Four Australian Dance Makers Commissioned to Create Works for the 10th Anniversary of New Breed

[caption id="attachment_43183" align="aligncenter" width="600"] SDC NewBreed 2023 (c) Pedro Greig[/caption] New Breed 2023 Celebrating a Decade of Supporting the New Breed of Australian Choreographers With the support of Principal Partner The Balnaves Foundation , Sydney Dance Company and Carriageworks are pleased to announce the four Australian dance makers commissioned to create works for this year's exciting tenth anniversary of New Breed . Eliza Cooper , Tra Mi Dinh , Riley Fitzgerald and Beau Dean Riley Smith will each choreograph a new work which will have its world premiere at Carriageworks from 6 - 16 December 2023 .

New Breed 2023 provides Australian choreographers with an invaluable opportunity to work with Australia’s leading contemporary dance company on a newly commissioned piece. New Breed is well established as Australia’s most exciting showcase of raw talent and fresh ideas from some of the country’s most gifted emerging choreographers.

Leading the next generation of rich choreographic voices, this year’s program will feature works by Eliza Cooper , dancer, choreographer, costume designer and this year’s recipient of a prestigious ATLAS Choreographic Training Programme scholarship for ImPulsTanz: Vienna International Dance Festival; Tra Mi Dinh , dancer, choreographer and recipient of the Keir Choreographic Award for 2022; Riley Fitzgerald , current Sydney Dance Company dancer who returns to Australia after two years with the Ballet National de Marseille , France; and Wiradjuri and Gamillaraay man Beau Dean Riley Smith , award-winning dancer, choreographer and actor who performed with Bangarra Dance Theatre from 2013 to 2022.

These dance makers will benefit from the extensive support of all the departments of Sydney Dance Company in readiness for their premiere season at Carriageworks in December.

New Breed made its debut in November 2014, supporting emerging Australian choreographers through the commissioning and presentation of new dance work. Since its inception, the initiative has seen 35 emerging dance artists present world premiere works on the Company, such as leading contemporary choreographer Melanie Lane , and Artistic Director of Australian Dance Theatre , Daniel Riley .

Sydney Dance Company Artistic Director Rafael Bonachela said: “Over the last ten years, New Breed has been instrumental in helping to support the early careers of some of Australia’s most exciting emerging dancemakers, many of whom are now acclaimed, internationally recognised choreographers, who continue to push the boundaries of contemporary dance and champion progressive ideas. I am delighted to introduce this year’s four choreographers for our New Breed 2023 program, and look forward to the continuation of this invaluable initiative for many years to come.”

Carriageworks CEO Fergus Linehan said: “Carriageworks is incredibly proud to have worked with Sydney Dance Company and The Balnaves Foundation over the last ten years on such an important initiative. This year’s instalment of New Breed promises to deliver another ambitious program of innovative choreographic work by some of Australia’s most compelling choreographic voices, brought to life on the Carriagework stage.”

Victoria Balnaves of The Balnaves Foundation said: “Celebrating ten years of New Breed is an extremely exciting milestone. The Foundation is proud to have been supporting this vital program since its inception in 2014, and to witness the impact New Breed has had, for not just the choreographers, but the dancers and the audiences over the past decade has been a privilege. The Balnaves Foundation’s support of these up-and-coming artists in their practice and seeing their vision brought to life by Sydney Dance Company remains an important part of our commitment to cultivating the future of the Arts in Australia.”

The tenth instalment of New Breed will see Sydney Dance Company, The Balnaves Foundation, and Carriageworks continue their commitment to the future of Australian contemporary dance.