Sydney Theatre
October 29 (until November 4)

It’s the effortless grace, impeccable counterpoint and infectious joie de vivre — a heady mix that only a Frenchman could concoct — that make the music of Baroque composer Jean-Philippe Rameau so ripe for the world of dance. So if Rameau seems a strange meeting point for the first collaboration between two of our most innovative, new music-embracing ensembles – the Australian Chamber Orchestra and Sydney Dance Company – think again.

Violinist Richard Tognetti and choreographer Rafael Bonachela have constructed a balanced dramatic arc with their 70-minute suite of ballet music and entr’actes, cherry-picked from eight of the composer’s operas, with a dash of Bach and Vivaldi for good measure. Framed at the back of the sparsely lit stage, the orchestra bunched in close as bodies clad in SDC’s trademark minimal black (subtle details in Fiona Holley’s stylish costumes hinting at the nymphs and naiads that populate Rameau’s music) flitted and whirled around them.

In the opening Sommeil (slumber) from Dardanus, the ACO did indeed take some moments to stir in the Sydney Theatre acoustic, but hit their stride by the stately yet playful Entrée des habitants de la forêt (Hippolyte et Aricie). Tognetti managed...