A self-timed photo of Sydney Dance Company dancers Josephine Weise and Petros Treklis performing arabesques in the alps at Monte San Salvatore, Switzerland.
Sydney Dance Company on Tour From Europe to South America
Sydney Dance Company departs Europe triumphant, following a sell-out season of seven shows at seven venues at the 2016 Dance Festival Steps.
In their first appearance as part of the renowned Swiss program – the largest international biennale for contemporary dance in the country – the Sydney Dance Company (SDC) has filled auditoriums from Zürich to Monthey and Fribourg, garnering an outpouring of critical and audience acclaim for the triple bill, Interplay, comprising works by SDC Artistic Director Rafael Bonachela, Jacopo Godani and Gideon Obarzanek.
Speaking from Steps last week, Bonachela said, “Switzerland has become a world celebration of the best that current contemporary dance has to offer. Eleven companies from every corner of the globe have travelled around the country and performed on forty different Festival stages.” “Sydney Dance Company’s first ever Steps Festival season has seen us perform to auditoriums filled with enthusiastic audiences, in seven Swiss and German towns across three weeks. The dancers, along with Veronique Serret (solo violin) and Gideon Obarzanek (guest performer and choreographer) have received standing ovations and vociferous accolades throughout the tour.” “It’s been a busy schedule but a joyful toil to travel through the picture perfect countryside, where different languages are spoken from city to city, and arrive in each stop to hear at curtain call time, whether in German, French or Italian, a resounding ‘bravo’ for Sydney Dance Company.” Next stop South America!
The Company has now travelled to Brazil, ahead of a two week South American tour – the fifth in its 47 year history, and second in the past four years. 2016 marks the Company’s inaugural presentations in Brazil and Chile.
The tour begins in Brazil’s financial centre and most populous city, São Paulo, with two performances of Interplay as part of Australia Now, a two-month long Festival presented by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The largest and most significant Australian cultural program ever presented in Latin America, Australia Now showcases the cream of the country’s creativity and innovation in the lead up to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic and Paralympic Games.
In addition to its performances, Sydney Dance Company continues to expand international dance community relations through its education activities, taking time out to present a workshop in São Paulo.
The tour concludes with three performances in the Chilean capital of Santiago, where art and business continue as normal, despite the country’s recent dramatic floods.
The Company returns to Australia on May 9 ahead of Canberra and Melbourne seasons of CounterMove, opening May 19 and 25.
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