Sydney Dance Company (SDC) has announced its 2026 program, one that Artistic Director Rapheal Bonachela promises will make for a “truly momentous” year for the organisation, which also celebrates 40 years in residency at the Walsh Bay Arts Precinct in 2026.

Sydney Dance Company’s 2026 season image. Photo supplied

“It’s a year of reflection, celebration, reinvention… and empowerment,” Bonachela explains. “Every season we push contemporary dance to its edge, and next year will be something else entirely. Our empowering program celebrates the courage to create, to innovate and to inspire.”

Inspired by the works of 17th century Japanese poet Matsuo Bashō and set to a score from composer Bryce Dessner, a brand new work from Bonachela is part of a triple bill to kick off the season. The Journey Itself is Home earns its world premiere in Engine, which takes the stage in Sydney in June before touring across NSW, Western Australia and the Northern Territory until August.

Engine also features the Australian debut of Berlin-based choreographer Fran Diaz in The Mass Ornament, a mass movement work that traces human interconnectivity soundtracked by compositions by Henryk Górecki and Melanie Lane’s folk dance-inspired Love Lock, which returns home after making international rounds in SDC’s 2025 program.

In 2026, SDC also marks 40 years in residency at its “remarkable home on the wharf”, the Walsh Bay Arts Precinct. “[It] has been a wellspring of creativity and collaboration, a space where ideas are nurtured and dance continues to evolve,” said Bonachela.

Its second performance of the season, Current, is the headlining celebration. Hosted in the Neilson Studio, new works by choreographers Raghav Handa, Jenni Large and Azzam Mohamed invite audiences into an intimate setting to explore contemporary Australian choreography up close.

Current also delivers the Australian premiere of Bonachela’s E2 7SD, originally planned for SDC’s 2020 season. Performed throughout Europe, the action-packed duet was awarded the inaugural Place Prize in London.

In November, SDC launches a new major collaborative project with Australian Dance Theatre and Victoria’s Dancehouse. Orbit is a brand new touring program that aims to extend the longevity of existing independent dance works. It will remount, perform and tour four works (two double bills) across three states.

SUCKER by Jenni Large, New Breed 2022, Sydney Dance Company. Photo © Pedro Greig

INDance also returns for its fifth year across April and May, shwocasing the talent of Australian choreographers working on the forefront of contemporary dance. It features works by Christopher Gurusamy, Emma Harrison, Oli Matheisen and Jenni Large, who has also been named The Balnaves Foundation Artist In Residence for 2026.

The company will alos tour two programs nationally across the year, which include Bonachela’s Spell, Tra Mi Dinh’s Somewhere between ten and fourteen, and from Engine, Love Lock and The Mass Ornament.

SDC’s interational touring dates are yet to revealed, and will be announced in 2026.

More about Sydney Dance Company’s 2026 season can be found here.