FORM Dance Projects Competitors

Dance changes you. More than simply witnessing something beautiful, or engaging with culture, to experience dance is to be positively altered. From performances at the Joyce Theatre in New York, to the Grand in Shanghai, the Stanislavsky in Moscow and the Sydney Opera House at home, Sydney Dance Company has proven that there are no passive observers in a contemporary dance audience. The reward of truly moving audiences, and the raw pride of sharing Australian art with the world has driven our ensemble of 16 dancers, led by Artistic Director Rafael Bonachela, to become one of the world’s strongest forces in contemporary dance. Alongside Bonachela’s original works, our programs have featured guest choreographers like Jacopo Godani, Alexander Ekman, Gideon Obarzanek and Cheng Tsung-Lung as well as collaborations with the Sydney Festival, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, David Jones and composers Bryce Dessner, Nick Wales, 48nord and Ezio Bosso. Sydney Dance Company has a broad community beyond the practice and performance of our lead dancers. We believe in the universality of dance, and with the largest public dance class program in Australia, we help over 80,000 people a year connect with the grace, strength and creativity that lives within all of us. Our nation-wide education program offers a strategic curriculum targeting primary and secondary students through to career focused study for pre-professional dancers and university graduates.

Bangarra Dance Theatre is Australia’s leading Indigenous performing arts company producing contemporary Indigenous dance theatre live performances. Weaving seamlessly the modern and ancient stories of Indigenous Australia, Bangarra celebrates the world’s oldest living culture with audiences across Australia and internationally. Artistic Director and co-CEO Frances Rings and Executive Director and co-CEO Louise Ingram lead the company in our mission to promote awareness and understanding of our cultures. Bangarra is committed to developing the next generation of Indigenous storytellers through mentoring and training young people. Established in 2013, the Rekindling Youth Program builds on Bangarra’s 20 years of experience working with young people and aims to inspire them in their role as future custodians of their culture. As an exemplary employer of Indigenous people, Bangarra has supported the professional development of over 100 artists since inception in 1989. Based at Sydney’s Walsh Bay, the members of our dance ensemble originates from across Australia reflecting many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clans. Bangarra has a loyal cohort of corporate partners and a growing number of private donors whose philanthropic support helps to secure the company for future generations. Bangarra Dance Theatre Australia’s vision is to: Respect and rekindle the links between traditional Indigenous cultures of Australia and new forms of contemporary artistic expression; Create inspiring dance theatre productions of integrity and excellence that resonate with people throughout Australia and the world.