Dance News

Sydney Dance Company

We were contacted by the Education Coordinator from Sydney Dance Company last month. Sydney Dance Company is the most prestigious contemporary dance company in Australia, and will be turning 50 next year. The company has performed on stages around the world, including the Sydney Opera House in Australia, the Joyce Theatre in New York and many more. While they were in Melbourne with their latest show, they worked with The Arts Centre Melbourne to offer Dance workshops in schools. We were fortunate enough to receive funding to see the show and participate in a dance workshop.

Cooper from Sydney Dance Company came in and worked with our Semester 1 Year 9 dance class on Wednesday 30 May for a double period. It was so much fun! The students learned to dance a contemporary piece, learning technique along the way. They also had the opportunity to create a short piece and perform this for each other. It was a great afternoon.

Two days later, they had the opportunity to travel into the city and watch the show at the Arts Centre. The performances were amazing, and they even saw the section they had learned two days before at school. What made the experience even more valuable was the choreographer and artistic director of SDC came out before the show, with some of the dancers, and explained the themes and interpretations of the show, with the dancers performing the examples he was speaking about. After the show, he came out again with a panel of dancers and others who work in producing the show, and opened up to any questions the audiences had.

It was a wonderful day and a great opportunity for our Year 9 dance students to access world class dancers. Thanks Arts Centre Melbourne for this magnificent experience.

Tania De Silva

Dance Teacher