New year, new faces … Sydney Dance Company welcomes new dancers
Josephine Weise and Nelson Earl will tour with CounterMove
Sydney Dance Company is excited to confirm that Josephine Weise and Nelson Earl will join the Company in 2016 and perform in its season tour of CounterMove. Josephine has been offered a full-time contract, and Nelson a five-month traineeship.
Originally from Longreach Queensland, 19-year-old Josephine Weise commenced her dance training at the Pamela Marshall Academy of Dance, in Pialba, Hervey Bay. In 2013 she graduated from the Queensland Dance School of Excellence (QDSE) in association with Kelvin Grove State College. In 2014, Josephine undertook full‐time study as part of Sydney Dance Company’s inaugural Pre-Professional Year program, and was selected to tour with the Company on a two‐month understudy contract performing Rafael Bonachela’s 2 One Another in Western Australia, Queensland and regional New South Wales.
Last year Josie was offered an official traineeship with the Company, which saw her perform in Mira Calix’s Inside There Falls at Sydney Festival; in Rafael Bonachela’s Frame of Mind in Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne; and in Rafael Bonachela’s Emergence and Alexander Ekman’s Cacti, as part of the Company’s 2015 De Novo tour to the Northern Territory, South Australia, regional Victoria and Tasmania.
Sydney Dance Company Artistic Director Rafael Bonachela says, “I am delighted to officially bring Josie on board as part of the Company. It has been a pleasure to watch this exceptional young dancer grow and develop through her experience with us over the past two years. I look forward to working with her throughout this amazing year we have ahead.”
In 2016 Sydney Dance Company is also thrilled to offer a five‐month traineeship to recent Pre-Professional Year graduate, Nelson Earl. Nelson, 19, is a local dancer from Sydney’s North Parramatta, and a graduate of Newtown High School of the Performing Arts.
Following his high school studies, Nelson completed Sydney Dance Company’s Pre‐Professional Year program in 2015, during which time he was selected to tour with Company on a three‐month understudy contract performing Rafael Bonachela’s Emergence and Alexander Ekman’s Cacti, as part of the Company’s 2015 De Novo tour to the Northern Territory, South Australia, regional Victoria and Tasmania.
Josephine and Nelson join Sydney Dance Company dancers Bernhard Knauer, Cass Mortimer‐Eipper, Charmene Yap, Chloe Leong, Daniel Roberts, David Mack, Fiona Jopp, Holly Doyle, Janessa Dufty, Jesse Scales, Juliette Barton, Petros Treklis, Richard Cilli, Sam Young‐Wright and Todd Sutherland.
The ensemble returned to the Company’s Walsh Bay studios last week, going straight into rehearsals for the upcoming double bill season, CounterMove. The show opens at Roslyn Packer Theatre Walsh Bay February 26; Canberra Theatre Centre May 19; Southbank Theatre, Melbourne May 14; and will also tour to regional New South Wales, Queensland, Darwin and regional Western Australia this year.
For further information on the Company’s dancers, go to www.sydneydancecompany.com/people/
