Fresh from Sydney Dance Company’s 2025 international tour, Artistic Director Rafael Bonachela speaks on his upcoming work Spell, the places that shape him and finding strength in vulnerability. Interview by Eleanor Edstrom
When I meet Rafael Bonachela over video call, he is – in conversation, as in dance – sharply expressive. I shouldn’t 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’s prestigious Rambert Dance Company before transitioning into the world of choreography. His career has spanned collaborations with the étoile dancers of the Paris Opéra Ballet to Kylie Minogue, Tina Turner, Hugo Boss and Cartier.
Since joining the Sydney Dance Company as Artistic Director in 2009, Bonachela’s work – precise, corporeal and dynamic – has helped bring Australian dance into sharper international focus. Now, in the lead-up to his new work Spell (running for two weeks in October 2025 at the Roslyn Packer Theatre in Millers Point, Sydney, as part of Continuum), the choreographer opens up about process, euphoric moments from a recent creative residency in Italy, and why he believes dance is not something to be understood.
SIGNATURE: Rafael, I understand you grew up in the small Spanish town of La Garriga in the dying years of Franco’s Spain. How did that context impact you as a young boy who was interested in dance?
BONACHELA: It’s a gorgeous town, 40 minutes away from Barcelona. I was three years old, I think, when Franco’s 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… for a boy to want to dance? That was just not the norm. I didn’t care, no matter how much bullying I got, because I loved dancing. Somehow I found the strength – and I don’t know why – to not care. And I didn’t 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.
You’ve recently returned from SDC’s 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?
You have the laughter, you’ve got the standing ovations, you’ve got moments backstage, and all the adrenaline and excitement – but what I most enjoy is the incredible exchange that happens when you’re able to share the work that we create here in Sydney on international stages. It’s not only rewarding, but it’s 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’s 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.
The tour included a performance of Impermanence 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?
Let’s 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, “Let me know when you’re coming in from the studio, because I’m going to record the dancers’ faces”. And they walk into the back and see the amphitheatre, and then they were crying – they just couldn’t believe it.
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.
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’s 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’s 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 – because of the costumes that were very simple and quite athletic – they really looked like gods. I saw these Greek gods that were powerful and timeless and luminous.
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, a new work that will premiere on 22 October 2025 in Sydney as part of a triple-bill production titled Continuum. Can you tell us about your experience there?
It’s one of the most magical places I’ve ever been and worked at. You know, it’s almost like a paradise for dancers and artists, with the rolling hills and vineyards of Moncalvo that used to be a monastery. So you’re 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’ve got chefs cooking for you. It was an incredible experience, because the residency really gave you space, mentally and physically.
Can you talk us through the source of inspiration behind your upcoming work Spell?
Everything started because I went to see the opening of Isaac Julian’s exhibition at the MCA, and he’s 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: ‘I Put a Spell on You’. 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’m 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’s deeply personal, this work, for reasons that I can’t talk about. Whatever me and the dancers are going through now – that beauty, that vulnerability, you know, that sort of fragility that the world is in – that’s something I hope to bring into this work.
I’m excited to see it. Are there any elements, whether technical or conceptual, that are continual driving forces behind your choreographic approach?
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, “What does it mean? What does it mean?” It’s like, why does everything have to mean something? Why can’t you just feel something? For me, dance and the body, they’re always saying: I am here, I am alive, and this is what I’m feeling.
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.
You’ve been touring the world for more than 30 years. Do you have any favourite travel destinations for culture and the arts?
You know, the Paris Opera Ballet is over 350 years old, but it’s 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’s heaven. It’s very selfish, because I love consuming culture. Basically, it’s a city that breathes and lives art. People in Paris or in France 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’s really invigorating to be in a place where the arts are genuinely such an important part of the fabric of that country.
But I know there is also something interesting happening in Athens at the moment – there’s an energy with the artists living there. People say it’s like Berlin 20 years ago – which I didn’t have enough time to fully explore. But my next holiday destination, I’m telling you, it’s Athens.
The details of Continuum
Sydney Dance Company’s Continnum is a triple-bill production bringing together three visionary contemporary choreographers – Rafael Bonachela, Stephen Page and Tra Mi Dinh – and featuring Bonachela’s new work Spell.
Performance dates: 22 October to 1 November 2025
Where: Roslyn Packer Theatre, Sydney
Duration: 120 minutes, including a 20-minute interval
Tickets: tickets can be purchased at my.sydneydancecompany.com/events
This article originally appeared in volume 52 of Signature Luxury Travel & Style magazine. Subscribe to the latest issue today.
