Sydney Dance Company is marking four decades since it made its home at the Wharf theatres at Walsh Bay. As part of the celebrations, the company is presenting an exhibition in the foyer of its Wharf home, developed in partnership with Museums of History NSW.
With photographs, oral histories and archival material, Wharf Stories explores the people, stories and spaces that have shaped the company and the wharf precinct itself.
Images from the archives
The exhibition draws on a rich visual history, including Max Dupain's 1987 commission to photograph the new Sydney Dance Company premises, and an architectural photo of the premises from the same year. Rehearsal shots from 1988 show the ensemble preparing for Vast, choreographed by Graeme Murphy, with Murphy also pictured during rehearsals that year.
Later images include Shane Placentino, Simon Turner and Katherine Griffiths rehearsing for choreographer Stephen Petronio's production Underland in 2003, and Charmene Yap and Richard Cilli in rehearsals for Rafael Bonachela's 2 One Another in 2012. A ballet dance class in Studio 1 from 2011 and the cast of Impermanence, choreographed by Bonachela, in 2021 also feature.
The history of the Wharf precinct
Historical photographs chart the broader life of the site, including Wharf 4-5 under construction circa 1920, the Lady Denman ferry passing the wharves in 1970, and wharfies playing cards around the same period. The Hickson Road entrance to the Wharf, which houses both Sydney Dance Company and Sydney Theatre Company, appears in a 2011 image.
Rafael Bonachela, artistic director of Sydney Dance Company, said: “There is something very special about making dance in a place like the Wharf. The building was built around movement. Of people, cargo, machinery, everything coming and going. In a different way, that energy is still here today as people come together and move through the studios. There is a beautiful connection between the history of the Wharf and what we do here as dancers.”
Artistic connection to the building
Bonachela added: “Over the past 40 years, the Wharf has become part of the identity of Sydney Dance Company. The building gives you something as an artist. Its scale, the light, the water outside. All of these things become part of how you think and how you work. With our season of Current, we are inviting audiences into the Neilson Studio to experience a performance from within the spaces where it was created.”
