{"id":98008,"date":"2025-09-26T17:07:55","date_gmt":"2025-09-26T07:07:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.signatureluxurytravel.com.au\/?p=98008"},"modified":"2025-10-02T09:52:04","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T23:52:04","slug":"rafael-bonachela","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.signatureluxurytravel.com.au\/rafael-bonachela\/","title":{"rendered":"Rafael Bonachela reflects on new Sydney Dance Company work: Spell"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”15px”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1759362652343{margin-bottom: 15px !important;}”]Fresh from Sydney Dance Company\u2019s 2025 international tour, Artistic Director Rafael Bonachela speaks on his upcoming work <\/em>Spell, the places that shape him and finding strength in vulnerability.<\/em> <\/strong>Interview by Eleanor Edstrom[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1759126938846{margin-bottom: 15px !important;}”]When I meet Rafael Bonachela over video call, he is \u2013 in conversation, as in dance \u2013 sharply expressive. I shouldn\u2019t be surprised; the contemporary dance choreographer has spent decades distilling feeling into form. Born in a regional town in Spain, the now globally renowned artist began his professional journey in 1992 with London\u2019s prestigious Rambert Dance Company before transitioning into the world of choreography. His career has spanned collaborations with the \u00e9toile dancers of the Paris Op\u00e9ra Ballet to Kylie Minogue, Tina Turner, Hugo Boss and Cartier.<\/p>\n

Since joining the Sydney Dance Company<\/a> as Artistic Director in 2009, Bonachela\u2019s work \u2013 precise, corporeal and dynamic \u2013 has helped bring Australian dance into sharper international focus. Now, in the lead-up to his new work Spell<\/em> (running for two weeks in October 2025 at the Roslyn Packer Theatre in Millers Point, Sydney, as part of Continuum<\/em>), the choreographer opens up about process, euphoric moments from a recent creative residency in Italy<\/a>, and why he believes dance is not something to be understood.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”98014″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1758845109349{margin-bottom: 15px !important;}”]SIGNATURE: Rafael, I understand you grew up in the small Spanish town of La Garriga in the dying years of Franco\u2019s Spain. How did that context impact you as a young boy who was interested in dance? <\/strong><\/p>\n

BONACHELA: It\u2019s a gorgeous town, 40 minutes away from Barcelona. I was three years old, I think, when Franco\u2019s rule ended. So I was literally born under a dictatorship, and that has definitely shaped me in so many ways. I mean, at the time\u2026 for a boy to want to dance? That was just not the norm. I didn\u2019t care, no matter how much bullying I got, because I loved dancing. Somehow I found the strength \u2013 and I don\u2019t know why \u2013 to not care. And I didn\u2019t have a sister who went to ballet. There was not a dance school in my town. So it gave me a deep appreciation of the power of art, not just to express yourself, but also to resist and to heal.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1758845159510{margin-bottom: 15px !important;}”]You\u2019ve recently returned from SDC\u2019s 2025 International Tour, where the company travelled and performed around Europe, from Paris, Helsinki and Ljubljana to Rome. What do you love most about touring? <\/strong><\/p>\n

You have the laughter, you\u2019ve got the standing ovations, you\u2019ve got moments backstage, and all the adrenaline and excitement \u2013 but what I most enjoy is the incredible exchange that happens when you\u2019re able to share the work that we create here in Sydney on international stages. It\u2019s not only rewarding, but it\u2019s also an important thing to do because it really allows us to connect across cultures. You know, we do that through movement and emotion and music, and that\u2019s something that everyone understands, no matter what language you speak. Everyone understands the body, so to be able to witness how our work resonates in different parts of the world is always the best part.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”98012″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1758849019214{margin-bottom: 15px !important;}”]The tour included a performance of Impermanence<\/em> in front of 5000 people at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, a legendary open-air theatre beneath the Acropolis in Athens. How did it feel to watch your dancers perform at such a beautiful and historically significant venue? And do you think the location of a performance can add another layer to the work itself?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s talk about dreams, okay. To actually perform at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, for me, was a dream come true. It took me 53 years to get there. The amphitheatre itself is almost 1900 years old, which really adds a profound weight and atmosphere you can just feel as you walk in. I have a video where I told Richard, who was with the dancers in the bus, \u201cLet me know when you\u2019re coming in from the studio, because I\u2019m going to record the dancers\u2019 faces\u201d. And they walk into the back and see the amphitheatre, and then they were crying \u2013 they just couldn\u2019t believe it.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Dance is not necessarily to be understood. There is nothing to understand… I am in touch with myself and my emotions, and I want to make people feel.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1758849027461{margin-bottom: 15px !important;}”]And then also, we talk about dance as an ephemeral, evolving artform that exists in the now. It exists in the breath and the body of the moment. That\u2019s what we do. So to bring something that it so contemporary and fluid like dance, into something that has endured centuries, entertaining people for hundreds of years… it\u2019s something really powerful. And it creates a poetic tension in a way, because the dancers can feel the weight of history beneath their feet. For me, it was almost like having a dialogue with everything that came before. And I remember watching the dancers, and \u2013 because of the costumes that were very simple and quite athletic \u2013 they really looked like gods. I saw these Greek gods that were powerful and timeless and luminous.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1758848245383{margin-bottom: 15px !important;}”]In June you spent some time in the Italian region of Piedmont for an artistic residency at Orsolina28, where you were creating the early stages of Spell<\/em>, a new work that will premiere on 22 October 2025 in Sydney as part of a triple-bill production titled Continuum<\/em>. Can you tell us about your experience there?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s one of the most magical places I\u2019ve ever been and worked at. You know, it\u2019s almost like a paradise for dancers and artists, with the rolling hills and vineyards of Moncalvo that used to be a monastery. So you\u2019re in this architecturally beautiful setup that has been designed, created, you know, to nurture creativity. And I guess all of that really invites you and the dancers to slow down. Basically, you wake up, you have breakfast, you create, you eat, you create. You jump in the pool. You have dinner, you sleep, you get up, you create. You\u2019ve got chefs cooking for you. It was an incredible experience, because the residency really gave you space, mentally and physically.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”98009″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1758845357525{margin-bottom: 15px !important;}”]Can you talk us through the source of inspiration behind your upcoming work Spell<\/em>? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Everything started because I went to see the opening of Isaac Julian\u2019s exhibition at the MCA, and he\u2019s a British, Black, queer artist and filmmaker. He had commissioned Alice Smith, who is a Black American singer, to create the soundtrack for the film installation that he created. And on that night, she came from LA to perform one song: \u2018I Put a Spell on You\u2019. I became obsessed, because she was, oh my god, incredible. For me, the work is really about transformation, emotional depth and also the invisible forces that shape our inner and our outer worlds. A spell can be something magical, yes, but it can also be something that you fall under without realising, that almost controls you. So that feels like a really interesting idea to explore. But if I\u2019m able to catch those moments, you know, between clarity and uncertainty, where something really shifts in the body, in the mind, and in our hearts… So it\u2019s deeply personal, this work, for reasons that I can\u2019t talk about. Whatever me and the dancers are going through now \u2013 that beauty, that vulnerability, you know, that sort of fragility that the world is in \u2013 that\u2019s something I hope to bring into this work.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1758848581947{margin-bottom: 15px !important;}”]I\u2019m excited to see it. Are there any elements, whether technical or conceptual, that are continual driving forces behind your choreographic approach?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think dance is to be felt. Dance is not necessarily to be understood. There is nothing to understand. Often people sit in the theatre going like, \u201cWhat does it mean? What does it mean?\u201d It’s like, why does everything have to mean something? Why can’t you just feel something? For me, dance and the body, they\u2019re always saying: I am here, I am alive, and this is what I’m feeling.<\/p>\n

So in my choreography, emotion and musicality are at the core of everything that I create. I’m not scared of it, you know. Often in contemporary anything, if you’re emotive, it’s like, whoa, you’ve got to be cool. And I’m not. I’m Spanish, and I am in touch with myself and my emotions, and I want to make people feel. My dance is extremely physical, technically. I have a flow. I have a focus on clarity, articulation and fluidity. But I’m always searching for that space where exquisite, rigorous precision meets freedom.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”98013″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1758847211604{margin-bottom: 15px !important;}”]You\u2019ve been touring the world for more than 30 years. Do you have any favourite travel destinations for culture and the arts? <\/strong><\/p>\n

You know, the Paris Opera Ballet is over 350 years old, but it\u2019s also paired with a constant pulse for innovation. The city has this rich history, and then this continuous experimentation in the architecture, the galleries, the fashion, the food. So for me, it\u2019s heaven. It\u2019s very selfish, because I love consuming culture. Basically, it\u2019s a city that breathes and lives art. People in Paris<\/a> or in France<\/a> get up, go to work, have lunch with a glass of wine, go back to work, then they get on the Metro, bring their book, they go to the theatre. It\u2019s really invigorating to be in a place where the arts are genuinely such an important part of the fabric of that country.<\/p>\n

But I know there is also something interesting happening in Athens at the moment \u2013 there\u2019s an energy with the artists living there. People say it\u2019s like Berlin 20 years ago \u2013 which I didn\u2019t have enough time to fully explore. But my next holiday destination, I\u2019m telling you, it\u2019s Athens.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1758846943875{margin-bottom: 15px !important;}”]<\/p>\n

The details of Continuum<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Sydney Dance Company’s Continnum<\/em> is a triple-bill production bringing together three visionary contemporary choreographers \u2013 Rafael Bonachela, Stephen Page and Tra Mi Dinh \u2013 and featuring Bonachela’s new work Spell.<\/em><\/p>\n

Performance dates:<\/strong> 22 October to 1 November 2025
\nWhere:<\/strong> Roslyn Packer Theatre, Sydney
\nDuration:<\/strong> 120 minutes, including a 20-minute interval
\nTickets:<\/strong> tickets can be purchased at my.sydneydancecompany.com\/events<\/a>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1758847117378{margin-bottom: 15px !important;}”]Read more:
\n<\/strong>The world\u2019s 15 best cities for art lovers<\/a>
\nMeet avant-garde musical savant Warren Ellis<\/a>
\n<\/strong>These opera and classical music tours hit all the right notes<\/a>
\nPeruse Chanel\u2019s new M\u00e9tiers d\u2019Art collection<\/a>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]This article originally appeared in volume 52 of Signature Luxury Travel & Style<\/em> magazine. Subscribe to the latest issue today<\/a>.[\/vc_column_text]