Choreographer Rafael Bonachela and composer Ezio Bosso have formed a creative partnership that has enriched their work in ways neither could have predicted.

To hear Limelight‘s exclusive preview of two movements from Ezio Bosso’s Sydney Dance Company score, click here.

What does dance mean to you? A classical ballet like Swan Lake? Fred Astaire in top hat and tails? A primeval tribal rite? Or perhaps just getting your groove on to Saturday Night Fever after numerous champagne toasts at a wedding? Dance means many things to many people, but one thing all these scenarios have in common – other than the dancing itself – is music. It’s hard to separate them – thinking of the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy from The Nutcracker without hearing Tchaikovsky’s magical score, for instance.

Dancefloor antics aside, what generally happens is that a choreographer takes a piece of music, which may or may not have been composed for the purpose, and figures out that a jeté fits in very nicely here, or some “jazz hands” or a slinky John Travolta-style hip swivel there.

Last year, Sydney Dance Company decided to do things differently. Over ten days in...