The title of Sydney Dance Company’s latest dual production seems to perfectly encapsulate the creative direction of the company under Rafael Bonachela: that dance is not merely a passive or stifling remnant of a bygone classical era but is a forceful evocation of something beyond vocabulary, and yet which can speak louder than words, as the double-bill is titled. This latest production brings together Rafael Bonachela’s Scattered Rhymes, which will feature his quintessentially measured and sculpted choreography, in companion with Greek choreographer Andonis Foniadakis’ earthly and energetic Parenthesis.

The decision to pair the two pieces is a surprising one, not simple because of the two men’s seemingly distinct styles of movement, but interestingly there’s a unity in the two creations – a counterbalance of chaos with control, each complementing one another in an attempt to capture the inherently primal quality of movement without any equivocation. The Sydney Dance Company is evidently moving toward an experiential and stripped back dance experience for its audiences, which still operates with the principle that choreography is the nascent focus of any production, yet there is an undeniable emphasis placed on the subsidiary production value in lighting, music and of course costume, which together communicate not simply the moment but the entirety of a choreographer’s vision.

While the Louder Than Words’ rehearsal space at the SDC’s incredible wharf-side studio are out of bounds, we spoke to Greek menswear designer and the costume designer for Mr Foniadakis’ Parenthesis, Tassos Sofroniou, to hear more about the production and the costumes he’d created for this 14-person piece, as well as about his own photography, styling and design for menswear label Conquistador.

I feel like Rafael and Andonis are cut from the same cloth in some way…

JA You work as a photographer, stylist and as a designer – is experimentation something that’s important to you?
TS I knew by the time that I was 14 that I wanted to get involved in fashion. And at that time, I thought that fashion meant only fashion design. But throughout the journey of my life, I somehow ended up being a very successful stylist, and the thing with being a stylist, if you take it very seriously, is that it’s a job where you have to be aware of everything – you have to know a little about photography, about branding, a bit about design, a bit of hair and makeup, and fashion history. I just always wanted to be ahead of the curve so I began educating myself a lot through this. But in 2010, I decided to stop because I had made my rounds. I had a very successful career in London, and in my native city of Athens, I had worked for Elle and for other magazines, so I had a lot of experience but I felt that the circle needed to close. So in 2010 I launched my fashion line Conquistador, and I think six months prior to that I had already begun to photograph professionally. So now, I can make a living as a designer, either from my line or as a costume designer, but only with Andonis, and from my photography as well as teaching at Polimoda in Florence.

JA What can you tell us about the piece you’re working on at the moment for the SDC, Louder Than Words?
TS I think it’s going to be an amazing creation. The costumes are very complicated, but at the same time simple when you see them, so there’s a nice balance there. And the dancers are all great, so overall there is a great energy and overall I think this energy will be translated onto the stage.

JA I think what you’ve touched on is absolutely important – that you have to translate the energy of a dance into the clothes. What can you tell us about your designs for the production.
TS Well, the thing is that I know the vocabulary of Andonis’ overall movement very well. He’s one of the most complicated, and in my opinion, genius choreographers around at the moment because he uses the body with an incredible vocabulary – you are both free and also restricted. For the costumes, then, you cannot do preens, you cannot do volumes because everything needs to be as clear as possible so you can read all the movements and the choreography. So to that extent, that gives me a lot of limitations, but on the other hand I love a challenge. So I tried to create an optical illusion where the costumes look just like clothes, but somehow the volume and the shape creates a bit of a peek-a-boo situation, so you see a garment, but you are not sure if it is a dress or a leotard with detachable parts or if she’s dressed or naked. This idea is very close to what Andonis wanted to represent. Stripped down, to the basics, but at the same time I believe that when you have fabric flowing on the dancer, it is even better than when you see that fabric on a catwalk. Because the dancer has this situation about their movement so the garments are elevated to an extent that you can’t see in fashion. So I tried to fuse fashion and contemporary dance together, and I hope that will get across to the audience.

He’s one of the most complicated, and in my opinion, genius choreographers around at the moment because he uses the body with an incredible vocabulary – you are both free and also restricted.

JA You have a strong working history with Andonis, to the point where you work exclusively with him and his choreography. Given that you are already so familiar with dance and specifically with his choreography, what other differences have you come across in shifting from fashion design to costume design?
TS The challenge for dance is that whatever you create needs to be flexible to the point where the dancer doesn’t feels as if she or he is wearing a costume. They need to feel super free, and at the same time they need to look super gorgeous and at the same time the costumes need to add more to the story of the choreography. The set design, the lights, the environment where this choreography takes place all needs to be cohesive with the costume. I wouldn’t want to overpower the choreography though. I need to follow what the vision of the choreographer is, and add my voice to it but not louder than the choreographer’s speech.

JA Did you look at anything in particular for the designs you drew up for this piece such as previous SDC productions?
TS Yes, especially because I was not very aware of the work of the company before I was hired. I did a bit of research and looked at the work of Rafael Bonachela, and I love his visual language. I love that he blends video and constructive lighting and weird compositions. Somehow I feel like Rafael and Andonis are cut from the same cloth in some way, so it was easier for me to translate. And in his work I saw a little bit of futurism going on and a little bit of this like ‘artistic high’, where its not just about the stage, it’s also about the spectacle and the experience. I believe that contemporary dance and when you go to the theatre is exactly an experience, because you translate what you see through your own identity. So I tried to do something that would be compelling and fit in with the language that the SDC has come to trademark in a way.

JA What colours can we expect to see on stage?
TS I’m going for muted colours, like dark chocolate browns, dull grey, emerald, burgundy, mostly because they’re not very flashy. I mean there are 14 people on stage and they dance like lunatics so I didn’t want to create too much of a kaleidoscope of bright colours because that would distract from the choreography and the general feeling of the piece. The design is a bit simpler for the boys, but the cut is exquisite. I wanted to make some ballooning trousers because I wanted to see the physique of the male body, but I didn’t want it to be too exposed. I love the idea that when they move, you see a bit of a curve here and then there, and I think this is quite sexy. And generally I’m going through a bit of a phase where I want things to be a bit hidden. I don’t want to see dancers too naked anymore. I want to imagine what’s happening under the clothes.

JA And that’s very much a product of this day and age of explicit ‘sex sells’.
TS Yeah, I prefer to imagine the sexual energy of the work or the sexuality of the dancer as a performer not as an individual. I love it that you can see people on stage but you can’t touch them. I’m trying to approach the colours and the shapes in the way that I want to see the dancers on stage so that even though I’m not going to be here, I want to be able to idolise them. I want them to look taller, and leaner, and more divine and more handsome and I just want them to look amazing and feel amazing, so that when they come on stage to perform, they know that this is their night, this is their half an hour to shine. I always try to take this into consideration when I photograph or when I style and when I design – I want the people to wear what I create to feel elevated psychologically. It’s a little bit like I want to be their drug in a way.

Louder Than Words will play at Sydney Theatre, Walsh Bay until 18 October 2014.