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Bonachela was born in La Garriga near Barcelona (1972), where he began his early dance training before moving to London to join the legendary Rambert Dance Company, where he danced from 1992 to 2004. In 2008, Rafael premiered his first full-length production, 360°, for Sydney Dance Company.

Less than six months later, he was appointed artistic director, making international headlines and heralding a new era in Australian contemporary dance. His vision for the Company embraces a guiding principle that sees commissioned dance works by Australian and international choreographers, most recently Denmark-based Marina Mascarell, alongside his own critically-acclaimed creations.

In 2022, Cartier announced Bonachela as a new Friend of the Maison. From his internationally recognised talent as both a dancer and choreographer, to his commitments supporting a new generation of emerging artists and choreographers, Bonachela embodies the values cherished by Cartier: strength of character, virtuosity, and the ability to find beauty wherever it may lie.

Bonachela’s career has seen him collaborate with many artists in different fields such as composers (Ezio Bosso, Nic Wales, Tarik O’Regan, Matthew Herbert, Marius de Vries, Benjamine Wallfisch), musicians (Sarah Blasco, Katie Noonan, Kylie Minogue, Tina Turner, The Sixteen), orchestras (Australian Chamber Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, Sydney Symphony), visual artists (Angela de la Cruz, Jennifer Allora and Guillermo Calzadilla, Lenka Clayton), production desiners (Alan Macdonald, Ralph Myers, Tony Assness, David Fleisher), fashion (Toni Maticevski, Dion Lee), Filmmakers (Daniel Askill, Tim Richardson, Dimitri Basil, Dawn Shadforth, Johan Renck, Clemens Habicht), poets (Sam Webster) and photographers (Pedro Greig, Jez Smith, Hugh Stewart).

Bonachela’s work is strong, sober, and sharp. The exploration of pure movement is where he finds his unmistakable style. The result is an incandescent dance that springs from the power of movement, in which energy and muscle strength combine with a great emotional sensitivity.

Meanwhile, he is a high-profile presence in film score composition, with credits including Alejandro González Iñárritu’s The Revenant – for which he was Grammy^® and Golden Globe^®-nominated, as well as his score for the triple Oscar^®-nominated The Two Popes (Netflix – November 2019), featuring legendary actors Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce. The breadth and level of Dessner’s creative output is remarkable.

Dessner collaborates with some of today’s most creative and respected artists, including Philip Glass, Katia and Marielle Labèque, Paul Simon, Sufjan Stevens, Johnny Greenwood, Bon Iver, Kelley O’Connor, Nico Muhly, and Steve Reich, who named Dessner “a major voice of his generation.” His orchestrations can be heard on the new albums of Paul Simon and Bon Iver. In 2015, Rafael Bonachela choreographed his work Frame of Mind to Dessner’s dramatic contemporary classical album Aheym, recorded by Kronos Quartet. Frame of Mind went on to win four Helpmann Awards, has toured internationally, and was performed live by the Australian String Quartet in Sydney Dance Company’s 2018 reprise of the work.

Dessner’s latest collaboration with Bonachela and the Australian String Quartet for Sydney Dance Company’s eponymous Impermanence was released as Impermanence/Disintegration in March 2021 on 37d03d.

Bryce Dessner was named one of a collective of eight “extraordinary artists, thinkers and doers” to help steer the artistic leadership of Esa-Pekka Salonen as San Francisco Symphony Orchestra’s new music director from September 2020.

Recent major works include Concerto for Two Pianos for Katia and Marielle Labèque, premiered by London Philharmonic Orchestra and recorded for Deutsche Grammophon; Voy a Dormir for Kelley O’Connor and Orchestra of St. Luke’s; Skrik Trio for Steve Reich and Carnegie Hall; the ballet No Tomorrow co-written with Ragnar Kjartansson; and Wires for Ensemble Intercontemporain. In 2019, Gautier Capuçon premiered a new work by Dessner commissioned by Fondation Louis Vuitton, and Los Angeles Philharmonic premiered Triptych (Eyes for One on Another), a major theater piece integrating the photographs of Robert Mapplethorpe. New York’s Metropolitan Museum featured a song by Dessner in one of its first contemporary installations.

Dessner’s albums include El Chan and St. Carolyn by the Sea on Deutsche Grammophon; Music for Wood and Strings (Brassland records); Aheym commissioned by Kronos Quartet; and When We Are Inhuman by Dessner, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, and Eighth Blackbird.

Cooper’s dance credits for Sydney Dance Company include; ab [intra], Impermanence, Cinco, Ocho, Grand, Air and Other Invisible Forces, and Orb.

Other dance credits include: State (Western Australian Ballet), Of Earth and Sky (Bangarra), The Narrative of Nothing, Firebird and Swan Lake (Australian Ballet), Giselle (Universal Ballet), Birdbrain, Supernature, Habitus and Be Your Self (Australian Dance Theatre), The Frock (Ten days on the Island Festival), Affinity (Tas Dance), Mortal Engine (Chunky Move), and Grey Rhino (Performing Lines).

Theater credits include Counting & Cracking (Edinburgh International Festival/Belvoir), Mark Colvin’s Kidney, The Great Fire, Radiance, The Glass Menagerie, Coranderrk, Miss Julie, Stories I Want to Tell You in Person, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Peter Pan, Private Lives, Conversation Piece, Strange Interlude, Summer of the Seventeenth Doll, Neighbourhood Watch, The Seagull, Gethsemane, Keating!, Toy Symphony, Peribanez, Stuff Happens, The Chairs, The Spook, In Our Name, The Underpants and The Ham Funeral (Belvoir); Disgraced, Orlando, Arcadia, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Golden Age, Suddenly Last Summer, The Women of Troy, The Lost Echo, Riflemind and Tot Mom (Sydney Theatre Company); Macbeth and The Tempest (Bell Shakespeare); The Ring Cycle, Der Ring des Nibelungen, Aida and Cosi Fan Tutte (Opera Australia); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Houston Grand Opera, Canadian Opera, Lyric Opera Chicago); and The Magic Flute (Lyric Opera Chicago).

Cooper’s opera design includes The Ring Cycle with Opera Australia; A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Houston Grand Opera, Canadian Opera Company and Lyric Opera Chicago; The Magic Flute for Lyric Opera Chicago; Chorus! for HGO; and Aida, Cosi Fan Tutte and Peter Grimes for Opera Australia and Canadian Opera Company.

For lighting design, Cooper has won three Sydney Theatre Awards, three Green Room Awards, and two Australian Production Design Guild Awards.

He was co-resident designer for Sydney Theatre Company through 2012-2013, was the recipient of the 2016 Kristian Fredrikson Scholarship, and is an associate lecturer for the National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA).

Fleischer’s extensive work in theater includes Blithe Spirit, Death of a Salesman, Playing Beatie Blow, Cat On a Hot Tin Roof, The Harp in the South, The Deep Blue Sea, Saint Joan, Top Girls, Chimerica, Speed The Plow, Power Plays, The Golden Age, Boys Will Be Boys, Children of The Sun, Travelling North, Mojo, Travelling North, Romeo and Juliet, Australian Graffiti, Machinal, Fury, Little Mercy, Under Milk Wood, and Marriage Blanc for Sydney Theatre Company; Love and Information, Calpurnia Descending for Malthouse Theatre; Myth for Melbourne Theatre Company (Neon), Hedda Gabler, Woyzeck for Belvoir St Theatre; The Brothers Size, Between Two Waves, The Sea Project for Griffin Theatre; Scenes from a Marriage and Hedda for Queensland Theatre.

His opera credits include Verdi’s Aida for Opera Australia’s ‘Opera on the Beach’; The Rape of Lucretia (Britten) for Sydney Chamber Opera, which was also performed as part of Dark MOFO in Tasmania; Griselda (Vivaldi) and L’Amant Jaloux (Grétry) for Pinchgut Opera.

Fleischer’s work in dance includes multiple productions for Sydney Dance Company choreographed by Rafael Bonachela including Impermanence, Ocho and ab [intra]. Other credits include Sydney Dance Company’s Pictures of a One Night Stand (New Breed 2009) and Safety in Numbers for FORM Dance Projects.

His credits in music theater include Fangirls for Belvoir St Theatre and Queensland Theatre, Boundary St (as associate designer) for Black Swan and Brisbane Festival; Der Gelbe Stern at the New York Musical Theatre Festival; Kiss of The Spiderwoman, and No Way to Treat a Lady for Darlinghurst Theatre.

Jelbart has collaborated with Sydney Dance Company since 2014. She has designed costumes for Rafael Bonachela’s Impermanence (2021), Lux Tenebris (2016) and Anima (2016), Melanie Lane’s WOOF (2019), and props for Antony Hamilton’s Forever & Ever (2018). Jelbart has also designed costumes for over 20 works in the company’s annual New Breed program, collaborating with artists such as Prue Lang, Katina Olsen, Cass Eipper, Raghav Handa, Rhiannon Newton, Joel Bray, and Lee Serle.

Recent credits include production design for Amrita Hepi’s video/installation work Monumental (2020) and costume design for Loughlan Prior’s commission for Singapore Dance Theatre (2021).

Jelbart was the recipient of the 2014/15 Hephzibah Tintner Fellowship for Production Design and the 2016 Berlin New Music Opera Award (the Opera Foundation for Young Australians).

Hailing from Brisbane, Barltrop made his solo debut with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra at the age of 15 and was concertmaster of the Queensland and Australian Youth Orchestras. He then moved to the U.S. to attend the University of Maryland and later the Cleveland Institute of Music, studying with William Preucil, Gerald Fischbach, and members of the Guarneri and Cavani Quartets. 

Growing up as the second youngest of seven children in Brisbane, Hiew began learning the violin at the age of four at the Stoliarsky School of Music. Her primary teachers were William Hennessy, Michele Walsh, Emin Tagiev, and Mark Lakirovich.

In 2011, he became a full-time member of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and in 2019 was appointed Associate Principal Viola. He has appeared as soloist with both the Melbourne and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras. Cartlidge is a founding member of the Melbourne Ensemble and, in 2015, was a grand-finalist and multiple prize winner in the ABC Symphony Australia Young Performers Awards.

He has worked as a guest with the Australian String Quartet, Flinders Quartet, Australian Chamber Orchestra, ACO2 and Adelaide’s ARTARIA ensemble. Dahlenburg was a founding member of Hamer Quartet, First Prize, Grand Prize, and Audience Prize winners at the 2009 Asia Pacific Chamber Competition. He has performed at numerous festivals and concert halls around the world and has studied chamber music with many leading chamber musicians.

Shortly after, Boet made her professional debut in Sydney Festival in January 2022, performing a work Grey Rhino, choreographed by Charmene Yap and Cass Mortimer Eipper. In that same year, she performed Against All Logic choreographed by Brigitta Olderied, in Sydney Fringe Festival. In 2023, she spent some time in New York City at the Gallim Winter Intensive, and then made the move to Naarm (Melbourne). Here, Boet completed a post-graduate course at Transit Dance, performing works by Chimene Steele Prior, Prue Lang, and Paul Malek.

Anika joined Sydney Dance Company in October 2023.

In 2017, Young graduated from Sydney Dance Company’s Pre-Professional Year and joined the Company as trainee in 2018. Young’s first onstage performance with the Company was in Rafael Bonachela’s award winning works Frame Of Mind and Lux Tenebris during the Company’s South America Tour to Chile and Colombia in 2018. She has since performed in Rafael Bonachela’s Cinco, ab [intra], and Impermanence, as well as Gabrielle Nankivell’s Wildebeest, Antony Hamilton’s Forever & Ever, and Melanie Lane’s WOOF.

Since graduating, McMahon has performed in Sydney Choreographic Centre’s production Galileo with Francesco Ventriglia. McMahon joined Sydney Dance Company in July 2022.

In 2018, Elliott received the top prize winner at the first annual Brisbane International Contemporary Dance Prix which initiated his first engagement with Sydney Dance Company. Elliott joined the Theatre of Image in 2019 for their production of Brett and Wendy… a love story bound by art choreographed by Lucas Jervies and directed by Kim Carpenter, in which he danced the role of Young Brett Whitely. Elliott has been a dancer with Sydney Dance Company since 2019 and has worked with and performed the repertoire of a range of choreographers, including Rafael Bonachela, Marina Mascarell, Ohad Naharin, and Melanie Lane.

Throughout her career, Seymour has had the privilege of performing repertoire by renowned choreographers such as Rafael Bonachela, Marina Mascarell, Ohad Naharin, William Forsythe, Alexander Ekman, Annabelle Lopez Ochea, Melanie Lane, Antony Hamilton, Stanton Welch, George Balanchine, and John Neumeier. In February 2018, Seymour joined the Sydney Dance Company, debuting at the Théâtre National de Chaillot in Paris. Since then, Seymour has been an integral part of the company, showcasing her talent across Australia and internationally. With a commitment to excellence and a passion for the art of dance, Seymour continues to make a significant impact on the world stage, leaving an indelible mark on the realms of ballet and contemporary dance.

Green worked with the West Australian Ballet for five years, ending his time at the Company as a Demi-Soloist, before joining Sydney Dance Company in 2019. Green’s repertoire is expansive and diverse, including works such as Radio and Juliet by Edward Clug, In Transit by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, and WOOF by Melanie Lane. Green has also completed a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in Finance and Economics, at The University of Western Australia.

Angel joined The Sarasota Ballet in Florida as a trainee for their 2018-2019 season. At the end of 2019, she performed in The International Divertissement Gala with Projection Dance under the direction of Tim Podesta, as well as being a finalist in The International Contemporary Dance Prix. Angel joined Sydney Dance Company’s Pre-Professional Year in 2021-2022 and completed her Diploma of Dance during her time in the course. Through those years of training, she was fortunate to perform works by James Bachelor, Cloé Fournier, Stephanie Lake’s Colossus, and Rafael Bonachela’s Frame of Mind, 2 in D Minor & ab [intra]. Angel commenced a traineeship with Sydney Dance Company at the end of 2022, in which she premiered with the company in Rafael Bonachela’s ab [intra] at DanceX. She also performed in New Breed (2022), in Sophia Ndaba’s The Veil of Separation, and Charmene Yap’s Drunk Tank Pink. As a Trainee in 2023, she performed both nationally and internationally in a range of contemporary dance repertoire including works by Rafael Bonachela, Antony Hamilton, and Marina Mascarell. A personal highlight for the year was performing at the Sydney Opera House for Ascent. She also performed in the 10th anniversary of New Breed, in Eliza Cooper’s Revenge Tales and Romance, and Beau Dean Riley Smith’s Gubba. Angel is looking forward to joining the company on their European tour of Ascent in 2024.

Hayward has interned with Centre Chorégraphique National de Rillieux-la-Pape Lyon, France in 2014, Semperoper Dresden, Germany in 2014 and participated in the 5th Biennale Tanzausbildung in 2016. Hayward was also part of the ensemble for Karin Ponties’ Every Direction is North, which won The Golden Mask Award for ‘The Best Performance in Modern Dance’ in 2017. Hayward has worked with and performed the repertoire of an extensive array of choreographers, including Rafael Bonachela, George Balanchine, Marina Mascarell, Melanie Lane, Ohad Naharin, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Karine Ponties, Robert Binet, Ihsan Rustem. Hayward joined Sydney Dance Company in 2019 and made his choreographic debut in New Breed 2022.

In 2021, Hurrell moved to Sydney to study an Advanced Diploma of Dance with Sydney Dance Company’s Pre-Professional Year. She joined Sydney Dance Company as a Trainee at the end of 2021, supported by The Wales Family, and her first onstage performance with the Company was in Jacopo Grabar’s work Stereotipo for New Breed 2021.

Throughout her career Matos has joined companies such as Leipzig Ballet (as a soloist), Konzert Theater Bern, Augsburg Ballet, and Dance Company St. Gallen. She has performed a variety of classical and modern repertoire including a number of soloist and principal roles, both in Europe and further abroad. Matos has worked with internationally-renowned choreographers such as Ohad Naharin, Johan Inger, Uwe Scholz, Nadav Zelner, Martin Zimmermann, Dimo Milev, Alba Castillo, Giovanni Insaudo, Mauro Astolfi, Francesca Frassinelli, and more. Matos joined Sydney Dance Company in 2023.

She performed works by Damien Jalet, Huang Yi, Sarah Foster-Sproull, Malia Johnston, and Gabby Thomas. Jenkins represented the school as a guest artist in Tahiti at the Académie de Danse Annie FAYN fifth International Dance Festival and Singapore Ballet Academy’s 60th Anniversary Gala. From 2019-2023, Jenkins worked full-time with The New Zealand Dance Company performing in Matarikifor Tamariki (Sean MacDonald); This Fragile Planet (Nina Nawalowalo, Tom McCrory & Ross McCormack), What They Said (Jo Lloyd), If Never Was Now (Stephanie Lake), Sigan (Kim Jae Duk), The Fibonacci (Tor Colombus), Uku (Eddie Elliott), and Stage of Being (Xin Ji & Tupua Tigafua). She has had the privilege of performing in Mana Wahine by Ōkāreka Dance Company, working with Atamira Dance Company and being immersed in rich movement amongst the dance community of Aotearoa. In 2023, Jenkins was the recipient of the Bill Sheats Dance Award. Jenkins joined Sydney Dance Company in October 2023, debuting in the 10th anniversary season of New Breed.

He then became a soloist with the Ballet Theater Basel in Switzerland, directed by Richard Wherlock, followed by successful seasons with the Dance Company St. Gallen under Kinsun Chan, where he was awarded Dancer of the Year 2022 in “tanz” magazine Europe. Scott has been a professional dancer for over 10 years, performing numerous classical and contemporary works. Scott joined Sydney Dance Company in 2023.

In 2019, Fitzgerald joined Sydney Dance Company, performing nationally and internationally in works such as ab [intra], Lux Tenebris, Impermanence, and Six Breaths. Fitzgerald then moved to France, where he joined Ballet National de Marseille performing works by La Horde, Tania Carvalho, Oona Doherty, Lasseindra Ninja, and Alexandre Roccoli, and touring extensively throughout France and Europe. Fitzgerald returned to Sydney Dance Company in 2023.

During his time at NAISDA, Pearson learnt from a number of renowned teachers and choreographers. One of Pearson’s highlights during his training at NAISDA was attending a six-week Professional Division Summer Intensive at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York City. He joined Bangarra Dance Theatre in 2017 as part of the Russell Page Graduate Program. Bennelong in 2017 was his debut season with Bangarra and has since performed throughout Australia and internationally with the Company lead by renowned storytellers Stephen Page and Frances Rings. Pearson was nominated in the 2020 Australian Dance Awards for Most Outstanding Performance by a Male Dancer for his performance in Jiri Kylian’s Stamping Ground (2019 Production, 30 years of sixty-five thousand). In 2023, Pearson presented his first choreographic work, 5 Minute Call as part of Dance Clan.

After discovering an interest in contemporary dance, Jones completed her diploma and advanced diploma with Sydney Dance Company’s Pre Professional Year in 2020 and 2021. During this time, she had the opportunity to perform works by Holly Doyle, Omer Backley-Astrachan, Jessica Goodfellow, and Rafael Bonachela. Jones joined Sydney Dance Company as a Trainee in January 2022, supported by the David and Fee Hancock Foundation.

In 2022, Gartner worked with and performed repertoire of Ohad Naharin and was a finalist in the Brisbane International Contemporary Dance Prix. Gartner has been involved in numerous movement and fashion campaigns for brands such as Last Layer, Indosole, JOSLIN, and Carla Zampatti and has featured in adverts for Junior Eurovision, ABC, and the Sydney Opera House. After graduating from the Pre-Professional Year, Gartner joins Sydney Dance Company as trainee in 2024.

Alongside performing, he premiered his choreography at Dance Town Miami’s annual contemporary gala of 2021. Also, he internationally debuted Intergenerational Traffic at the Trinity Laban School of Dance in London (February 2023) as a collaboration with composer Tom Bradbury and dancer Xavier Williams. In August of 2023, he performed in the world premiere of Wanderers by Dimo Milev at the Nederland’s Dans Theatre Summer Intensive. Soon after, Blankenship moved to Sydney for his professional dance debut with Sydney Dance Company, performing in Riley Fitzgerald’s Everyb0dy’s G0t a B0mb and Tra Mi Dinh’s Somewhere between ten & fourteen as part of New Breed 2023.