Limelight — May 2017

http://www.limelightmagazine.com.au MAY 2017LIMELIGHT 89

PANORAMA O

Swan LakeThis classic story of

good versus evil is considered

oneofthegreatestballetsof

alltime,settoTchaikovsky’s

beloved score.Queensland

Ballet, Lyric Theatre, May 5 – 13

Don QuixoteChoreographed by

Australia’s ‘Grande Dame’ of ballet,

Lucette Alduous,Don Quixote

promisesagoodtime.West

Australian Ballet, His Majesty’s

Theatre, Perth, May 11 – 27

ALSO ON

THIS MONTH...

DANCE

Bonachelaembracesthepowerofeight

TwonewworkswillseeSydneyDanceCompanyexplore moon,starsandMilkyWay

pREVIEW Asthelaunchofthe2017season

approached, Bonachela tentatively asked

Chengifhehadanyideasyetforhispiece.

“Iknowhowharditisforachoreographer

whodoesn’tknowthedancersandhasn’t

beentoaplace,buthesaid,‘no,that’sfine.It’s

calledFull Moon.It’sabouttherelationship

that we humans have with the moon and what

that represents in different cultures.’ So, it was

averybeautifulcoincidencethatbothworks

haveasphereandcirclesinthem–thoughin

very different ways,” says Bonachela.

Equallyfortuitously,Chengwantedtowork

with between eight and ten dancers, and didn’t

mind about the gender mix, so Bonachela has

dividedthe16dancersintotwoequalgroups.

“It’sthefirsttimeineightyearsthatI’m

working with eight dancers. We don’t have

manyworksthatdon’thaveeverybody.Ithink

thatisnicetobreakthepattern,”hesays.

ForOcho,Bonachelaisemployinga

hypnotic electronic score by Nick Wales,

whichincludesatrackbyIndigenous

performer Rrawun Maymuru, who comes

Perhapsitwasthestarsaligning,

musesSydneyDanceCompanyArtisticDirector

RafaelBonachela,admittingthatitwaspureluck

thatledthetwoworksintheCompany’snew

double bill to share similar themes.

Orb,asitiscalled,featuresapairofworld

premieresbyBonachelaandTaiwanese

choreographer Cheng Tsung-lung. “It is

thefirsttimeinits47-yearhistorythata

choreographerfromAsiaiscreatingawork

on the Company,” says Bonachela.

ChengisArtisticDirectorofCloudGate2,

theyoutharmoftheinternationallyrenowned

CloudGateDanceTheatreofTaiwan,formed

to showcase talented young dancers in original

worksbyinnovativeyoungchoreographers.

He grew up in Taipei where his family

owned a slipper factory. Hawking slippers

onthesidewalkswaspartofhischildhood

and adolescence. The dynamics of street-life

wouldlaterbecomeasourceofinspirationfor

hischoreography–thoughinhisnewwork

forSDC,helooksinsteadtotheheavens.

Bonachela had been on the lookout for a

whileforsomeonetocollaboratewithfrom

theAsianregion,givenitsproximityto

Australia, and came across Cheng’s work.

“I know of Cloud Gate, of course, and he

usedtodancewiththemsoIwaslike‘bingo!’.

I contacted him and he sent me some more

stuffanditwaslike‘wow!’Ithoughtthe

Company would look really beautiful doing

hiswork,anditwouldbeadifferent[dance]

languageforusandforouraudiences.Ididn’t

askhimwhathisworkwouldbeatthatpoint.”

Bonachela had already decided that his own

new piece would be calledOcho,meaning

‘eight’inSpanish.“Ihavebeenhereforeight

yearsandIdecidedtouseeightdancers,”he

explains.“Ilikedthefactthattheword‘ocho’

hastwocircleswiththe‘O’ateitherendofit.

Andifyouputthenumber8onitsside,it’sthe

signforinfinity,sothatalsocomesintoplay.”

Choreographically, Bonachela is playing

withtheideaofthesoloperformer.“It’snot

justeightsolos,it’snotstructuredinthat

way, but the idea of the virtuosic solo is a

very powerful one in it,” he says.

from Arnhem Land. “He is singing a very

beautifulsongthatconnectstotheideaof

the infinite, calledNyapillilnguwhich

translatesto‘SpiritLady’.Itisusedwith

thepermissionof[elders]anditisaboutthe

Spirit Lady who comes when the soul of a

person who has died crosses from our world

into the infinite Milky Way,” says Bonachela.

Speaking toLimelightearly in rehearsals,

Bonachelaisconsideringhavingnoneofthe

dancerstouchforthefirst20minutesofthe

work.“Iamreallydrawntoduets,it’soneofmy

things. But inLux Tenebris[in 2016] there was

onesectionthatwasallsolosandIfeltthatmy

language and choreography got to somewhere

reallyexcitingandIwantedtofollowthat

thread,” he says. “Then when the dancers

finally come together, having been deprived of

touchandconnectionforsolong,Ihopeitwill

be a very powerful moment.”Jo Litson

Orbplays at the Roslyn Packer Theatre,

Sydney, April 29 – May 13, Melbourne, May 17

• 20, and Canberra, May 25 – 27

Photo © Pedro Greig

Behind Closed DoorsNatalie

Weir’s poetic kiss and tell reveals

thedarknessandfragilityof

human nature to a live jazz score.

Expressions Dance Company,

QPAC, Brisbane, May 19 – 27

Rafael Bonachela in rehearsal