Sydney Dance Company is opening the doors to its Walsh Bay home for a major celebration marking 40 years at Wharf 4/5.
Running from 22 August to 16 October, 40 Years at the Wharf will invite audiences to explore the people, performances and creative energy that have shaped one of Australia’s most significant homes for contemporary dance.
For four decades, dancers, choreographers, students, artists and audiences have gathered at the Wharf to rehearse, perform, learn and connect. The anniversary program will celebrate that history while presenting the building as a living creative hub where Australian contemporary dance continues to develop.
At the centre of the celebrations is Current, running from 3 to 20 September in Sydney Dance Company’s intimate Neilson Studio.
The season will feature world premieres by Raghav Handa, Jenni Large and Azzam Mohamed, alongside the Australian premiere of Artistic Director Rafael Bonachela’s E2 7SD. Together, the four works reflect the company’s longstanding commitment to commissioning new work, supporting choreographic voices and creating contemporary dance from its Walsh Bay base.
The history of the Wharf will also unfold throughout the building in a display developed with Museums of History NSW. Historical photographs, archival material, interpretive texts and earlier Sydney Dance Company season posters will trace the transformation of Wharf 4/5 and the artists and communities who have shaped it.
Images from the Museums of History NSW archives and the State Library collections, including works by photographer Max Dupain, will be displayed in the foyer. A series of newly recorded oral history films will bring together the voices of dancers, staff, students and long-time class participants whose experiences have contributed to the identity of the company’s home.
The celebrations will begin with a special Open Day on 22 August, offering free dance classes, Pilates sessions, family activities and performances.
Highlights will include a performance by Sydney Dance Company’s Primary Youth Ensemble with Gondwana’s Junior Performing Choir, an open rehearsal of E2 7SD led by Bonachela, and a live recording of the Life Academy podcast. The recording will take place at one of the Wharf locations featured in the television series Dance Academy.
Sydney Dance Company’s Pre-Professional Year students will also take part in the anniversary. Forty students will present 40-minute, site-specific improvisations across the piers and surrounding areas during the Current season.
Rather than a conventional staged performance, the activation is conceived as an offering of gratitude and acknowledgement to the land, waters and history of the place.
Professional and pre-professional dancers will have the opportunity to work directly with the artists behind the company’s newest commissions. Handa, Large and Mohamed will each lead a three-hour Advanced Contemporary Workshop exploring their creative practices and approaches to contemporary choreography.
Sydney Dance Company Artistic Director Rafael Bonachela said the Wharf had become inseparable from the company’s artistic and community life.
“For forty years, the Wharf has been much more than our location. It is where ideas are born, where artists come together to take creative risks, and where audiences become part of our story. Every rehearsal, performance, class and conversation has contributed to the extraordinary community that exists here today.”
Bonachela said the anniversary was an opportunity to welcome audiences into the building and share the range of activity it supports.
“Whether you’re joining us for Current, taking a class, exploring our history or simply visiting for the first time, we hope audiences and participants experience the creativity, generosity and sense of belonging that has made this our home for four decades.”
Alongside the public program, the company has launched 40 Years at the Wharf: The Next Steps, a fundraising campaign supporting its future work. The campaign is intended to strengthen Sydney Dance Company’s capacity to commission new productions, invest in artists, expand its reach in Australia and internationally, and deepen its engagement with communities and future audiences.
40 Years at the Wharf runs at Sydney Dance Company and across the Walsh Bay Arts Precinct from 22 August to 16 October.