Restaging a previously applauded work after a pandemic-forced hiatus might be considered a risky proposition. But the Sydney Dance Company is not known for always choosing the safest path. In a decision that might now be described as brilliant, Rafael Bonachela's acclaimed work Ocho opens the SDC's Resound triple-header, this time in front of an audience living post-lockdown.
And it's from this perspective that we experience Ocho through new eyes. with the 8 characters performing much of this emotive piece again within a glass-walled enclosure, not much bigger than a shipping container. The impossible lack of social-distancing, and the impossible-to-avoid intimacy caused by the confined space, forces a new perspective upon the audience. Ocho is now reborn as timeless. Without making a change to the work, the piece has two incarnations: pre and post-pandemic, each with its own message for a changed but ever-troubled world. The performers in Ocho yearn to break out of their box, taking each step moment by moment, until freedom is found, but bringing with it the human failings of conflict and jealousy.
Addressing the audience prior to the performance, Bonachela remarks that the "emotions of the past 2 years remain very much front of mind." It certainly has been a challenging time for both performers and audiences. None of that however appears to affect the vigour and talent of the company, with Ocho again reaching a climax of perfection in performance, music, costuming and lighting.
Resound is as much a "sonic journey" as it is performative dance. The compositions behind the subsequent works in Resound are equally engaging.
Summer, also by Rafael Bonachela, features the evocative score Cicadidae by Australian composer Kate Moore, recorded by the Australian String Quartet. Again, appropriate for our time, this new work tells of a world turning over a new leaf. Intense pressure is placed upon just 3 performers, bringing an exhilaration of optimism to the stage. There are some breath-taking moves in this work. Blink and you'll miss the double pirouette at speed by Emily Seymour. The balanced ebb and flow beautifully reflects the soundtrack, and with nothing but bare stage, the performers interact with inspired and synchronised lighting design. Optimistic and gratifying, there's much to be impressed with Summer.
In contrast, The Universe is Here (the new work by Stephanie Lake) opens to the curious scene of a concert harp (played by Emily Granger) alone, centred, where the delightful strumming gradually becomes more and more aggressive. Slowly, the entire company takes to the stage with a modified classical ballet movement. This then explodes into individual textures and solo pieces, so surprising that the audience leans into the performance, wondering what motion to next expect. Lake reports that this work was commissioned at the height of the pandemic, and as such, reveals the agony of isolation, along with the aspiration of collaboration and release.
As we've come to expect, there's a non-believable aspect to performances by the Sydney Dance Company. The strength and athleticism required to perform such choreography is skillfully and elegantly discharged so as to appear without effort. It's impossible to imagine that it is actually real. And yet, there it is.
Company performances are a team effort, so it's unfair to highlight individual performers. But perhaps by virtue of there being somewhat pivotal characters in each work, mention must be made of Chloe Leong, Jesse Scales and Luke Hayward. They along with the rest of the cast entirely deserve the thunderous applause.
Resound. Sydney Dance Company. Now until Sat 5 November, 7.30pm.
Tickets: www.sydneydancecompany.com/performance/resound/
Reviewed from Row H, Seat 23.
(images: supplied)
JUST THE FACTS:
Ocho Creatives:
Choreographer: Rafael Bonachela
Lighting Designer: Damien Cooper
Set/Costume Designer: David Fleischer
Composer: Nick Wale
Vocalist: Rrawun Maymuru
Ocho Cast:
Jacopo Grabar
Liam Green
Luke Hayward
Rhys Kosakowski
Chloe Leong
Jesse Scales
Emily Seymour
Mia Thompson
Summer Creatives:
Choreographer: Rafael Bonachela
Lighting Designer: Damien Cooper
Costume Designer: Romance Was Born
Composer: Kate Moore
Musicians: Australian String Quartet
Summer Cast:
Dean Elliott
Liam Green
Emily Seymour
The Universe is Here Creatives:
Choreographer: Stephanie Lake
Lighting Designer: Damien Cooper
Costume Designer: Harriet Oxley
Composer: Robin Fox
Harpist: Emily Granger
The Universe is Here Cast:
Tamara Bouman
Jacopo Grabar
Luke Hayward
Morgan Hurrell
Sophie Jones
Rhys Kosakowski
Chloe Leong
Connor McMahon
Chris Mills
Jesse Scales
Kai Taberner
Mia Thompson
Coco Wood
Chloe Young
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