Review: Sydney Dance Company's Continuum
Continuum
Continuum is an apt title for Sydney Dance Company’s latest triple bill, which opens with Spell, Raphael Bonachela’s 38th world premiere for the company, and closes with Unungkati Yantatja – One with the Other, Stephen Page’s first work for SDC since Moograh (1991). A sentimental thought struck: most of the dancers on stage were barely born when Bonachela took the reins 17 years ago—and their parents were still in school when Page last choreographed for the company. Now those dancers are part of Bonachela’s own continuum.
Spell
Bonachela’s Spell—five “worlds” of dance alchemy—is highly enjoyable, well structured, and expertly danced. His collaboration with set and costume designer Kelsey Lee and lighting designer Damien Cooper shows the kind of playfulness and trust that come with long-term creative partnerships. Each scene offers its own visual surprise as lighting bars shift, new spaces appear, and different configurations of dancers move through the music of Ólafur Arnalds and Bryce Dessner.
I especially loved the slippery duet of Naiara de Matos and Timmy Blankenship, sliding across the stage before a curtain of what looked like black strips of cellophane or film. And the final “red spell”, with its cone of light, sinking smoke and a pair of inexhaustible lovers moving to Alice Smith’s I Put a Spell on You, landed with glorious theatricality. Bonachela at his best: tightly built, dramatically open-ended, and danced with complete conviction.
Somewhere Between Ten and Fourteen
Then—BAM!—we’re in Tra Mi Dinh land. With Tilman Robinson’s electro-acoustic score, lighting by Alexander Berlage and costumes by Aleisa Jelbart, Somewhere Between Ten and Fourteen feels like a Mark Rothko painting come to life. The integration of sound, movement, light and colour is so complete it’s mesmerising.
Dinh’s mastery of subtle group manipulation gives the work its magic: formations shift imperceptibly until you realise the whole landscape has changed. Where Bonachela’s choreography is intricate in its individuality, Dinh’s is communal—she shapes the collective organism, fragmenting and reforming it so fluidly you never know how you got there.
It’s a cool piece in every sense—composed, confident. The white sand-shoes accentuate the dancers’ strut, their removal at the end a neat close—end of day, end of light. I’m keen to see what Dinh takes on next.
Unungkati Yantatja – One with the Other
The final work, Unungkati Yantatja – One with the Other, is set to acclaimed Yidaki composer and performer William Barton’s Gift: Our Breath of Life, commissioned by Omega Ensemble in 2022. The idea came when Bonachela heard Barton’s composition on the radio and invited former Bangarra Artistic Director Stephen Page to create a new work around it. It’s easy to hear why: the score is extraordinary—a stunning dialogue between Barton’s yidaki and voice and Omega’s David Rowden on basset clarinet, accompanied by string quartet. The combination of instruments, voice and breath is textural, cinematic and profoundly moving.
Barton’s piece is an ode to his father, who died from an asbestos-related illness. The title, meaning “breath of life and fire” in Kalkadunga, carries his hope that we might “breathe for those who can’t.” Page’s choreography for eight dancers mirrors that intention allowing sound and breath to lead, while his movement is filled with sincerity and care. The upstage semicircle of musicians frames the action, with Barton moving forward from time to time, seeming to call the dances to life through his voice and breath.
The staging is exquisite: Jennifer Irwin’s shimmering costumes, Jacob Nash’s curved boomerang hovering above, and Damien Cooper’s ochre light creating a space that feels both grounded and transcendent.
Watching the SDC dancers take on Page’s movement was impressive. His grounded, authentic language takes time to live in the body, but their respect and commitment were evident. With only two and a half weeks of rehearsal, what they achieved speaks to the trust among everyone involved.
The real power of Unungkati Yantatja lies not only in the performance but in the foresight that made it happen: Bonachela’s invitation, Page’s openness, and the courage of Barton and the Omega Ensemble to step into a dance collaboration. It’s a rare and valuable alignment—and a luminous new link in the Sydney Dance continuum.
-Emma Sandall