Soledad, is another duet, this one dating back to 2004. Set to the music of Mexican songstress Chavela Vargas, it’s an intimate, 20-minute tale about the relationship between two lovers.
“I made it when I first moved to London, trying to be a good dancer and choreographer but not having a wage. It went on to win three awards in Italy and became a signature piece of mine.

“It’s very special because it was my first piece to include Latin music, so it’s me at my most Latin and passionate … and everything that goes along with that.”

The third, Emanuel Gat’s Satisfying Musical Moments, is a brand new piece, created by Gat in-house at the Company after Bonachela extended an invitation to the acclaimed France-based choreographer.

“His work is really in high demand, and he shows it mostly with his own company,” Bonachela said.

“I heard of him in 2004 when I was in Australia with Kylie (Minogue – Bonachela choreographed her Showgirl tour), and ever since I became sort of obsessed — I really admired what he was doing. So now I’ve been able to commission him to create a work for us. His work is full of poetry; there’s such an intricacy and complexity to it.  It’s a feast for the eyes.”

info: New Creations plays at the Sydney Theatre until October 23. www.sydneydancecompany.com