New Breed - Four World Premieres Showcasing the Future of Australian Contemporary Dance

Sydney Dance Company and Carriageworks, along with Principal Partner, The Balnaves Foundation, proudly announce the emerging choreographers commissioned to create new works for New Breed in 2025.

Featuring four bold world premieres by rising dance makers Emma Fishwick, Ngaere Jenkins, Ryan Pearson and Harrision Ritchie-Jones, this year’s innovative season is not to be missed. Each artist brings a distinct movement language shaped by fresh creative inquiry. Their works will be performed by Sydney Dance Company dancers at Carriageworks from 3 – 13 December 2025.

In its twelfth year, New Breed amplifies unique perspectives and makes powerful ideas physical. Recognised for its role in supporting emerging artists, New Breed has become a distinguishing platform for choreographic exploration in Australia. Through the program, early-career dance makers collaborate with the Company’s internationally renowned Ensemble to develop and present new work on a major stage.

This year’s choreographers are Emma Fishwick, an award winning choreographer whose interdisciplinary practice spans movement, digital media, writing, textiles and academia; Sydney Dance Company’s Ngaere Jenkins, an Aotearoa/New Zealand-born dancer of Te Arawa and Ngāti Kahungunu descent, will make her choreographic debut with New Breed; Harrison Ritchie-Jones, a celebrated dancer, choreographer and filmmaker who works across music videos, films, and dance theatre; and Ryan Pearson of Biripi and Worimi descent on his mother’s side and Minang, Goreng and Balardung on his father’s side, who is also with Sydney Dance Company, and was nominated in 2020 for Most Outstanding Performance by a Male Dancer in the Australian Dance Awards.

Since its inception in 2014, New Breed has premiered 45 original works by early-career Australian choreographers. Firmly established in the national dance landscape, its alumni include acclaimed artists such as Melanie Lane, Daniel Riley, and Tra Mi Dinh — whose 2023 New Breed work will be restaged this year as part of Continuum, Sydney Dance Company’s upcoming October season.

Sydney Dance Company Artistic Director Rafael Bonachela said: "New Breed is about bold creative strides, and this platform invites choreographers to explore new work with the full support of Sydney Dance Company.

I’m thrilled to welcome four new voices to New Breed in 2025 and for them to have the opportunity to create on the Company’s exceptionally talented Ensemble. I’m inspired by the curiosity, courage and originality that each choreographer brings to the stage and can already feel the energy of what is ahead. I can’t wait to see what will emerge and where the imagination of these artists will take us."

Carriageworks CEO Fergus Linehan said: “For more than a decade, New Breed has renewed Australia’s contemporary dance landscape, introducing audiences to a new generation of exceptional choreographic voices from around the country. We warmly congratulate Sydney Dance Company and The Balnaves Foundation for their unwavering commitment to nurturing talent and making such a vital contribution to the evolution of the artform.”

Victoria Balnaves of The Balnaves Foundation said: “The Foundation believes in the importance of fostering emerging Australian talent. New Breed provides a unique platform for artistic endeavours to come to life and we are excited to welcome these four new choreographers into such a rich coterie. We are proud to support this program that provides these dance makers the opportunity to elevate their practice as they continue to evolve and develop throughout their careers”