Impermanence

“Extraordinary... form and function meet seamlessly in every aspect” – The Australian

Returning to the stage for a national Australian tour after a sell-out Sydney world premiere season (Feb 2021) and an Adelaide Festival smash hit run (March 2021), Rafael Bonachela’s Impermanence is “arguably the single best piece created by and for an Australian dance company for many years” (Adelaide Advertiser).

A visceral and thrilling exploration of the juxtaposition of beauty and devastation, this full-length work features a new score full of emotional power from Grammy Award-winning composer Bryce Dessner.

Best known as a founder of American rock band The National and for his film scores for The Revenant and The Two Popes, Dessner was initially inspired by the tragedy of the Australian bush fires and the Notre-Dame fire in Paris. With an exquisite recording by the Australian String Quartet, and the full might of Sydney Dance Company’s “awe inspiring” (In Daily) ensemble, this is an epic, driven performance that packs an emotional punch.

When COVID-19 struck in March 2020, Impermanence was only four days from its world premiere and opening night. As the impact of the pandemic became apparent, performances were cancelled and artists sent into lockdown. Life, and recovery, were on hold, but the collaboration persevered. The ASQ recorded the compositions in lockdown, the dancers rehearsed in isolation, and with the added poignancy of a pandemic that has exposed so many vulnerabilities and changed us all at a profound level, Impermanence returns to the stage.

“Dance moves for the end of the world... Choreographer Rafael Bonachela sets his excellent dancers on a whirling, bounding trajectory…” – The Sydney Morning Herald.

Experience the power of dance and music, laden with meaning, fleeting and vulnerable and from devastation, find energy, urgency, radiance and hope.