Sydney Dance Company and the Australian Chamber Orchestra come to Hong Kong

When the 16 dancers of the Sydney Dance Company (SDC) take to the stage, the musicians accompanying them are, most often, heard but not seen. Recorded music is their usual accompaniment, but not so for the two shows they are presenting at Kwai Tsing Theatre next weekend. The musicians will be on stage with the dancers in a performance integrating live dance and live music in a groundbreaking way.

These are not just any musicians; the internationally renowned Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) has staged more than 50 tours to 250 cities in its 30 years. Its artistic director and lead violin, Richard Tognetti, has an international reputation for his conducting, his performances on his rare Guarneri violin and his compositions.

"This is two iconic Australian companies that are in so many ways matched in spirit," says SDC's Spanish artistic director Rafael Bonachela. "It's a very vibrant and alive orchestra and it's a very special occasion that these companies are coming together."

He adds: "One of the very beautiful things about this collaboration is that we don't often have live music and when we do it is often a string quartet. To have an ensemble, the ACO, is just definitely in a different league."

Certainly Melbourne audiences thought so. A one-off performance of , the three-work programme comprising , and that the companies will present in Hong Kong, drew an ecstatic reception and multiple curtain calls from the excited full house in late October.

Singing with the companies in Hong Kong will be award-winning Australian singer-songwriter Katie Noonan. She will take the role performed by Australian Opera's Taryn Fiebig in Melbourne during . Noonan approached Bonachela, convinced she could do it, and the pair approached Tognetti with an idea he says "seems quite improbable, because she is for all intents and purposes a pop singer".