Sydney Dance Company’s Twofold showcases two distinct works that highlight the exceptional talent of its dancers, who flawlessly execute differing artistic visions.
The performance features Rafael Bonachela’s Impermanence and Melanie Lane‘s Love Lock, each offering a unique exploration of contemporary dance.
Impermanence explores the juxtaposition between strength, power, fragility and impermanence. Set to Bryce Dessner‘s score beautifully performed by the Australian String Quarter, the work powerfully showcases the dancers’ strength and passion. David Fleischer’s set is minimalistic yet highly effective, while Aleisa Jelbart‘s costuming dons the dancers in muted, naturalistic hues that evoke vulnerability, allowing the movement and music to speak boldly.
Bonachela masterfully creates a sense of chaos through grounded yet dynamic choreography. The dancers’ athleticism is on full display as they execute the rapid choreography with precision, making this chaos feel deliberate and cohesive. These moments are underpinned by Dessner’s intense score and the minimal lighting deployed by Fleischer. The dancers move with pure intention, transitioning between intricate floorwork and swift, dramatic leaps. These moments crescendo when the full company synchronises perfectly with Dessner’s striking score, creating an awe-inspiring harmony. The symbiosis between the choreography, music, and dancers’ execution showcases the company’s technical brilliance.
The tension between the chaos and brief moments of synchrony builds fleeting feelings and a desire for order. Bonachela has cleverly visualised this very human sentiment, urging the audience to crave structure. Whilst many moments were captured perfectly, there was some dissonance between climaxes in the score and choreography leading to tension that felt unresolved. One of these moments was the use of a recorded vocal and track in the final section, which undercuts the live string quartet and takes the audience out of the engaging flow.
Despite minor missteps, the feeling of impermanence is cleverly constructed through the emotive choreography of Bonachela, underwritten by the hypnotic and undulating score. The company’s athleticism, technical skill and precision elevate the piece by meeting – and exceeding – the audience’s expectations of traditional contemporary dance.
Melanie Lane’s Love Lock presents a bold celebration of love and humanity, with futuristic imagery and uncompromising energy. The immaculate cohesion of costuming by Akira Isogawa, set and lighting design by Damien Cooper and score by Clark create a novel and refreshing addiction.
Lane’s distinctive choreographic style directs the ensemble in a celebration of the collective human experience – the yearning for intense, overwhelming love. The accessibility of the choreography – free from the dense allegory often associated with contemporary dance – invites wide audience appeal. Adding to this, the costuming gradually saturates the piece – every single piece meticulously devised by Isogawa. Isogawa utilises fluid fabrics, and sculptural elements that extend the choreography, heightening the visual impact of movement. Furthermore, the stage and lighting design by Cooper initially imposes structure and restraint, subsequently expanding and evolving to add additional sculptural and artistic elements to the performance.
The dancers invite play between the stage and the audience through live acoustics and powerful facial expressions. Alongside Clark’s backing track, singing, humming, and shouting from the company immerse the audience into the performance.
Each element of Love Lock is expertly crafted and together creates an unparalleled synergy. Every aspect – choreography, score, costuming and set – synthesises into a spectacular explosion of colour, richness and immersion that leaves the audience craving more.
Why watch Twofold, one might ask? Twofold is a testament to Sydney Dance Company’s versatility and the dancers’ ability to push the boundaries of contemporary dance. With Bonachela’s exploration of strength and chaos in Impermanence and Lane’s vibrant celebration in Love Lock, the company showcases its exceptional talent and adaptability, offering audiences a unique and remarkable experience.
