SDC to launch ‘CounterMove’ National Tour
Sydney Dance Company (SDC) is set to hit the road in May, presenting its latest hit, CounterMove, in 18 venues across the country. The stunning two-part program is coming to theaters in Canberra and Melbourne in May, and will host performances in regional New South Wales, regional Queensland, regional Western Australia and Darwin from June to August 2016.
In this clever program, the innovative contemporary dance company presents something for everyone, contrasting a light-hearted and playful work from multi-award-winning young Swedish choreographer Alexander Ekman, the acclaimed and hilarious Cacti; with an “edgy, mysterious and exhilarating” (The Australian) new work from SDC Artistic Director Rafael Bonachela, Lux Tenebris.
Originally produced for Nederlands Dans Theater 2, Cacti is one of Ekman’s most popular and successful pieces. It was created early in his career, at the age of 26. Since then he has skyrocketed to celebrity as one of Europe’s most highly sought- after artists, commissioned by more than 45 leading dance companies around the globe, including Nederlands Dans Theater, Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet and Atlanta Ballet.
A witty work, Cacti sees 16 dancers stand – seemingly trapped – on oversized Scrabble-like tiles. While a string quartet plays, and spoken recordings give tongue-in-cheek narration of the action, the dancers run, fall, writhe and try to escape their invisible prisons. Eventually – and this is the important bit – they each acquire a cactus. The question of “What does it all mean?” becomes increasingly irrelevant as audiences laugh out loud with the joy of being entertained.
In CounterMove, Ekman’s critically acclaimed and clever parody is paired with a new “utterly mesmerising” (The Guardian) “explosion of movement and power” (Daily Telegraph) from Bonachela. Named for the Latin term meaning “light in darkness”, Lux Tenebris takes its cue from a rich industrial-meets-electronic soundscape by Australian composer Nick Wales, in which he juxtaposes one force with another to “create a musical tug of war between light and the dark.”
In his fifth collaboration with Bonachela and his sixth with SDC, Wales says he mashed pre-existing musical elements, sketches and field recordings – of Pluto’s atmosphere, Monks in Seoul, the sound of beehives, archaic Ethiopian religious processions and fireworks in Lismore. His process involved forming layers of sound, until he created something that he believed in.
“I was driven by the idea that there is an inherent beauty in darkness. Just because something is dark, doesn’t mean it is ugly,” Wales stated.
Bonachela added, “For me, there was a driving force about how light and darkness affects us all, our moods, our memories of specific periods in our lives – the physical sense of light and darkness, overlaid with the emotional connections to those contrasting worlds.”
The resulting choreography has been described as “broodingly eloquent, wild, fierce, mysterious and exhilarating.” Delivered in typically razor-sharp style by SDC’s ‘”world-class dancers”, Lux Tenebris combines with Cacti to deliver “one of the best nights out in town” according to Limelight Magazine.
CounterMove tours to Canberra on May 19-21 and Melbourne on May 25-June 4; and then on to regional New South Wales, regional Queensland, Darwin and regional Western Australia, from June 17-August 27, as listed below.
Also, SDC will host some special masterclasses and events while on tour. Amongst these, dancers in Melbourne should mark their calendars for Open Industry Day on Monday, May 30 at Jason Coleman’s Ministry of Dance, as hosted by SDC and Ausdance VIC. This one-day-only workshop takes participants through a series of warm-up and technique exercises, exploring creative tasks utilised by Bonachela. They’ll learn a section of movement from CounterMove. The Industry Day is open to participants ages 16-20, with limited spaces available. To register, click here.
Regional NSW
June 17–18, Illawarra Performing Arts Centre, Wollongong
June 22, Orange Civic Theatre, Orange
June 25, Newcastle Civic Theatre, Newcastle
June 29, Glasshouse, Port Macquarie
(See additional Regional NSW dates and venues below.)
Regional QLD
July 2, Pilbeam Theatre, Rockhampton
July 6, Gladstone Entertainment Centre, Gladstone
July 9-10, Centre of Contemporary Arts, Cairns
July 15-16, The Arts Centre, Gold Coast
Darwin
July 29, Darwin Entertainment Centre, Darwin
Regional WA
August 3, Queens Park Theatre, Geraldton
August 6, Mandurah Performing Arts Centre, Mandurah
August 9, Albany Entertainment Centre, Albany
August 13, Bunbury Entertainment Centre, Bunbury
Regional NSW
August 20, Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre, Bathurst
August 24, Griffith Regional Theatre, Griffith
August 27, Dubbo Regional Theatre, Dubbo
Book now for all venues at sydneydancecompany.com/countermove.
Photos: Sydney Dance Company’s CounterMove program featuring Cacti (left) and Lux Tenebris (top and right). Photos by Peter Greig.