It’s easy to be a creature of habit, particularly when times are difficult. We know what we like and we like what we know. That’s not the deal when New Breed comes around near the end of each year. Everything is an unknown quantity. It’s a jump into the deep end without a pair of floaties. How refreshing.

As is this year’s program. The four 2022 New Breed works are distinctively different and each easily holds the attention from beginning to end. They are relatively brief pieces – 20 minutes, give or take – but it’s astonishing how long 20 minutes can feel when something misses the mark.

Luke Hayward in The Remnants Of, New Breed 2022, Sydney Dance Company. Photo © Pedro Greig

The individuality is a great boon too. This year’s works sit well together as an evening of dance, something that can’t be predicted when the choreographers start creating. Luke Hayward’s The Remnants Of features himself as the solo performer to an austere spoken-word score. Charmene Yap’s Dunk Tank Pink uses 14 dancers – as many as you might see in a mainstage SDC production – and...