Sydney Dance Company began life as the
Dance Company (NSW). Originally a dance-in-education
group, it was founded in 1965 by Suzanne
Musitz (Davidson) under the name Ballet
in a Nutshell and later Athletes and
Dancers. By the 1970s it had become a
full-time performing group with federal
and state government support and was
led by Musitz until 1974. In 1975 and
1976 the company was directed by Dutch-born
choreographer and dancer Jaap Flier.
Graeme Murphy was appointed artistic
director of the company at the end of
1976. The name change to Sydney Dance
Company took place in 1979.
Under Murphy and his associate director
Janet Vernon, Sydney Dance Company has
consolidated its position as a major
Australian contemporary dance company.
The company made its first overseas tour
in 1980 when it travelled to Italy. A
tour to the United States, England and
Hong Kong followed in 1981. Since then
Sydney Dance has undertaken over 25 international
tours throughout the United States, Europe,
South America, New Zealand and Asia.
The company also tours nationally.
Under Murphy's directorship, Sydney
Dance Company's repertoire was made up
predominantly of original works by Murphy
often with original Australian music
and design. Highlights of the Murphy
repertoire for Sydney Dance Company,
and its predecessor the Dance Company
(NSW) when under Murphy's direction,
include
Poppy (1978), the company's
first full length work,
Rumours (1978-1979),
Sheherazade (1979),
Viridian (1980),
Daphnis and Chloe (1980),
An Evening (1981),
Homelands (1982),
Some Rooms (1983),
After Venice (1984),
Boxes (1985),
Nearly Beloved (1986),
Shining (1986),
Late Afternoon of a Faun
(1987),
Vast (1988), a Bicentennial
project made in collaboration with the
Queensland Ballet, West Australian Ballet
and Australian Dance Theatre,
Kraanerg (1988),
Song of the Night (1989),
Soft Bruising (1990),
King Roger (1990),
Bard Bits (1991),
Piano Sonata (1992),
Synergy with Synergy (1992),
Beauty and the Beast (1993),
The Protecting Veil (1993),
Fornicon (1995),
Berlin (1995),
Free Radicals (1996),
Salome (1998),
Air and Other Invisible Forces
(1999),
Mythologia (2000), for the
2000 Sydney Olympic Arts Festival,
Body of Work (2000), a retrospective
program,
Ellipse (2002),
Shades of Gray (2004) based
on the Oscar Wilde story of ageing as
told through the character of Dorian
Gray, and in 2005
Grand, which premiered at
the Sydney Opera House on 28 May 2005
and which was dedicated to Murphy's mother
who died in 2004. In May 2006 Murphy
premiered
The Director's Cut, a triple
bill consisting of a revival of his early
work,
Glimpses, and two new works,
Gossamer with choreography
by Narelle Benjamin, and
Cut in which Murphy draws
on signature choreographic phrases to
explore and recut. Murphy and Vernon's
farewell tribute to Melbourne in 2007
was entitled
Ever after Ever and comprised
a new work
Short Stories choreographed
to Carl Vine's
Anne Landa Preludes as well
as a selection from
Tivoli,
Air and Other Invisible Forces,
Ellipse and
Berlin.
Since its inception Sydney Dance Company
has also always presented the work of
choreographers other than Murphy, both
Australian and non-Australian, and has
also staged choreographic workshop programs
for which company members have created
original works. Australians whose work
has been presented by Sydney Dance Company
include Graeme Watson, Paul Mercurio,
Gideon Obarzanek, Stephen Baynes, Don
Asker, Stephen Page, Kim Walker, Barry
Moreland, Ian Spink and Garth Welch.
Non Australians whose choreography has
been staged by Sydney Dance Company include
Louis Falco (
Black and Blue in 1984),
Ohad Naharin (
Tabula Rasa in 1988 and
Arbos in 1989), Ralph Lemon
(
Happy Trails in 1989), Douglas
Wright (
Gloria in 1993) and Stephen
Petronio (
Underland, a commissioned
work for which the company received an
Australian Dance Award for outstanding
performance in 2003).
Murphy and Vernon resigned from their
positions in July 2006, and in May 2007
it was announced that Tanja Liedtke would
be the new artistic director. However
on August 17, 2007, prior to taking up
the appointment, Liedtke tragically died
in an accident. The company was without
an artistic director in 2008, when it
presented three world premieres from
guest choreographers Meryl Tankard (
Inuk 2), Rafael Bonachela
(
360 Degrees), and Aszure
Barton (
Sid's Waltzing Masquerade).
In November 2008, Bonachela was announced
as the incoming artistic director. His
policy of presenting commissioned works
alongside his own new and preexisting
works was put in place. Early guests
included Kenneth Kvarnstrom, Adam Linder,
Jacopo Godani and Emanuel Gat . In the
first three years of his directorship,
Bonachela's works received three awards.
In the 2011 Australian Dance Awards Amy
Hollingsworth won the outstanding performance
by a female dancer award for the solo
Irony of Fate (2005), and
Bonachela the outstanding achievement
in choreography award for
6 Breaths (2010). In 2010
the company was also nominated for its
performance of
We Unfold (2009) and Richard
Cilli won the Helpmann Award for best
male dancer in that work.
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