22 Oct - 1 Nov
Sydney Dance Company is based at Walsh Bay Arts Precinct, Sydney. Our studios are situated on the lands and over the waters of the Gadigal.
We recognise their continuing connection to the land and waters and thank them for protecting this coastline and its ecosystems since time immemorial. We pay our respects to elders past and present, and extend that respect to all First Nations people.
It is with pleasure that we welcome you to Continuum; the second Sydney season in our 2025 Program which follows on from our Somos season, up close in the Neilson Studio earlier this year. Continuum is a monumental triple bill featuring two world premieres – Rafael Bonachela’s Spell, and Stephen Page’s Unungkati Yantatja - one with the other presented in association with Omega Ensemble, who join us on stage live with William Barton. Between these premieres is the return of Somewhere between ten and fourteen by rising choreographer Tra Mi Dinh, reimagined for the main stage.
Over the past few months, the Ensemble have been on a remarkable international tour. We performed to sold out shows across France, Slovenia, Italy, Greece and Finland, including a performance before 5,000 people in the 2,000-year-old Odeon of Herodes Atticus in Athens. We loved then returning to Australia with tours to Tasmania and regional NSW. We are deeply proud to have shared Sydney Dance Company work on the national and global stage, and even prouder to be back in Sydney presenting bold new work from three visionary choreographers to our hometown audience. It is also wonderful to be back at the renewed Roslyn Packer Theatre to celebrate right at Walsh Bay Arts Precinct.
At the core of our Company is creating and presenting new work, inspiring future generations of dancers and audiences, and extending our reach across Australia and the globe. None of this would be possible without the passionate commitment of our partners, supporters and those who have invested in our vision. I would also like to recognise the ongoing support of the Australian Government delivered through Creative Australia and the NSW Government through Create NSW.
Thank you to everyone at Sydney Dance Company, on stage and behind the scenes, for their dedication, curiosity and ongoing collaboration. I would like to also acknowledge and thank the Sydney Dance Company Board for their leadership and guidance. Every member of Sydney Dance Company plays an important role in bringing these extraordinary works before our audiences here, across Australia and as we tour internationally.
Please join us in celebrating Continuum, a truly special season; a triple bill that brings together some of Australia’s most exciting artists to collaborate and create with our wonderful Ensemble.
Lou Oppenheim Executive Director
What a delight it is to be presenting to you this mighty triple bill – Continuum.
This production brings together three unique and different works that explore the spectrum of human experience - from the ephemeral beauty of twilight to the elemental force of breath – subjects that defy meaning and are truly expressed through dance.
What excites me is that the works are not about similarity, but about contrast — each world distinct in style, language and history. Yet the act of placing them together on the same stage, performed by the same dancers, creates a shared space where those differences become part of a larger story about contemporary dance in Australia today.
It’s a joy to be able to share the stage with Stephen Page, an artist who has had a profound impact on Australian dance. It is also a beautiful cyclical moment, with Stephen returning to work with the Company where he started his professional career as a dancer.
Stephen has choreographed Unungkati Yantatja - one with the other presented in association with Omega Ensemble. He has collaborated with the amazing composer and leading yidaki player William Barton who will be appearing live on stage with both our dancers and Omega Ensemble, who commissioned the original score. Bringing together two groundbreaking First Nations artists, who haven’t worked together before, to share a story rooted in William’s father’s Country is a special experience.
This season we reimagine Tra Mi Dinh’s Somewhere between ten and fourteen, which originally debuted in 2023 as part of our New Breed program, supported by The Balnaves Foundation. The hypnotic rhythm in this work perfectly captures the beauty found in the changing light of day. It is magnificent to bring this work back, presented on a main stage with an expanded Ensemble.
Finally, I am so excited to present the debut of my work Spell. The origins of Spell started earlier this year, at the artists retreat, Orsolina28 Art Foundation in northern Italy where the Ensemble and I were able to spend an unforgettable residency, a week of creative development. Spell is a fusion of movement, light and sound that I am excited to be able to finally share.
For me, this program already stands among the highlights of our Company’s journey. It’s a celebration of lineage and of new beginnings, of where we have come from and where we are going — all held within one evening of performance.
The unifying thread is, of course, our dancers and the truth at the heart of dance itself. Whatever the style or form, dance is presence: the body is declaring I am here, I am alive, I am feeling this. Thank you to the Ensemble for their commitment and imagination, the amazing collaborators and creative teams for each work, as well as the many artists and crew who have contributed to bringing Continuum to life.
Sharing these inspiring works with audiences is only possible with the ongoing commitment of our Board, partners and supporters. I truly thank you for allowing us to keep doing what we love every single day. I particularly thank the Visionary Patron, the Clegg Foundation, our Commissioning Partner, Orsolina28 Art Foundation, the Girgensohn Foundation, Sandra McCullagh and the Carla Zampatti Commissioning fund donors for their generous support for this season.
I cannot wait for you to experience the journey with us that is Continuum
Rafael Bonachela Artistic Director
22
Choreography
Rafael Bonachela
Music Ólafur Arnalds, Bryce Dessner, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, and Alice Smith
Lighting Design Damien Cooper
Costume and Kelsey Lee Set Design
Cast Lucy Angel, Finn Armstrong, Mathilda Ballantyne, Timmy Blankenship, Naiara de Matos, Liam Green, Morgan Hurrell, Ngaere Jenkins, Sophie Jones, Amelia Russell, Piran Scott, Sam Winkler
Proudly supported by Visionary Patron, the Clegg Foundation. Commissioning Partner, Orsolina28 Art Foundation.
Rafael Bonachela is a Choreographer, Artistic Director and Curator whose career has seen him successfully span high art and popular culture, working across a range of art forms, including contemporary dance, art installations, pop concerts, musicals, film, commercials and fashion.
Bonachela was born in La Garriga near Barcelona (1972) where he began his early dance training before moving to London to join the legendary Rambert Dance Company where he danced from 1992 to 2004.
In 2008, Rafael premiered his first full-length production 360° for Sydney Dance Company. Less than six months later he was appointed Artistic Director, making international headlines and heralding a new era in Australian contemporary dance. His vision for the Company embraces a guiding principle that sees commissioned dance works by Australian and international choreographers alongside his own critically acclaimed creations.
Bonachela’s work is strong, sober and sharp. The exploration of pure movement is where he finds his unmistakable style. The result is an incandescent dance that springs from the power of movement, in which energy and muscle strength combine with a great emotional sensitivity.
You can read more of Rafael’s biography here.
About Spell
I found myself at an event last year, where I heard the inimitable Alice Smith sing her cover of I Put A Spell On You. It is a haunting performance that feels like a hypnotic love, a longing, on the brink of obsession. There is raw emotional power and a trance-like quality to the song that adds new perspective and depth into the lyrics. I was eager to explore how this feeling, and the idea of a spell as a transformation could be conveyed through dance.
Music guided me in every aspect of this work. From Alice Smith’s singular cover to a choral arrangement of Momentary by Olafur Arnalds,
and a suite of three songs for solo violin by Bryce Dessner that allows us to oscillate between movement and stillness. I was drawn to building elements of compression and release within the choreography to build a series of dances that are ‘spells’.
We started working on Spell in July 2025, at the artist retreat Orsolina28 Art Foundation. To be building this world in one of the most magical places I’ve ever experienced was a true gift. Orsolina28 feels designed to nurture creativity — the natural beauty, the light, the stillness — everything invites you to slow down and connect more deeply, not only with the work but with yourself. Our time there was incredibly special. The residency gave us a rare sense of space, both physical and mental, that allowed us to immerse fully in the process with focus, clarity, and freedom. Bryce Dessner was also able to join us there and the texture of his music always provides so many different cues to weave into. It’s a pleasure to include his compositions in this work.
Being back in Australia, it’s a joy to continue to build this work with our incredible dancers, who are always up for pushing new heights of technicality and power, creating liminal, hypnotic moments throughout this work.
I so enjoy working with Kelsey Lee and collaborating again in Spell is very special. Lee’s stage design opens portals between the spells, guiding the audience through contrasting dimensions. Each of the five spells has its own atmosphere, and her visual language allows those worlds to emerge and dissolve before the audience’s eyes. Her costumes offer a beautiful, thoughtful and evocative simplicity that give a perfect balance to the highly technical choreography.
And of course, my long-term collaborator, Damien Cooper, whose lighting always takes my work to new places, adding a layer of emotional mystique that really sings.
I am so excited for you to see Spell and hope you enjoy each moment.
Damien Cooper works internationally across theatre, opera and dance. Damien’s credits for Sydney Dance Company include Somos, Ascent, Resound, ab [intra], Impermanence, Cinco, Ocho, Grand, Air and Other Invisible Forces, Orb, momenta and Love Lock. Other dance credits include Baleen for Adelaide Festival, State for Western Australian Ballet, Of Earth and Sky for Bangarra, IDK for Force Majeure, The Narrative of Nothing, Firebird and Swan Lake for Australian Ballet, Giselle for Universal Ballet, Birdbrain, Supernature, Habitus and Be Your Self for Australian Dance Theatre, The Frock for Ten Days on the Island Festival, Affinity for Tas Dance, Mortal Engine for Chunky Move and Grey Rhino for Performing Lines.
Other theatre credits include Counting & Cracking for Edinburgh International Festival/Belvoir, The Weekend, Into The Woods, Mark Colvin’s Kidney, The Great Fire, Radiance, The Glass Menagerie, Coranderrk, Miss Julie, Stories I Want to Tell You in Person, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Peter Pan, Private Lives, Conversation Piece, Strange Interlude, Summer of the Seventeenth Doll, Neighbourhood Watch, The Seagull, Gethsemane, Keating!, Toy Symphony, Peribanez, Stuff Happens, The Chairs, The Spook, In Our Name, The Underpants and The Ham Funeral for Belvoir; On the Beach, White Pearl, Disgraced, Orlando, Arcadia, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Golden Age, Suddenly Last Summer, The Women of Troy, The Lost Echo, Riflemind and Tot Mom for Sydney Theatre Company; Macbeth and The Tempest for Bell Shakespeare; The Ring Cycle, Der Ring des Nibelungen, Aida and Cosi Fan Tutte for Opera Australia; A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Houston Grand Opera, Canadian Opera, Lyric Opera Chicago; and The Magic Flute for Lyric Opera Chicago.
For lighting design, Damien has won three Sydney Theatre Awards, four Green Room Awards, and two Australian Production Design Guild Awards.
Note Five moments of magic! Unique, individual, spell binding. Magic is unique on stage, contrasting between gentle stillness and darkness all the way through to TAA DAA moments. Thrilled to have joined Rafael and Kelsey in creating this beautiful journey. Enjoy!
Kelsey is a set, costume and lighting designer for theatre, dance and events. Previously for Sydney Dance Company she was the Set & Costume Designer for Somos and for the Australian Chamber Orchestra collaboration Silence & Rapture.
Other credits include Set Designer: Nothing; A Practical Guide To Self Defence (NTofP). Costume Designer: Switzerland (Ensemble Theatre). Co-production Designer & Lighting Designer: Destroy, She Said (Belvoir’s 25A). Set & Lighting Designer: An Ox Stand On My Tongue (Belvoir 25A); Jali (Griffin Lookout). Lighting, Set & Costume: Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge; There’s a Sea In My Bedroom (Australian Chamber Orchestra). Lighting Designer: Mutiara (Marrugeku); Gurr Era Op (Force Majeure); 4000 Miles (Sydney Theatre Company); Destiny (Melbourne Theatre Company); Whitefella Yella Tree, Sex Magick, The Lewis Trilogy (Griffin Theatre Company), The Comedy Of Errors (Bell Shakespeare), Big Girls Don’t Cry, Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, Well Behaved Women, A Room of One’s Own (Belvoir St Theatre); Autotune (regroup), Life Is A Dream (Fervour), Tell Me On A Sunday (Hayes Theatre); Masterclass; The Memory of Water; A Letter For Molly; Killing Katie (Ensemble Theatre); Queen Fatima (NToP); Extinction of the Learned Response, Skyduck, Kasama Kita (Belvoir 25A); April Aardvark (ATYP); Sistren, Good Dog; If We Got Some More Cocaine I Could Show You How I Love You (Greendoor Theatre Company); Associate Lighting Designer: At What Cost?; Blue (Belvoir St Theatre); Cut The Sky (Marrugeku).
Lighting, Set & Costume: Lulu: A Modern Sex Tragedy (NIDA).
Note
Spell is a collection of images, intended to charm us as, the viewer, with each one. The music is incredibly provocative, so much so that the space evolves with every track. In collaboration with Rafael, and lighting designer Damien Cooper, we have explored the elasticity of the space, having moments of great expanse and moments of great intimacy. How could we make every image simple and beautiful and surprising and powerful? The space engages with and reflects the incredible dancers performing Rafael’s magnetic and raw choreography, at times as one, at other times as an external force. The costumes also needed to be a spell of their own. The palette in itself is quite enchanting. At every point the design aims to reflect the elegance and beauty of the music, the rawness and power of the choreography. Enjoy, and allow yourself to be charmed and moved by this beautiful piece.
Choreography Tra Mi Dinh
Music
Lighting Design
Costume Design
Tilman Robinson
Alexander Berlage
Aleisa Jelbart
Cast Lucy Angel, Finn Armstrong, Mathilda Ballantyne, Timmy Blankenship, Mali Comlekci, Naiara de Matos, Ali Dib, Liam Green, Sonrisa Hubbard, Sophie Jones, Ryan Pearson, Eka Perunicic, Amelia Russell
Originally produced by Sydney Dance Company as part of New Breed 2023, co-presented with Carriageworks and proudly supported by Principal Partner, The Balnaves Foundation.
Tra Mi Dinh is an award-winning choreographer and dancer working across Naarm (Melbourne) and Gadigal (Sydney). She is emerging as a distinct artist in dance, working as a dancer for leading companies Lucy Guerin Inc, and Stephanie Lake Company, whilst also establishing her own choreographic voice. Tra Mi’s first major choreographic commission The ___ was awarded the prestigious Keir Choreographic Award in 2022. In 2023, Sydney Dance Company commissioned her for New Breed, where she made Somewhere between ten and fourteen. In late 2024, she was commissioned by Lucy Guerin Inc for the PIECES season – premiering her duet Seven dances for two people to high acclaim. In 2025 Tra Mi returns to Sydney Dance Company to restage her New Breed piece for presentation as part of Continuum. Tra Mi’s other choreographic credits include HOLDING (2021, March Dance), And, again (2022, commissioned by DirtyFeet), (UP) HOLDING (2023 Dancehouse Season 1 program), Not the Piece (2023, Readymade Works commission with PACT), Nhang Tram Huong (2024, Opera House commission for Shortwave).
Her choreographic work is driven by an unrelenting fascination with time; harnessing the dancing body to magnify and disrupt our experience of linearity, tension, and expectation. She creates distinct yet interconnected dance work that explores our experience of time and our relationships to endings, beginnings, enduring, advancing, and transforming. Tra Mi is interested in movement that is virtuosic, precise, absurd, embodied, surprising, energetic, and rhythmic. Tra Mi’s choreographic practice has been nurtured with residencies at Bundanon, Australian Dance Theatre, Critical Path, Lucy Guerin Inc, DirtyFeet, ReadyMade Works,
Tasdance, Sydney Fringe, March Dance, and Ausdance NSW. Currently, Tra Mi is an Artist in Residence at The Substation. Tra Mi’s work as a dance artist was recognised with a fellowship from the late Chloe Munro AO in 2022.
Tra Mi is a keen member of the Australian dance ecology, evident in her recent DRIP events (Dancers Relaxing In the Park) – a relaxed picnic for the dance community that aims to provide a casual way for dancers to connect outside the studio or theatre foyer. She has also recently announced a new workshop Dancers are Dancing Series, a five-day intensive led by five independent choreographer/dancers for professional and emerging dancer artists to expand their professional development.
Somewhere between ten and fourteen is a study on dusk, illuminating and indulging in the transient yet expansive moments between day and night.
Witnessing the rise and fall of colour during these ephemeral moments is to me, a daily invitation to experience transformation in real time, watching and sensing its movement across the sky.
A particular shade of blue that reveals itself in the late twilight of a clear night is what inspired me to create this work; to deepen my appreciation for its impermanence. It emerges when the sun has dipped somewhere between ten and fourteen degrees below the horizon. It’s a beautiful, fleeting moment that brings me back to my breath and is when I feel most present.
Surrendering to the ever-shifting motion of colour and time, this work manifests as a choreography propelled by the movement of light. Bodies and energy chase the impermanence of transformation, relinquishing the precision of borders and edges to fall softly into the embrace of change.
My deep gratitude to Rafael for inviting me to dive back into the world of this work. As an independent artist, it is a rare gift to be able to return to a work, let alone reimagine and expand it for a larger cast. Enriching the choreographic language and refining its world with Tilman Robinson (sound), Aleisa Jelbart (costume), and Alexander Berlarge (lighting) has been a real treat.
Thank you to the dancers for their trust, investment and embodiment of this work; to Tilman for his love, and for being my everyday sounding board and cheerleader; to the creative team for working with such tender care and precision; to all at Sydney Dance Company for their support; and to my family – Cherry, Tram Huong, and Lam for their unwavering love and enthusiasm.
Tilman Robinson is a composer, producer and sound designer. He creates dark ambient and maximalist electro-acoustic music drawing on a wide range of genres. Tilman’s diverse output focuses on dense sound, incorporating acousmatics and psychoacoustic principles. His music ranges from drone heavy ambient meditations, to pointillistic flurries of electronically altered acoustic sound, to rich immersive field recordings. Tilman has released several albums and has worked extensively as a cross art form collaborator for well over a decade. He is one of the most in-demand creative professionals in his field, having contributed scores and sound design to innumerable artworks, events, films and television.
“...there’s a lingering sense of bleak romanticism here, a deliberate and human design that leaves the natural world as a beautiful and separate image.” – The Wire, on CULTURECIDE
“This is not just a highfalutin and overly cerebral body of work, it’s also a cracking album of sonic textures to get entirely lost in.” – Beats per Minute, on CULTURECIDE
“…a colossal cinematic marvel…” – Headphone Commute on Deer Heart “…addictive…” – Sunday Times, London on Deer Heart
“Tilman mesmerised an audience ... with music that was at once soothing and avantgarde, but never anything other than warmly human” – Alex Needham (The Guardian)
Note
The original iteration of Somewhere between ten and fourteen in 2023 was the first in a now series of collaborations between myself and Tra Mi. As such, it is filled with the flurry of ideas that fountained between us in its inception. Tra Mi was adamant that the score of both the choreography and the music be
almost cosmic in its approach: a Big Bang slowly diminishing towards an entropic end.
The music was made at the same time and often in the same room as the choreography. Incredibly, most of what you see and hear was made in a two week explosion of creative energy (that never really reached an entropic stasis). Layer upon layer of electronic sound coalesced into what is now a hyper detailed and intricate mesh of polyrhythm and texture.
This version of the score follows the same patterns and while details have been tweaked, finessed and added, the original shines through as a testament to the creative vision and fury of the work’s initial creation. Drastic musical changes were trialled and ultimately discarded as we recognised the wonder of what we had made. It can take time to realise you were right all along.
Tra Mi exhibits an almost limitless fountain of creativity and an attention to detail that is formidable. This work stands as a testament to both.
Alexander Berlage is a multi award-winning director and lighting designer.
Alexander’s acclaimed production of A Streetcar Named Desire won four Sydney Theatre Awards including Best Independent Production and Best Direction of an Independent Production. His smash-hit, sold out production of American Psycho won nine Sydney Theatre Awards including Best Direction of a Musical and Best Production of a Musical.
Alexander’s production of Cry Baby sold out and won four Sydney Theatre Awards including Best Direction of a Musical and Best Production of a Musical. He has twice won the Sydney Theatre Award for Best Lighting Design of an Independent Production – for his work on American Psycho and on 4:48 Psychosis.
Directing credits include: Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown (with Pinwheel Productions), Young Frankenstein, American Psycho, Cry-Baby (at Hayes Theatre Co); Let The Right One In (Darlinghurst Theatre Co.); Future Remains (with Sydney Festival), Earth.Voice.Body, Resonant Bodies (Sydney Chamber Opera); Gloria (Outhouse Theatre Co); A Streetcar Named Desire, Hand To God (Red Line Productions).
Alex’s lighting design credits include: The Importance Of Being Earnest, Julia, Hubris & Humiliation, Rbg: Of Many, One, Lord Of The Flies, Lethal Indifference, Cloud Nine (Sydney Theatre Company); Wolf, Peepshow, Duck Pond, Son (Circa); Dance Nation (State Theatre Company of South Australia/Belvoir); Orpheus And Eurydice (Opera Queensland/ Opera Australia/Circa/Edinburgh International Festival); Antarctica, Museum Of Modern Love (Sydney Festival/Seymour Centre); Dead Cat Bounce, Good Cook. Friendly. Clean., Nosferatutu or Bleeding At The Ballet (Griffin Theatre Company); New Breed (20182024), PPY (2018-2024) (Sydney Dance Company); Unqualified, Marjorie Prime, The Kitchen Sink, Buyer & Cellar (Ensemble
Theatre); Exit The King, Stalking The Boogeyman, 4:48 Psychosis, There Will Be A Climax, Doubt (Old Fitz Theatre); American Psycho, Cry-Baby, Young Frankenstein (Hayes Theatre Co).
Note
It has been incredibly special to revisit this work with Tra Mi Dinh and the team, first created for New Breed 2023 and now reimagined for the mainstage. For me, designing the lighting for Somewhere between ten and fourteen has been a meditation on transience - the way light slips, shadows lengthen, and the horizon dissolves into ever-richer shades of blue. I was drawn to dusk’s evolving beauty: the fleeting glow, the ambiguity, the sense of constant becoming. In this work, light is never still; it moves, transforms, and unsettles, echoing the bodies it illuminates and finding harmony with Tra Mi Dinh’s mesmerising choreography, Alesia Jelbart’s stunning costumes, and Tilman Robinson’s transcendent score.
Aleisa Jelbart is an award-winning Costume and Stage Designer based on Gadigal land, Sydney, specialising in movement, dance, and cross-disciplinary performance.
Aleisa has collaborated with arts organisations including Sydney Dance Company, The West Australian Ballet, Bangarra Dance Theatre, The Australian Ballet, Opera Australia, The Royal New Zealand Ballet, Bell Shakespeare, Legs on the Wall, BlakDance, Singapore Ballet, Staatstheater Nürnberg and The Komische Oper Berlin. Her designs have been presented in performances across Australia, New Zealand, Europe, the UK, and the United States and have been featured in exhibitions and presentations at the National Portrait Gallery, the Biennale of Sydney, Gertrude Contemporary, Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts and the TarraWarra Biennial.
Aleisa has worked extensively with Sydney Dance Company since 2014, designing costumes for major works by Rafael Bonachela, Melanie Lane and Tra Mi Dinh and over 30 new commissions in the company’s New Breed program.
As an educator, Aleisa has led design workshops and classes for The Australian Museum, Australian Theatre for Young People, Matriark Theatre, City of Sydney, and Design Centre Enmore. In 2019 she was Artist in Residence at the Chris O’Brien Lifehouse’s Arterie program, working with patients in a therapeutic art setting.
Aleisa is the recipient of the 2014/15 Hephzibah Tintner Fellowship for Production Design and the 2016 Berlin New Music Opera Award from the Opera Foundation for Young Australians.
Note
Early in the design process, Tra Mi and I discussed how the costumes could evoke a sense of presence within the natural world
at dusk. We decided on a blue gradient, representing a range of tones seen in the sky just after sunset. It was important for the costumes to feel light and airy, yet simultaneously grounded, reflecting an awareness of the changing light and one’s place within it.
The fabric selection of the tops and pants supported these ideas, but also took into consideration the practical requirements of the work. We carefully considered the appearance and movement of the tops - the transparency, how they reacted to light and the way they moved with the dancers. The pants were to feel structured and pedestrian, while still allowing for movement. The fabric was dyed to the specific blue hues we chose.
Ultimately, the costumes encapsulate an abstraction of a feeling, a specific place and time. I want to thank the wardrobe department at Sydney Dance Company for bringing them to life so beautifully.
presented by Sydney Dance Company, in association with Omega Ensemble.
Choreography Stephen Page AO
Music Omega Ensemble Commissioned by
Music Performed by William Barton with Omega Ensemble
Lighting Design Damien Cooper Set Design Jacob Nash
Costume Design Jennifer Irwin
Cast Mali Comlekci, Naiara de Matos, Sonrisa Hubbard, Morgan Hurrell, Ngaere Jenkins, Ryan Pearson, Piran Scott, Sam Winkler
Proudly supported by The Girgensohn Foundation, Sandra McCullagh and the Carla Zampatti Commissioning Fund.
Musical score commissioned by Omega Ensemble and adapted for the stage with the generous support of Ian Plater, Julianne Maxwell, The Darin Cooper Foundation, Peter Howard and the Simpson-Michel Foundation.
Born in Brisbane, Stephen is a Nunukal/ Ngugi Man of Qandamooka Peoples and Munaldjali Man of Yugambeh Nation South East Queensland.
From 1991 - 2023 Stephen was Artistic Director of Bangarra Dance Theatre and has developed a signature body of works that have become milestones in Australian performing arts, culminating over 27 works for the company.
Stephen continues to reinvent First Peoples storytelling within Bangarra, the arts community and through collaborations within the film and TV industry. He directed the Indigenous sections for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games Opening and Closing Ceremonies and created a new dance work as part of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony.
Stephen’s most recent works include Wudjang - Not The Past for 2022 Sydney/ Adelaide Festivals; Waru - The Journey Of The Small Turtle for Bangarra Dance Theatre; Vigil for 2024 Sydney Festival and Baleen Moondjan for 2024 Adelaide Festival. Other works include the Helpmann Award winning work Bennelong in 2017 and the work Dark Emu in 2018, choreographed together with former Bangarra dancers Daniel Riley and Yolande Brown, and which went on to become one of the most successful productions in the history of Bangarra.
Stephen’s first full-length film Spear premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival before screening at various arts festivals around Australia. He has also directed the chapter Sand in the feature film The Turning (2013) and choreographed the feature films Bran Nue Dae (2009) and The Sapphires (2011).
Stephen was the Artistic Director of the Adelaide Festival in 2004, and currently sits on the Adelaide Festival Board.
In 2015 Stephen was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Creative Arts by the University of Technology Sydney. In 2016 he received both the NAIDOC Lifetime Achievement Award and JC Williamson Award. In 2017 Stephen was honoured with the Australia Council Dance Award for significant contributions to the cultural and artistic fabric of the nation, and was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO). Stephen was awarded the prestigious Red Ochre Award at Australia Council for the Arts’ 2022 First Nations Arts Awards. Also in 2022, Performing Arts Connections (PAC) Australia awarded Stephen the Wendy Blacklock Industry Legend Award to honour his role as an artist and cultural leader, establishing and nurturing contemporary Indigenous dance into a place of prominence across Australia.
I was invited by Rafael Bonachela to choreograph a work for this triple bill, after he had heard and fell in love with the score. He had connected with an initial 20 minute recording of William Barton and Omega Ensemble’s Breath – the gift of life and felt that it was a composition that needed to be explored through dance. After 30 years with Bangarra, I was planning on a small break from dance to build projects in different creative fields, but Sydney Dance Company was where I started my career as a dancer and that circularity felt special to me.
Developing Unugkati Yantatja – one with the other has been a different process for me. Usually, I start with a blank canvas, creating my work from there. We’d start with stories –traditional and contemporary, then build the choreography and score around it. With this project I was brought in when they had some of the ingredients – the score was already set. This was an interesting challenge, and I started working to find my way into the story - what was William, his creative spirit, feeling during the development of the composition?
William talked about his fascination with circular breathing, and how the initial composition was developed with David Rowden, Artistic Director of Omega Ensemble playing two ancient wood instruments – the Yidaki and clarinet that both have this practice. We talked about how sacred breath is also such a human necessity. This drove the development of the work for me. We aligned on the genesis of the story, the universality of breath – the inhale and exhale of breath, and the breath in all things whether its humans, plants, animals, sky, water. This felt like a truth in all cultures, but also so linked to the kinship systems in First Nations storytelling.
I’ve found a really incredible connection with the Sydney Dance Company dancers during the development of this work. There are few companies, globally, that work at such a high standard technically. They have such a unique creative spirit and connect as a clan so well. I really enjoyed bringing the knowledge I have of dance, my distinctive language and William’s story that I’ve been entrusted with, to make something important, with the physical artistry of these incredibly talented dancers.
It was wonderful that I could call upon my creator clan, who I’ve worked with for many years: Jacob Nash for set design, Jennifer Irwin for costume design, and Damien Cooper for lighting. They know the contemporary spirit, and they’re exceptionally creative and good at what they do. It’s great to have them work with me again.
I’m thankful for William who invited me to take care of his composition and to lead this story creatively and to Rafael to invite me to work with the company again.
I hope you enjoy this special creation, Nyanyabuh, Stephen Page
William Barton is one of Australia’s most celebrated musicians — a world-renowned yidaki virtuoso, composer, and cross-cultural storyteller whose music transcends genres and borders.
Born in Mount Isa, Queensland, William is a proud Kalkadungu man who first learned the yidaki from his uncle, Elder Arthur Peterson. Encouraged by his mother, celebrated opera singer and poet Aunty Delmae Barton, William developed his deep musical roots in culture and Country. He now blends these traditions with global concert forms.
He has performed with the Berlin Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Australian Chamber Orchestra, and every major Australian symphony orchestra. His collaborators include Paul Grabowsky, Deborah Cheetham Fraillon, Kate MillerHeidke, the Brodsky Quartet, and Herbie Hancock.
William has featured at globally significant events such as the Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, ANZAC Cove commemorations, Commonwealth Day at Westminster Abbey, the 2018 Commonwealth Games Opening and Closing Ceremonies in Brisbane, and International Jazz Day. He regularly appears at the Sydney Opera House and in major festivals around the world.
William frequently collaborates with Aunty Delmae Barton and violinist Véronique Serret in the award-winning works Heartland, Kalkadungu, and Apii Thafini Mu Murtu. He continues to push the boundaries of sound and storytelling.
He serves on the board of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and is a member of the Australia Council for the Arts. William holds honorary doctorates from the University of Sydney and Griffith University and has received numerous awards including the ARIA Award for Best Classical Album, the Don Banks Music Award, and the Richard Gill Award.
A modern-day songman grounded in ancient traditions, Wiliam continues to shape the future of Australian music. Through the resonance of the yidaki, his voice speaks across cultures — challenging, healing, and transforming the spaces in which it sounds.
The awakening moments of the dawning of time, sunlight reflective upon the great southern land.
The wind gently travels across the earth and rises to the sky, sharing the journey with the eagle - inhaling and exhaling with our first breaths of life.
From the distance the rivers of our bloodlines of mother country become ever so present, we realise from the eagles view we are connected as one humanity.
A dedication to the memory of one’s breath, the first breath we take as we are born into this world, and the last taken. Breath is the rhythm we breathe as our heartbeat pulsates throughout our body - our breath is our connection to one another.
Each musician becomes the breath for one another - exchanging energy.
As our earthly horizon arcs to a peak in the sky we breathe - we breathe for the memory - we breathe for our loved ones.
An interpretation of the bushland coming to life as the earth shimmers a new day borneach instrument becomes the elements of nature - a rhythmical flow of life, we breathe within, together as a symbol of unity - the importance of language passed on from generation after generation
The dust spirits dance upon rocky outcrops, jaggered and sharp pointed spinifex grass whistle as the wind travels.
The opening section is reflective, the voice forms a pathway with each musician to cross paths creating energy to breathe for others.
As we travel the life’s circle of light we embrace each other’s breath to a new memory born.
A silhouette of the rocky outcrops grow closer to the stars as the glow of the moon shines on the wings of the eagle.
All instruments morph into timelessness a place of rebirth renewal hope and our breath.
As the canvas of our landscape paints the night sky we find ourselves awakening to the new day born.
To the end may we share the memory of this breath together.
Hailed as ‘the best classical group in town’ (Sydney Morning Herald) and ‘Australia’s most exciting and forward-thinking ensemble’ (Limelight), Omega Ensemble is one of Australia’s most dynamic classical music groups.
The ensemble has received multiple accolades, including Performance of the Year (2023) and the National Luminary Award for Excellence (2024) at the APRA AMCOS Art Music Awards.
At the heart of its success is the musical talent it supports including collaborations with guest artists such as cellist Umberto Clerici, violinist Thomas Gould, yidaki virtuoso William Barton and clarinetist Michael Collins, as well as projects with Sydney Dance Company, Sydney Chamber Opera and Sydney Festival.
Omega Ensemble proudly stands at the forefront of new musical expression, commissioning and premiering works by leading composers including Nico Muhly, Holly Harrison, Dr Lou Bennett, Graeme Koehne, Caroline Shaw, Peter Gregson, Elena Kats-Chernin, Carl Vine, Brenda Gifford, Paul Stanhope and Ross Edwards.
Collaboration and musical storytelling also defines the ensemble’s important work off the stage, including its flagship CoLAB: Composer Accelerator Program and ongoing projects with young people across regional and greater metropolitan communities.
Note
The music in this performance has been evolving since Omega Ensemble first commissioned William Barton in 2022. Two Breaths was a highlight of our 2022 National Concert Season, uniting two instruments that draw their resonance from the performer’s breath — the yidaki and the clarinet. This unlikely yet beautiful pairing blurs the boundaries between contemporary, classical and traditional music, creating a sound that could only exist in 21st-century Australia.
The expansion of this work through new choreography by Stephen Page, and the Ensemble’s first collaboration with Sydney Dance Company, marks an exciting next chapter in telling this uniquely Australian story. It is always a joy when a commissioned work takes on another life through a deeply meaningful and powerful collaboration. Led by William’s captivating and deeply moving musical performance, Unungkati Yantatja –one with the other has become even more powerful and affecting than we could have imagined.
David Rowden Founder and Artistic Director
Its always a great thrill when live musicians join us on stage. William Barton and the Omega Ensemble. Wow! Its also an honour to be asked to join Stephen Page, Jacob Nash and Jennifer Irwin again, incredible story tellers. I so look forward to sharing Unungkati Yantatja – one with the other with the world. Enjoy!
Jacob Nash is an artist, designer, curator and creative director whose work moves between theatre, film, television, fine art and public art — creating powerful visual worlds that speak to the stories, people and Country we all share from a First Nations perspective.
Jacob’s ancestral land on his mother’s side is in the Daly River region, and he also carries Chinese and Scottish heritage. He grew up on Quandamooka Country and has spent the last two decades living and working across the Sydney Basin. His practice is deeply rooted in these places and histories, drawing on them to create images that hold memory, strength and connection.
From 2010 to 2022, Jacob was Head of Design at Bangarra Dance Theatre, where he set designed all of the company’s productions — including Wudjang: Not the Past, Dark Emu, Bennelong, Patyegarang, Lore, Terrain and Blak. His visual language has become a defining part of contemporary Australian performance. Beyond the stage, his work extends into television (Cleverman), film (Spear), and major public artworks such as Future Dreaming (Sydney Festival, Barangaroo Headland), Country II (477 Pitt Street, Sydney), and the forthcoming Barangaroo Harbour Park (with Chris Fox).
Jacob’s designs are driven by story — how it lives in place, how it moves through people, and how it continues to shape who we are. Across every medium, his work is an act of remembering, honouring and reimagining.
Note
It’s a privilege to again collaborate with Stephen Page and William Barton — two artists whose work continues to shape how we see and hear Country. Together, we’ve shaped a world that is held by a single form — an object that carries power, culture, and story all at once.
For me, the design begins with that object. It is the vessel — both literal and symbolic. It holds connection, ancestry, the energy of sound and spirit moving through space. Around it, light and movement breathe, echoing the rhythms of William’s music and Stephen’s choreography.
Design, in this context, is not backdrop — it’s ceremony. Every surface and shadow has been shaped to listen: to Country, to language, to the unseen threads between all of us. This is what I hope you feel — the act of being held, of witnessing, of coming into ceremony together.
Australian costume designer Jennifer Irwin works across opera, drama, film and in particular dance and ballet.
Jennifer began her design career at Sydney Dance Company in 1982, designing 34 works for the Company. She worked on the costume aesthetic for the entire Repertoire for Bangarra Dance Theatre since its inception in 1993-2024. Other commissions include over 90 ballets for The Australian Ballet, Royal New Zealand Ballet, Universal Ballet of Korea, Joffrey Ballet, Queensland Ballet, West Australian Ballet, Singapore Ballet, NT Dance, TasDance and ADT among others.
Events and work included Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, the Official Ceremony marking the Centenary of Australian Federation 2001, Belvoir Theatre Co, Sydney Theatre Co, Opera Australia, Melbourne Theatre Co, Opera WA, Opera SA and Opera Queensland.
Internationally she has designed and built shows out of London, Paris, Utrecht, Chicago, Toronto, Berlin, New York and Hamburg.
In 2004 Jennifer designed the costumes for the international box office sensation Dirty Dancing the musical, still playing globally after 21 years. She was recognised for her contribution to Dance at the 2015 Australian Dance Awards Service to Dance as well as a Centenary Medal. In 2023 Australian Production Design Guild Awards she was honored and awarded Outstanding Contribution to Australian Design.
She has won ten years consecutively Best Costume Design for Live Performance at Australian Production Design Guild Awards.
Her design for the feature film Spear was nominated for an AACTA award in 2017.
Jennifer received a Theatre Board Grant for an internship at La Scala Opera Company in 1984.
For Opera Australia commissions include Romeo & Juliette 2005, The Merry Widow 2017, Madame Butterfly 2019 and HOSH West Side Story 2019 and most recently HOSH Guys & Dolls 2025.
Her work has been staged live in over 100 countries, over 450 cities and venues, including the Lincoln Centre NYC, City Centre
NYC, Brooklyn Academy of Music NYC, The Kennedy Centre Washington, The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden London, Command performances at the Royal Palace Madrid and many at the Sydney Opera House.
Note
Dance is the most wonderful artform to design for!
I began my career in costume design at Sydney Dance Company in 1981 where I met Stephen Page as a young dancer. I have been lucky enough to collaborate on every work since. Together we have developed an unspoken shorthand to create our own visual aesthetic for Bangarra and beyond.
Unungkati Yantatja – one with the other, is about ‘Breath’.
I’ve always been very influenced by fabric and textures and what I can do with different materials to create abstract artworks in their own right.
For Unungkati Yantatja I have dyed the fabric and individually hand painted every petal in graded colours creating difference for the individual dancers who can then make them their own and take them on their own journey.
Lucy Angel
Born and raised in Wollongong, NSW, Lucy began her training at Joanne Grace School of Dance at age eight before completing her Certificate IV in dance at the Royal Academy of Dance at age 15. Lucy joined The Sarasota Ballet in Florida, USA as a trainee for their 2018-2019 season. At the end of 2019, she performed in The International Divertissement Ballet Gala with Projection Dance, as well as being a finalist in The Brisbane International Contemporary Dance Prix. Lucy joined Sydney Dance Company’s Pre-Professional Year in 2021 where she performed works by James Bachelor, Cloe Fournier, Stephanie Lake and Rafael Bonachela. Lucy commenced her traineeship with Sydney Dance Company at the end of 2022, premiering with the Company in Rafael Bonachela’s ab [intra] at DanceX.
Finn Armstrong
Finn was born and raised on the Gold Coast, Queensland, starting his dance journey at 14. At 17 Finn moved to full-time practice at the Amanda Bollinger Dance Academy, completing a Certificate IV in Dance. During this time, he also danced in the Youth Ensemble of Australasian Dance Collective for two years. Aged 18 Finn moved to The Netherlands to study at Codarts Rotterdam. He spent two years at the university training and performing works by Cayetano Soto, Ton Simons, Evelien Jansen, and was part of the Talent on The Move Tour, where students travelled around the Netherlands. Through Codarts, Finn apprenticed at Danish Dance Theatre, led by Marina Mascarell. He spent the 2024/2025 season performing works by Marina Mascarell, Adam Linder, Renan Martins, and Fernando Melo and toured with the company around Denmark and Europe. He graduated from Codarts with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. Finn joined Sydney Dance Company in 2025, debuting in Continuum.
Mathilda Ballantyne
Mathilda is an Australian-Chinese artist from Melbourne/Naarm, whose movement blends classical ballet with contemporary dance. A graduate of the Australian Ballet School, they received the Graeme Murphy Award for Excellence in Contemporary Dance. After completing a Graduate Diploma in Classical Ballet, Mathilda shifted focus to contemporary dance, joining PROJECTion Dance Company in 2020. In 2022, they became a core member of Scimm. Dance Company, performing in works such as Paracosm and Mechorstra. In 2024, they collaborated with emerging choreographers Vourneen Ni’cainin and Ronan Armstrong for Lucy Guerin’s Out of Bounds seasons. In 2025, Mathilda joined Sydney Dance Company, debuting in Rafael Bonachela’s Somos and continuing to explore new artistic boundaries.
From the US, Timmy completed his early training in contemporary performance and choreography at Artistic Fusion in Thornton, Colorado and Dance Town in Miami, Florida, performing works by Loni Landon, Dana Foglia and Emma Portner. He continued at the prestigious University of Southern California’s Glorya Kaufman School of Dance, where he performed works by William Forsythe, Jiří Kylián, Merce Cunningham and Yin Yue. Timmy premiered his choreography at Dance Town Miami’s annual contemporary gala 2021 and debuted Intergenerational Traffic at the Trinity Laban School of Dance in London in 2023 in collaboration with composer Tom Bradbury and dancer Xavier Williams. Timmy performed with the Nederland’s Dans Theatre Summer Intensive in 2023 before moving to Australia for his debut with Sydney Dance Company, performing in New Breed.
With a Turkish background and born in Sydney, Mali has been dancing for as long as he can remember. He began formal dance lessons at the age of ten, outside of school hours as well as attending Newtown High School of the Performing Arts. After graduating in Year 12, he pursued full-time training at New Zealand School of Dance (NZSD). In those two years, Mali was invited to be a guest dancer, performing soloist roles with the Royal New Zealand Ballet Company in their 2016 season of Wizard of Oz and their 2017 triple bill Three By Ekman. After graduating from NZSD, Mali joined Queensland Ballet Company, performing various soloist and principal roles from 2018 – 2024. Mali joined Sydney Dance Company in 2025.
Born and raised on Gadigal Land, Mohamad ‘Ali’ Dib, of Lebanese heritage, began dance training at age eight, attending Dorothy Cowie School of Dance and Brent Street Studios. Ali continued his passion for contemporary and classical performance, advancing his training at Algeria Studios under the mentorship and guidance of Hilary Kaplan and Archibald Mackenzie. In 2024 Ali won the Brisbane International Contemporary Dance Prix and in 2025 the Contemporary Dance Open. Through his multidisciplinary training, Ali studied at Newtown High School of the Performing Arts and will complete his HSC in 2025. He has performed in works by Holly Doyle, Chloe Leong, Victor Zarallo, Davide Di Giovanni and other notable choreographers.He now looks forward to embarking on his professional dance career with Sydney Dance Company, debuting in Continuum
Having grown up in Perth, Liam trained with a range of local schools, including Dynamic Performing Arts and The Graduate College of Dance. At 15, Liam was accepted into the Advanced Diploma of Dance at WAAPA, the youngest person to enter the program. Liam worked with the West Australian Ballet for five years, ending his time at the company as a Demi-Soloist, before joining Sydney Dance Company in 2019. Liam’s repertoire is expansive and diverse, including works such as Radio and Juliet by Edward Clug, In Transit by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, and Les Indomptes by Claude Brumachon. These are just but a few Liam is proud to have featured in. In his spare time Liam studies a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in Finance and Economics at The University of Western Australia.
Sonrisa attended Denver School of the Arts before earning a merit scholarship to attend Boston Conservatory, where she performed works by Aszure Barton, Bill T. Jones, Andrew Skeels and more. Sonrisa has participated in international intensives, including those at Arts Umbrella, The Juilliard School, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Dart Dance Company and Orsolina 28. She studied the repertoire of choreographers Crystal Pite, Sharon Eyal, Ohad Naharin, Jiri Pokorny, Jiri Kylian and more. She also performed in a guest artist performance at the Young Choreographers Festival in 2024. Sonrisa joined Sydney Dance Company in 2025 and makes her debut with the Company in Somos.
Morgan Hurrell
Born in Mudgee, NSW, Morgan began dancing aged two, studying at Dance Unlimited. At 17 her contemporary dance passion led to multiple offers for full-time placements, and she completed her Diploma of Dance at the National College of Dance in Newcastle. In 2021 Morgan moved to Sydney to undertake an Advanced Diploma of Dance with Sydney Dance Company’s PreProfessional Year, after which she was offered a Trainee contract with the Company. Morgan has performed work internationally and nationally by renowned choreographers including Rafael Bonachela, Ohad Naharin, Antony Hamilton, Melanie Lane, and Stephanie Lake. She has performed works such as Decadance, ab [intra], Impermanence, momenta, Forever & Ever, Love Lock, The Universe is Here, and I Am-Ness. Morgan has performed with global brands such as Cartier, extending her artistry into the commercial industries.
Born in Aotearoa/New Zealand, Ngaere is of Te Arawa and Ngāti Kahungunu descent. She trained at the New Zealand School of Dance, graduating in 2018, working with James O’Hara, Victoria (Tor) Colombus, Taiaroa Royal and Tanemahuta Gray. She performed works by Damien Jalet, Huang Yi, Sarah FosterSproull, Malia Johnston and Gabby Thomas. Ngaere represented the school in Tahiti at the Académie de Danse Annie FAYN fifth International Dance Festival and Singapore Ballet Academy’s 60th Anniversary Gala. From 2019 to 2023 Ngaere worked with The New Zealand Dance Company performing in works from Sean MacDonald, Nina Nawalowalo, Tom McCrory and Ross McCormack, Jo Lloyd, Stephanie Lake, Kim Jae Duk, Tor Colombus, Eddie Elliott and Xin Ji and Tupua Tigafua, as well as
Mana Wahine by Ōkāreka Dance Company, working with Atamira Dance Company. In 2023 Ngaere was the recipient of the Bill Sheats Dance Award. Ngaere joined Sydney Dance Company in 2023, debuting in the tenth anniversary season of New Breed
Sophie Jones
Sophie grew up in Angourie, NSW and trained with Adele Lewis School of Dance. At age 14 she moved to Burleigh Heads, Queensland to begin full-time ballet training and further her studies with Prudence Bowen Atelier. She received a traineeship with the Joffrey Ballet in Chicago. Whilst in Chicago she worked with numerous choreographers and performed Études by Harald Lander, and George Balanchine’s Serenade. After discovering an interest in contemporary dance, Sophie completed her diploma and advanced diploma with Sydney Dance Company PreProfessional Year in 2020 and 2021. She had the opportunity to perform works by Holly Doyle, Omer Backley-Astrachan, Jessica Goodfellow and Rafael Bonchela. Sophie joined Sydney Dance Company as a trainee in January 2022, supported by the David and Fee Hancock Foundation.
Naiara was born in Salvador, Brazil. In 2007 she began full time training with the Bolshoi Ballet School in Joinville (Brazil). Following her graduation in 2011, Naiara began working in the Young Company of Bolshoi Ballet Brazil until she was offered a position with the Salzburg Landestheater in 2013. Throughout her career Naiara has joined companies such as Leipzig Ballet, Konzert Theater Bern, Augsburg Ballet and Dance Company St Gallen. She has performed classical and modern repertoire including a number of soloist and principal roles, both in Europe and further abroad. Naiara has worked with internationally renowned choreographers such as Ohad Naharin, Johan Inger, Uwe Scholz, Nadav Zelner, Martin Zimmermann, Dimo Milev, Alba Castillo, Giovanni Insaudo, Mauro Astolfi, Francesca Frassinelli and more. She joined Sydney Dance Company in 2023.
Ryan Pearson
Ryan is of Biripi and Worimi descent on his mother’s side and Minang, Goreng and Balardung on his father’s side. From Taree, NSW, he began his dance training at NAISDA at age 16, after taking part in the NSW Public Schools’ Aboriginal Dance Company, facilitated by Bangarra’s Youth Program Team in 2012. At NAISDA, Ryan learnt from a number of renowned teachers and choreographers, attending a Professional Division Summer Intensive at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre in New York City. He joined Bangarra Dance Theatre in 2017, debuting in Bennelong, performing for seven years through Australia and internationally, led by renowned storytellers Stephen Page and Frances Rings. Ryan was nominated in the 2020 Australian Dance Awards for Most Outstanding Performance by a Male Dancer for his performance in Jiri Kylian’s Stamping Ground. In 2023, Ryan presented his first choreographic work, 5 Minute Call as part of Dance Clan. He joined Sydney Dance Company in 2024.
Eka Perunicic
Eka is a dancer whose journey is shaped by her Indian and Italian roots and her upbringing in Melbourne, Australia. Eka trained at the National Theatre Ballet School and specialises in classical ballet and contemporary dance. Her professional career includes performing with West Australian Ballet, Ballet Cymru, and Kamea Dance Company (soloist) and collaborating with renowned international choreographers. Eka is also a certified Pilates instructor and through her passion for movement and wellness, seeks to inspire others and elevate the art of dance. Eka joined Sydney Dance Company in 2025.
Amelia Russell
Born in Sydney, Australia, Milly began her dance journey at a young age, studying various dance genres before focusing on ballet. She earned a scholarship to McDonald College, where she combined academics with ballet training. During her time at the college, she performed principle roles including Lilac Fairy and Giselle. In her final years, she developed a passion for contemporary dance through electives with Sydney Dance Company. After graduating, she joined Sydney Dance Company’s Pre-Professional program, exploring contemporary dance under esteemed choreographers. Milly has created and performed works by notable artists including Rafael Bonachela, Charmene Yap, Francis Rings, Prue lang, Miranda Wheen, Melissa Thorogood and Lisa Marie McDonald. As the Sydney Dance Company 2025 trainee, she is excited to continue her career as a professional contemporary dancer.
Piran Scott
Born in Mackay, QLD, Piran trained under Lynette Denny AM at Theatre Arts Mackay. He completed the Professional Year program with the Queensland Ballet, joining the company as a full member in 2010, under the artistic direction of Francois Klaus. In 2013, Piran received a soloist position with the Leipzig Ballet in Germany under Mario Schroeder. Piran was a soloist with the Ballet Theater Basel in Switzerland, directed by Richard Wherlock, followed by successful seasons with the Dance Company St. Gallen under Kinsun Chan, awarded Dancer of the Year 2022 in tanz magazine Europe. Piran has performed in classical and contemporary works by renowned choreographers such as Ohad Naharin, Alexander Ekman, Sharon Eyal, Johann Inger, Ivan Perez, Nils Christie, Thierry Malandain, Natalie Weir, Dimo Milev, Uwe Scholz, Mauro Astolfi, Francesca Frassinelli, Nadav Zelner, Martin Zimmerman and Alba Castillo. Piran joined Sydney Dance Company in 2023.
Sam Winkler
Sam decided to pursue a career in dance during his time at the Victorian Collage of the Arts Secondary School. This aspiration led to him competing in the Prix de Lausanne, the world’s biggest ballet competition. His performance in the competition awarded him a scholarship to the Hamburg Ballet School where he completed his dance training. He worked with the Hamburg Ballet during his time in the school but found his first full-time work in Tanzcompany Innsbruck under Enrique Gasa Valga. Sam worked in the company as a soloist for two years, performing a variety of works. Concluding these two years, he moved home to Australia to be closer to family, delighted to be working closer to the people he loves. Sam joined Sydney Dance Company in 2025.
Richard Cilli combines his expertise as a dancer with his passion for coaching, culture and excellence as Sydney Dance Company’s Rehearsal Director. In this role he enjoys holding space for many talented and dedicated artists at the top of their game to keep developing their craft. As a dancer Richard won the prestigious Helpmann Award for Best Male Dancer in 2010 for his performance in Rafael Bonachela’s We Unfold, and was also the winner of the Australian Ballet’s 50th Anniversary Ballet Competition in 2012.
Throughout his performing career, Richard has interpreted the work of an impressive array of choreographers, including Rafael Bonachela, Lloyd Newson, Stephanie Lake, William Forsythe, Anouk van Dijk, Jacopo Godani, Lucy Guerin, Gideon Obarzanek, Alexander Ekman, Adam Linder, Emanuel Gat and Kenneth Kvarnström. Beyond his years as a dancer at Sydney Dance Company, Richard has performed with renowned companies such as Rambert (UK), Chunky Move, Lucy Guerin Inc, Australasian Dance Collective, Dancenorth, and K.Kvarnström & Co (Sweden).
Born on Whadjuk Noongar country (Perth), Richard trained at the Western Australia Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) and Taipei National University of the Arts (國立臺北藝術大學). He also studied Arts and Cultural Management at Deakin University. As a choreographer he has created work for Sydney Dance Company and the PreProfessional Year, The Australian Ballet, LINK Dance Company and WAAPA, as well as various independently produced works.
A certified Countertechnique teacher, Richard has taught at institutions around Australia and the world, including the One Body, One Career intensive in at Springboard Dance Montreal.
Mia Thompson draws on over a decade of stage experience to nurture and support professional dancers in their artistic development.
Mia finished her performance career in April 2025 with Somos by Rafael Bonachela, closing a dynamic chapter with Sydney Dance Company. She has since transitioned into her role as Rehearsal Associate with determination to bring light, support, and growth to the next generation of performers.
As a dancer, Mia built a career across both ballet and contemporary dance with Sydney Dance Company, Scottish Ballet, Queensland Ballet, and West Australian Ballet. While still a student, she guested with West Australian Ballet before joining Queensland Ballet in 2013, where she performed works by Kenneth MacMillan and Peter Schaufuss, with highlights including appearances at London’s Coliseum and Houston’s Dance Salad Festival. In 2016, she joined Scottish Ballet, where she was promoted to First Artist and performed principal roles in Peter Darrell’s The Nutcracker and works by MacMillan and Crystal Pite, including Le Baiser de la Fée at the Royal Opera House in collaboration with The Royal Ballet and Birmingham Royal Ballet.
Since 2019, Mia performed with Sydney Dance Company in works by Rafael Bonachela, Gabrielle Nankivell, Stephanie Lake, Melanie Lane, Gideon Obarzanek, and Ohad Naharin, with highlights including ab [intra] at Théâtre National de la Danse Chaillot in Paris.
Mia’s time at Sydney Dance Company brought her the most growth as both an individual and an artist, allowing her to evolve into a diverse, confident, and resilient performer. She now hopes to share that knowledge and experience in support of other artists in the industry.
Board of Directors
Emma-Jane Newton (Chair)
Larissa Behrendt AO
Jillian Broadbent AC
Michael Dagostino
David Friedlander
Emma Gray
Andrew Hagger
Alexa Haslingden
Mark Hassell
Sandra McCullagh
Bianca Spender
International Patron
Dame Darcey Bussell DBE
Founding Patron
Dancers’ Circle
Julian Knights AO
Ambassadors’ Council
Sarah Myer, Chair, Victoria Balnaves, Pam Bartlett, Judy Crawford, Chum Darvall, Jaycen Fletcher, Mandy Foley, Rebekah Giles, Bradford Gorman. The Hon. Don Harwin. Samuel Joyce, Alexandra Knights, Skye Leckie OAM, Amelia Liveris, Jules Maxwell, Andrew Muston. Rebel PenfoldRussell OAM, Peter Reeve. Ruth Ritchie. Keinwen Shephard, Stephen Thatcher, Bee Wood, Adam Worling, Susan Wynne, Mary Zuber.
Dance Noir Committee
Co-Chairs: Mandy Foley
Peter Reeve
Committee
Fuzz Ali, Sally Burleigh, Jane Clifford, Debbi Coffey, Simone Cunico, Irene Deutsch, Georgie Fergusson, Stephanie Glass, Alexa Haslingden, Mim Stacey, Stephen Thatcher, Jessica Yu, Michelle Walsh.
Artistic Director
Rafael Bonachela
Executive Director
Lou Oppenheim
Executive Assistant
Amy Burrows
Director, Producing
Katy Green Loughrey
Senior Producer
Dominic Chang
Associate Producer - Ensemble
Kerry Thampapillai
Associate Producer - Wharf
Michael Sieders
Director Finance and Administration
Kate Di Mattina
Accountant
Melissa Sim
Payroll Assistant
Carina Mision
Director Training and Education
Polly Brett
Head of Open Programs & Learning
Samantha Dashwood
Dance Class Manager
Ramon Monteverde Doringo
Learning Manager
Justine Ocampo
Learning Coordinator
Jacqueline Cooper
Learning Administrator
Eugenie English
Head of Training
Linda Gamblin
Training Associate
Juliette Barton (Maternity Leave)
Madeline Harms
Learning Associate
Lexy Panetta
Pre-Professional Year Course Coordinator
Tobiah Booth-Remmers
Conditioning Studio Manager
Felicity McGee
Customer Experience and Venue Manager
Sue Neilsen
Customer Service Assistant
Ellie Cevik
Director Philanthropy and Partnerships
Fiona Crockett
Head of Philanthropy
Katharine Seymour
Philanthropy Manager
Lachlan Bell
Trusts and Foundations Manager
Madeleine White
Philanthropy Coordinator
Bianca Mulet
Director Market Development
Olivia Blackburn
Marketing Manager
Kylie Boyd
Digital Marketing Specialist
Rebecca Nash
Marketing and Communications
Coordinators
Gabriella Lay
Rohan Furnell
Head of CRM and Business Intelligence
Thida Kyaw
Ticketing Specialist
John Calvi
Technical Director
Guy Harding
Company and Resident Stage Manager
Simon Turner
Production Manager
Shane Placentino
Production Coordinator
Tony McCoy
Sound Operator
Jem Hoppe
Head of Wardrobe
Mary-Ellen Baxter
Costumer
Nicole Artsetos
Rehearsal Director
Rehearsal Associate Charmene Yap (Maternity Leave)
Mia Thompson
Balnaves Foundation Artist in Residence
Raghav Handa
Dancers
Lucy Angel
Finn Armstrong
Mathilda Ballantyne
Timmy Blankenship
Mali Comlekci Ali Dib Liam Green
Sonrisa Hubbard
Morgan Hurrell
Ngaere Jenkins
Sophie Jones
Naiara de Matos
Ryan Pearson
Eka Perunicic
Piran Scott
Sam Winkler
Trainee
Amelia Russell
Head Physiotherapist
Ashlea-Mary Cohen
Company Doctor Dr. Michael Berger
Sports Doctor
Dr. James Lawrence
Company Teachers
Emily Amisano, Anton, Lee Brummer, Joshua Consandine, Rachel Coulson, Tra Mi Dinh, Holly Doyle, Cathie Goss, Madeline Harms, Sue Healey, Samantha Hines, Paul Knobloch, Jenni Large, Chloe Leong, Rikki Mason, Yui Masukawa, Iohna Mercer, Rhiannon Newton, Marnie Palomares, Jasmin Sheppard, Chimene SteelePrior, Jessica Thompson, Annabel tom Dieck, Kimball Wong, Victor Zarallo, Zee Zunnur
4/5
Join the Conversation #SydneyDanceCompany #2025SDC
We would like to thank all our donors for their generous support and acknowledge those who have given anonymously. Our donors make it possible for us to create and present new work, inspire future generations of artists and audiences, extend our reach and plan for the future.
We couldn’t do it without you!
If you would like more information about supporting Sydney Dance Company please contact our Philanthropy team at philanthropy@sydneydancecompany.com.
For a full list of our donors, head to our website
Government Partners
Company Partners
Season Partners - Continuum
Season Partners - New Breed
Company Supporters
Event Sponsors - Dance Noir
Trusts and Foundations
Pro Bono Supporters
Media Partners
Board of Directors
Ann Johnson (Chair)
David Craig (Deputy Chair)
Anita Belgiorno-Nettis AM
Brooke Boney
Mitchell Butel
Sarah Constable
Mark Coulter
Anne Dunn
Heather Mitchell AM
Kate Mulvany OAM
David Paradice AO
Annette Shun Wah
Rosie Williams
Senior Producer
Ben White
Venue Manager
Ben Stern
Venue and Event Specialist
Kendra Murphy
Box Office Manager
Jo Jenkins
Staging Manager
Chris Fleming
Head Mechanist
Liam Kennedy
Floor Mechanist
Oscar Broadhead
Ash Lyons
Fly Supervisor
Jason Edwards
Lighting Manager
Andrew Tompkins
Lighting Supervisor
Amy Robertson
Lighting Operator
Sam Scott
Sound & Video Manager
Ben Lightowlers
Sound & Video Supervisor
Annika Unsen
Sound & Video Technician
Oliver Beard
Stage Door Attendant
Errol Robertson
Zac Maurice Zancanaro
Geoff Murray
