Sydney Dance Company artistic director to step down in 2028
Long-time artistic director and choreographer Rafael Bonachela is leaving Sydney Dance Company (SDC).
Spanish-born Bonachela will step down in mid-2028, celebrating 20 years at SDC. Under her leadership, the company has emerged as a major player on the global dance scene, creating extensive training programs for young dancers.
“It will be 20 years when I leave,” said Bonachela, who turns 54 next week. “I’ve had the privilege of running this company for 20 years. I could do this forever, trust me. I love it with every fiber of my body, but I also believe this is the right time for change.”
Bonachela has been in talks with chief executive Emma-Jane Newton and other executives for several weeks and said he had set an extended period before his final departure to allow for an orderly transition.
“Hopefully, someone will be appointed by the end of this year and they will have a year to program the second half of 2028,” he said. “While I’m still around and that person is here, I can help in any way I can.”
When Bonachela took the reins in 2009 (amid a flurry of “Barcelona” headlines), he inherited a company still reeling from the sudden death of his predecessor, Tanja Liedtke, who died in a car accident in 2007, just three months after his appointment. Liedtke’s tragically short time at SDC follows the 30-year tenure of legendary dancer and choreographer Graeme Murphy.
“I’m always making these crazy jumps into the unknown,” said Bonachela, who has the words (in Spanish) tattooed on his forearm. in love with life. “I came here to work, but they were looking for a director; I didn’t even know it. I came here with a three-year contract and a company that was struggling artistically, but I felt like a challenge and thought, ‘What’s the worst that could happen?’ I thought.”
Bonachela came to Sydney from London, where she worked as a dancer and choreographer with the Rambert Dance Company for 13 years. He also choreographed for Kylie Minogue. showgirl And Fire tours.
As well as doing new work himself at SDC, Bonachela’s focus has been on taking the company to the rest of the world and nurturing new Australian talent, particularly through the pre-professional year program established in 2014.
“I came here to run a dance company and now I see the Sydney Dance Company as a cultural powerhouse and a national education centre,” Bonachela said. “Artistically, I wanted the company to be a repertoire company of new creations, thus commissioning new works and creating an identity that is part of a global discussion.
“I didn’t move to Australia to lounge on Bondi Beach. In fact, sometimes a whole summer goes by and I say, ‘I’d better go to the beach at least once!’ I came here because I knew there was an opportunity for me to make a difference.”
While Bonachela says there were too many highlights to be limited to just one, he remembers one show that was part of the 2017 Sydney Festival with particular fondness. Collaboration with the Art Gallery of NSW Nude: artwork from the Tate collection, The dancers and audience members were naked, including Bonachela herself.
“When we’re all naked, we’re all the same in a way,” he said. “This was a really nice experience.”
SDC audiences have come to expect and appreciate Bonachela’s distinctive physicality in many of his works for SDC. He claims many of the dancers and hopes this will at least be part of his legacy.
“I remember being in New York and people from the New York City Ballet said: ‘Oh my God, there’s being fit, and then there’s being fit at the Sydney Dance Company!’ This is so true because we need to work really hard. I’m so interested in physicality and movement, the excitement of it and how far we can go. It’s part of my identity. “I hope the dancers will carry forward this identity and the mastery and rigor that is ingrained in the organization.”
So what words does he have for his successor?
“Of course, be yourself,” he said. “They’ll bring their own skills and talents. And there’s always the artistic vision that’s so important, because you get everyone behind you. But it’s also something that continues to shape and change and change. Flexibility in how you run a company really helps.”
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