Inspired by movement
Sydney Morning Herald
Thursday March 31, 2011
This jewellery has balletic form, writes Glynis Traill-Nash Across the wharfside warehouse space, dancers are contorting themselves into all manner of shapes - joining together, breaking apart, lifting each other - under the animated instruction of choreographer Rafael Bonachela.Meanwhile, in a quiet spot, Ben Bunda is sketching away, following the shapes and movements they are creating, trying to capture the mood in a few carefully chosen lines. These lines and shapes will be translated by Bunda into beautiful pieces of jewellery, as inspired by Sydney Dance Company's next work, LANDforms, part of its Shared Frequencies production.It's an unusual starting point for a jewellery collection but it's one that seems to be working for Bunda and is much appreciated by choreographer Bonachela, who he met at SDC's end-of-year fund-raiser last year."The way Raf works and Sydney Dance works, it's about drawing out the talent from the dancers and harnessing that in a magnificent performance," Bunda says."These guys can do the steps but that's not what people are coming to see; you have to create something unique and new."It's the same for his jewellery design. "You know the fundamentals are all there but you ask yourself, 'How can I make this meaningful?"' he adds.Another question might be: how do you translate such fluid movements into static jewellery?"With jewellery," Bunda says, "it's not just the form. The textures, the finishes and the gemstones are the way you can bring the emotion out in a piece."The LANDforms range of jewellery will be in Bunda's two stores from this week, its high-end offering at Sydney's Hilton hotel, and will be on show at the Sydney Theatre during the SDC run.Shared Frequencies is showing until April 16.See sydneydancecompany.com.
© 2011 Sydney Morning Herald