Hofesh Shechter

Hofesh Shechter (born 1975) is an Israeli dancer and choreographer.

Early life

Hofesh Shechter was born in Jerusalem, Israel, in 1975.[1] Shechter has said he became interested in dance aged 12, dancing folk dances with a group in Israel. Aged 15 he went to study at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance before joining Batsheva Dance Company aged 20.[2]

Career

Shechter started as a dancer with the Batsheva Dance Company, where he created works for Ohad Naharin and Wim Vandekeybus, among others, while also studying percussion.[3] He later moved to Paris where he played drums in a rock group, The Human Beings while studying music.[4] In 2002 he moved to London to perform with the Jasmin Vardimon Company,[3] and in 2003 created his first dance work, Fragments, for which he also composed the music.[3]

Further works include Cult in 2004, Uprising in 2006, In Your Rooms, which he expanded in 2007 to work for the three venues The Place, the Southbank Centre and Sadler's Wells, and The Art of Not Looking Back in 2009, for an all-female cast. In 2008 he choreographed the dance sequence that opened the second series of Skins.[3] He formed the Hofesh Shechter Dance Company in 2008.[4]

In March–April 2015, Shechter will present a new piece in his first work for the Royal Ballet in London.[5]

The fifth Broadway revival of Fiddler on the Roof is scheduled to begin performances in November 2015, with concept and choreography based on the original by Jerome Robbins. Bartlett Sher is set to direct, Shechter to choreograph, and Danny Burstein has been cast as Tevye.[6]

Major works

Personal life

Shechter has been based in the UK since 2002, and lives in Brighton, England, where his Hofesh Shechter Company are also based.[8]

References

  1. Boccadoro, Patricia (21 March 2012). "Interview: Hofesh Shechter". Culturekiosque. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  2. Natasha Hassiotis (7 April 2014). Great Choreographers-Interviews. AuthorHouse. pp. 126–128. ISBN 978-1-4969-7638-3.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Debra Craine; Judith Mackrell (19 August 2010). The Oxford Dictionary of Dance. Oxford University Press. p. 408. ISBN 0-19-956344-6.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Roy Sanjoy (13 May 2009). "Step-by-step guide to dance: Hofesh Shechter". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  5. "New Hofesh Shechter". ROH. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  6. Gioia, Michael. "Danny Burstein Will Maintain 'Tradition' as Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof Broadway Revival", Playbill, November 6, 2014
  7. "Untouchable". ROH. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  8. Shaw, Andrew (12 September 2011). "Political Mother". Gaynewsnetwork. Retrieved 27 March 2015.