'Twofold,' a massive double-bill dance performance, is coming to Roslyn Packer Theatre

A new Sydney Dance Company production, Twofold, is coming to Roslyn Packer Theatre in mid-September.

Running from Wednesday, September 18 to Saturday, September 28, Twofold is conceived as a massive double-bill performance, taking Rafael Bonachela’s highly regarded Impermanence and standing it next to the world premiere of a new work, Love Lock, by Melanie Lane.

The interplay between both works is designed to tease out a sense of choreographic dynamism, with Impermanence exploring beauty and devastation, and Love Lock an essay on the binding ability of dance to move, warn, and empower.

Bonachela’s critically acclaimed work premiered in 2021 before touring nationally and internationally.

Backed by a score from Grammy Award-winning composer, long-time Taylor Swift collaborator and The National guitarist Bryce Dessner, the exquisite performance rose from the historic Australian bushfires and the Notre Dame fire in Paris. Having such a tragic basis has given Dessner plenty of emotional and triumphant material to work with, lifted by either the Australian String Quartet or the Partridge String Quartet during this limited run.

Impermanence’s score has already been praised in various reviews, noting the seamless relationship between the emotionally powerful score and the choreography, said to take audiences on a journey through transience and the fragility of existence.

The second half of this double bill is Love Lock, where Australian/Javanese choreographer and performer Melanie Lane plays with the idea of folk dance in the future, drawing upon collective experiences that exist across a range of cultures to explore an accelerating world and disappearing lands.

With costuming by celebrated Australian fashion designer Akira Isogawa, Love Lock stands apart from Impermanence with a vibrant display of texture and colour, backed by a score composed by UK electronic artist Clark. With both together, this two-for-one dance event is shaping up to be the most unmissable

“It is a thrill to be creating Love Lock with the artists of Sydney Dance Company,” said Lane.

“The ideas for the work came from the invitation to work with the entire ensemble. It’s an exciting opportunity that offers so much potential to harness the powerful energy of a large group of dancers. It made me think a lot about social dances, folk dances and community dances that celebrate what it means to connect with each other through our bodies and essentially what it means to be human.”