Sydney Dance Company’s 2023 National Tour will bring its critically acclaimed ab [intra] to Costa Hall on Saturday, May 27.
A work of soaring energy and breathtaking beauty, ab [intra], meaning ‘from within’, seeks to portray the journey of human existence and explore humanity’s primal instincts, impulses and responses.
Featuring the full company of 17 dancers led by artistic director and creator of the work Rafael Bonachela, ab [intra] fuses original music with elegant dance to craft an intimate experience for audiences.
The tour follows sold-out seasons in Sydney and Paris, where the company enjoyed a two-week residency at the renowned Théâtre National de Chaillot, with French critics describing ab [intra] as “breathtakingly poetic and beautiful” and an “incandescent piece that takes contemporary dance to its very highest level”.
Sydney Dance Company member Chloe Young, who performed in ab [intra]’s opening season in 2018 and has been with the ensemble throughout the work’s lifespan so far, said it was an “exhilarating” experience.
“It’s quite ferocious; there are slow dynamics throughout as well, but it raises the energy as it goes, and when you think it can’t go any further, it does,” Young said.
“With the athleticism and the lighting, you see a lot of the body. You see the sweat, the muscles… it’s really a beautiful piece, very physical and technical.”
Young said the company’s rehearsal and artistic directors encouraged the dancers to bring their own interpretations to the choreography, with moments for spontaneous reaction built into the work.
“They believe in what we do and they really do give us that licence to play with it, feel it, do all the things we need (to do) without changing the choreography,” she said.
“There are lots of times where there it isn’t set choreography, so (your job) is just reacting. So it’s a really fun work to do because you can just play with it.
“There’s always lots of eye contact. We’re always looking at each other, working with each other and playing with timing and dynamics, which means it feels different every night.”
