Welcome to Spring Dance 2011.
Sydney Opera House will present some of the world’s most important contemporary dance artists including a thrilling series of firsts. The UK’s DV8 presents the world premiere of Lloyd Newson’s latest work; for the first time in Sydney, the revered Belgian choreographer Alain Platel presents his acclaimed company les ballets C de la B; Australian audiences will be introduced to Israel Galván, the daringly innovative flamenco artist from Seville; the UK’s Fevered Sleep will take young audiences into the enchanted world of The Forest and two Australian works acclaimed by critics around the world come to Sydney – Ros Warby’s Monumental and Chunky Move’s I Like This.
The influence of the late Pina Bausch, the German choreographer who created the form we know as dance-theatre, is stamped all over this program. By showcasing the work of choreographers Lloyd Newson and Alain Platel, we bring together two artists who cite the enormous influence Bausch has had on their work. This seems like the perfect springboard to explore the influence this iconic dance-maker has had on the landscape of contemporary Australian dance.
Pina Bausch’s Tanztheater Wuppertal first came to Australia to perform at the Adelaide Festival in 1982. If the festival director Jim Sharman had not made the decision to bring Pina’s work to Adelaide and if Meryl Tankard (a principal artist with Pina Bausch from 1978 - 1988) had not later set up her own company here and Lloyd Newson, an Australian who has lived in London for 30 years had not taken Pina as his inspiration, the current landscape of Australian contemporary dance would look very different. The work of the next generation of choreographers who have worked with Meryl and Lloyd - such as Kate Champion and Shaun Parker, would look very different. During Spring Dance we will honour this legacy in Pina: A Celebration, a weekend of discussions and film screenings.
In the Western Foyer, this year’s program will play host to a film installation exploring the choreographic career of Meryl Tankard, alongside a documentary photographic exhibition about Rafael Bonachela’s Sydney Dance Company on the Western Broadwalk.
Spring Dance 2011 will not only provide Sydney audiences with an opportunity to see the work of some of the world’s most acclaimed dance artists, but it will provide a platform for discussion and debate, as well as a program of masterclasses.
I encourage you to join us for this rich mix of dance.
Wendy Martin
Curator Spring Dance 2011