Winner of the Critic’s Circle National Dance Award for Best Choreography (modern) in 2008 Hofesh Shechter Company has taken the dance world by storm since it burst on the scene few short years ago.

Born in Jerusalem, Shechter began his dance career with Batsheva Dance Company. He then moved to Paris where he studied music and played drums in a rock band, eventually following the band to London, where he danced for fellow Israeli expat Jasmin Vardimon. After two years he struck out on his own, was appointed associate choreographer at the Place in London, and won the 2004 Place prize audience award for his enigmatic sextet Cult. The Place also commissioned his next major work, Uprising (2006), a charged, punchy piece for seven men.

One of the UK's most exciting young visionaries, Hofesh Shechter is recognized as a composer as well as a choreographer, creating both the musical scores and the movement for his performances. His works have been applauded by critics internationally, and have won great popular appeal for their accessible urban physicality; atmospheric, groovy music; complex themes; and an epic, cinematic approach to live performance.

Hofesh Shechter is an Associate Artist of Sadler’s Wells, London and Hofesh Shechter Company is Resident Company at Brighton Dome.





 

POLITICAL MOTHER
Political Mother was declared an ‘audio visual marvel’ by critics after its Brighton Festival premiere in 2010. It has subsequently toured internationally, receiving universal acclaim.

Creating the atmosphere of a rock concert, and brimming with the gritty and emotional complexity of Shechter's extraordinary dance work, Political Mother - Shechter's first full-length work - gives audiences an experience like no other. Political Mother is performed with a live band (7 musicians) alongside a cast of 13 dancers.

UPRISING
In Uprising seven men emerge from the shadows to bombard the stage with furious energy, bonding and sparring, making up and falling out. This highly charged work, set to a throbbing percussive score also composed by Shechter, leaves audiences buzzing.

THE ART OF NOT LOOKING BACK
Commissioned by Brighton Festival, The Art of Not Looking Back is a work inspired by, and made for, the world-class female dancers of the Hofesh Shechter Company.  Physical, complex and unrelenting, Shechter’s favored theme of ‘man against the world’ is presented in a different and entrancing light.

Workshops and master-classes are an integral part of Hofesh Shechter Company’s touring program. Members of the Company lead workshops for young people and professional dancers based on Hofesh Shechter’s distinctive and urban choreography, helping participants find their way into the company's edgy style.  A focus on floor-work and dynamic fluid movement will quickly allow the participants to experience the feel of Shechter’s iconic choreography.

The Company also offers music workshops led by the members of Shechter’s band exploring improvisation, and ways to respond to movement. Workshops can be combined to allow music and dance students to come together at the end of a workshop to share what they have learned.

Education Resource materials for teachers are available for free download from the Company's website.

Download the Art of Not Looking Back Press Kit here.

Download the Political Mother Press Kit here.

Download the Uprising Press Kit here.