Sydney Dance Company at The Kennedy Center by Sylvana Christopher

Sydney Dance Company in Impermanence by Rafael Bonachela 

Thursday. April 25th, 2024

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Eisenhower Theater

By Sylvana Christopher

We all die someday. Given a chance to see this Australian company I sprang at the opportunity. Sydney Dance Company is based in the Walsh Bay Arts Precinct in Sydney, Australia. Their studios are on the lands and over the waters of the Gadigal, Aboriginal meaning people of the Grasstree. Sydney Dance Company’s ultra svelte dancers laterally cross the Eisenhower stage with a The Australian String Quartet positioned upstage left corner all highlighted by cool electric colored lighting designed by Damien Cooper.

Caught falls to the floor appear as if we are losing people left and right, reminiscent of the early onset of the Covid pandemic. The opening pass ends with all on their backs with one leg up. The artistic team of composers, designers and dance company members reads as a highly skilled group of professionals dedicated to their craft. Reading up on their training methods I learned that there is a heavy emphasis on improvisation as well as an undoing of the classical training and an impressive development of young choreographers amongst the trainees. 

I feel it is important to name the dancers: Timmey Blankenship, Anika Boet, Dean Elliott, Riley Fitgerald, Tayla Gartner, Liam Green, Luke Hayward, Morgan Hurrell, Ngaere Jenkins, Sophie Jones, Naiara de Matos, Connor McMahon, Ryan Peterson, Piran Scott, Emily Seymour, Coco Wood, and Chloe Young. Sleek minimal costuming (neutral underpants, boys shorts and long sleeve fitted shirts) and hair worn in ponytails or pulled back buns on the women and shorter cuts on the men renders the company as a streamlined ensemble.

Appreciating the fact that this company is dancing to live music happening on stage and the staging challenges that presents.  Section two has a heavier staccato feel and bass that one can feel in the bones. The women are supple and quick. We witness a gorgeous attitude turned by a woman with her hair in a bun wearing a brown top.  We see three men perform a daring over the arch fall and an effortless triple turn. We see a duet between a woman and a man. At this point there is too much additional bass for my liking along with flickering lights. A blond man looks like an Adonis and performs a low spin with a long leg. Bonachela’s hand gestures in unison are interesting.

Pulsating ensemble empties out leaving a dejected lonely knotted woman who rolls over her own propped up lower back. She stumbles purposely while showing off her flexibility. What to do all alone? Is this the craze with which we all felt cooped up inside our apartments and homes? Crouched movement into a handstand then collapsing – is this the slog that we all felt while we went online for rehearsal and meetings? Imagining the resilience it took every dancer friend of mine to move while being limited to the size of our kitchen, living or bed rooms.
Eerie music cuts to a quintet and now it’s clear that they are dancing in flesh colored socks though some opted for bare feet. This personal preference can be dependent on the type of flooring as well as what the dancer’s feet are like and how much slip or traction they want for safety and for optimal turns.

Vacillating between small and large groupings engages, however, a lack of narrative characters permits this viewer from going deeper with the individuals on stage. Keeping our eyes moving we see daring contemporary dance movements. The dancers change from airborne to earthbound with lots of hook jumps that look like a flying squirrel plus barrel leaps with raised hips, star jumps, developee turns in and out of the ground. I believe it takes years to master how to not injure yourself (perhaps concepts in release technique are employed). 

A female and male duet arrange lite and line gliding with unique ways of carving space in between them.  A mint green light colors a trio of dancers while the dance underwear/boyshorts keep us marveling at the dancers legs and buns. Trills from violins along calls and responses simulate inner turmoil and a face off between two women occurs. 

Finally, some jostling and fun in the face! A brighter light and ability to see the individual’s expressions. An ensemble piece follows and a beautiful brunette in the center clears for a sinewy female duet into a yellow green lit line. It feels as though friendships are tested and alliances form, break and disappear. A purple horizontal lit line appears. Visually, the lighting is tonal and subliminal with the width of a line or saturation of a color being the variants.   

Feeling the effects of climate change, Australia’s fires seem to be referenced in the piece.  Uncontained fire starters, silhouetted bodies and bold unison is marked by a burnt orange light. The lighting turns blue then purple with what appears to be snow fall with one man dancing amidst what could also be seen as ashes from the cooling fires. The music and he gives me the shivers. A spooky herd of dancers assemble. People are backing away from a sick man perhaps. Most interesting ensemble section yet with accented slap and undulating spines and leaps. A woman solos to purple embers. Was she deserted? A man walks in and shrugs his shoulders. He is activated by a new musical section while a woman leaves and a new pair enter. Although the movement vocabulary is super contemporary this female-male duet also feels super classical in form. They have a sexy partnership where the woman is light as a feather and the man is there to make her look good. 

Many duets in this work occupy a driving force in Impermanence. A male duet eager for a hook on hook, slide, roll, dip, careen, float and exit. A female winds with the ensemble in silhouette round to cover the width of the stage is amazing and very modern. The music dissolves and they melt into the abyss.  We slowly reclaim our lives and touch one another again as we have been starved for intimacy and connection. 

At last, a solo by a man, to music with lyrics – a strange departure from the rich instrumental music that has colored the rising tension of the piece up to this point. Felt as if this soloist  danced that he still has too many dreams and is going to miss the things that grow. The string quartet pauses. A painted lyric states “I need another place”. It ends shockingly sad. 

I do hope to see this company here in Washington again but better yet I hope to visit Sydney one day and see the beautiful lands of the Grasstree people.

-Sylvana Christopher

Visit Sydney Dance Company online at;

@sydneydanceco

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