SHOW

Press

“[…] Hofesh Shechter’s young dancers are clad in becoming commedia-del-arte costumes but rave as demoniacally as the followers of the late Love Parade. Meanwhile, their poses are reminiscent of those medieval dance orgies that tended to accompany outbreaks of violence. ‘SHOW’ captures this raving-mad scenario with a kind of counter-spell, distorting art towards recognition. An academic circling of the calf here, a pirouette there, a pas de bourré or minuet step, then Fred Astaire style tap-dance, acoustically overmodulated passages – ‘SHOW’ pays homage to the idea that academic dance styles are nothing more than physical conditioning and violence inflicted upon the body. […]”
Süddeutsche Zeitung, 11 September 2018

Preview text

Dynamic and anarchic are two adjectives commonly used to describe the idiom with which Hofesh Shechter is taking the dance world by storm. Ten years after his festival debut, the Israel-born, London-based choreographer is returning to present “SHOW”, a rousing piece performed by his award-winning, eight-person junior company. Consisting of three parts, “The Entrance”, “Clowns” and “Exit”, the piece is set to a pulsating music score composed by Shechter himself. The atmospherically lit stage is consumed by a wave of chaos from which the striking dancers emerge, like a human tornado. In Shechter’s inverted world, anything is possible. Fools can be kings; the paradox is his policy. While “Clowns” alone has already shown to sensational reviews, two brand new parts have now been added to form a complete artwork in which beauty and horror are surprisingly close together.

(approx. 60 mins.)

Watch a video on Vimeo

7:15 pm Talk in the foyer

This performance will be preceded by an introductory lecture by Dr. Franz Anton Cramer.

cast & credits

Choreography / Music: Hofesh Shechter
Lighting Design (Clowns): Lee Curran
Lighting Design (SHOW): Richard Godin
Dance: Riley Wolf, Juliette Valerio, Zunnur Sazali, Adam Khazhmuradov, Natalia Gabrielczyk, Emma Farnell-Watson, Robinson Cassarino, Neal Maxwell.

SHOW is produced by Hofesh Shechter company in association with HOME Manchester and Lyric Hammersmith, and received production support from Fondazione I Teatri Reggio Emilia and a production residency at the Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts, Brighton.

Clowns Premiere: April 29, 2016 by the Nederlands Dans Theater 1 in The Hague, The Netherlands.

Hofesh Shechter Company receives public funding by the Arts Council England. The development of projects by Hofesh Shechter Company is supported by the BNP Paribas Foundation.