#hofest

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#HOFEST: Week Two Round-up

6 performances at Royal Opera House and Sadler's Wells 1 post-show talk 1 dance workshop for schools 1 backstage tour for schools 1 talk for the over 60s Lilian Baylis Arts Club 3 open dance workshops 2 days of Hofesh Shechter’s Everyday Moments podcast

Week two has been a busy one with our free #HOFEST participation programme kicking into full gear.  

“Great end of my day.  I feel like my body and brain are now new.  I’m excited to see where this feeling will take me” Audience member on Everyday Moments

“OMG we get to stand on the [Sadler’s Wells] stage!”  Workshop participant

“The rep is amazing, I am in love!  I wish we had more time” Workshop participant

“I really enjoyed it.  I loved how free it was.  To let yourself go and not to care about what others think.  It’s about enjoying the movement and the music” Workshop participant

BARBARIANS at Sadler’s Wells

Two of our wonderful dancers, Maëva and Sam, took over our Instagram account this week.  So check out instagram.com/hofeshco if you fancy getting a dancer’s perspective on the creation, rehearsal and tour of our newest work barbarians. 

Thank you to everyone who came to see barbarians, we love hearing your thoughts:

“barbarians is exhilarating. I always leave Hofesh’s work charged and galvanised by the visceral power of the human body in space and motion. His work communicates the unconscious to me with real force and astonishing energy. In barbarians he combines that visceral force with real wit and a tenderness I’d not before. It is a glorious evening from a great artist.” Simon Stephens (playwright)

After great critical acclaim from the world premiere of barbarians at Berliner Festspiele and the sell-out run at Festival d’Avignon, it was time to share the work with UK critics and here’s what they’ve been saying:

“ the dancers, in gold, figure-hugging bodysuits, let rip spectacularly... a fascinating, volatile evening, as cerebral as it is crazy” The Telegraph 

“Rock gig lighting, rapid cinematic editing, and post industrial baroque music all combine in a heady cocktail of sound and vision.” The Stage   "This production is dance for people who don¹t go clubbing anymore and want to feel reckless and wired again” Evening Standard    

“It’s impulsive, uninhibited and feels at times completely improvised until the dancers snap back into unison with micro-beat precision.” London Dance

“Bewilders and delights” Seen & Heard

“It is brilliantly choreographed and executed… It is an extremely personal and powerful production.” Bach Track

ORPHÉE ET EURYDICE continues to dazzle audiences at Royal Opera House

COMING UP:

This week our pop-up apprentice company, Shechter Junior, take to the stage at Stratford Circus with Hofesh Shechter’s deGeneration.  Our youngest dancers have been making lots of noise during their European tour, recently picking up the French Critics Award for Dance.  

Don’t miss the UK premiere of deGeneration and the inspiring opportunity to see these talented dancers at the start of their very promising careers.  

JOIN US! www.hofesh.co.uk/hofest 

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#HOFEST: Week One Round-up

2 premieres, 2 venues, 1 week 1 free general rehearsal 1 pre-show talk 1 free dance workshop Performed by 22 Dancers, 55 Musicians and 37 Singers Watched live by over 9,000 people

Orphée et Eurydice World premiere: Royal Opera House

Music by Christoph Willibald Gluck Directed by Hofesh Shechter and John Fulljames Conducted by John Elliot Gardiner

Here’s what you’ve been saying:

Here’s what the press have been saying: 

★★★★★ The Independent ★★★★★  Mail on Sunday ★★★★★ The Londonist ★★★★ The Guardian ★★★★ The Telegraph ★★★★ Financial Times ★★★★ The Times ★★★★ The Observer ★★★★ The Stage ★★★★ Arts Desk ★★★ Evening Standard

“One of the most brilliantly original shows on this stage in years” The Independent 

“This is the most convincing fusion of opera and dance I have ever seen on any stage” The Sunday Times

“Dramatically exciting... Shechter’s choreography undeniably adds to the conviction of what is already a memorable staging” The Stage

“Inventive choreography... unfailingly responsive to the music” Evening Standard “An eclectic production of Gluck’s opera sets the bar high at the ROH” The Observer  

“The Royal Opera opened its 2015-16 season with a bang” Daily Mail

“Shechter’s innovative dance troupe move with such spirit the piece soars beyond the myth” A Younger Theatre

“fascinating dancing, exceptional orchestral playing, superb soloists” Bach Track

Our dancers talk about the challenges and opportunities of working with opera for the first time.

barbarians UK premiere: Sadler’s Wells

Choreography & Music: Hofesh Shechter Performed by Hofesh Shechter Company

Here’s what you’ve been saying:

To everyone who joined us for the first week of the season - thank you for being part of #HOFEST.  After months of touring it’s a pleasure to be back in London and to share our work with a home crowd.

There’s three weeks left and plenty more to come: www.hofesh.co.uk/hofest

See you there!

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#HOFEST is coming. 

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Try This Rock Gig-Meets-Dance -Show

Lucy Moelwyn Hughes, our Participation Producer,  pulls out a few key moments to look out for if you decide to dive head first into our rock gig-meets-dance-show at the O2 Academy Brixton:

If you’ve never seen Political Mother: The Choreographer’s Cut before….then ladies & gents, boys & girls, fasten your seatbelts and head to Brixton this October! You are in for quite a ride… When Hofesh originally made Political Mother in 2010 at the Brighton Dome, I was regularly in the studio making notes and asking questions (writing the resource pack for teachers & students). I remember being so surprised to see that despite the heavy themes in the work (oppression, unrest etc) the working atmosphere in the studio was funny, light hearted and warm. I particularly remember Hofesh’s Homer Simpson impression during production week. He’s a funny guy! Perhaps not quite what you would expect…. Maybe you’re new to contemporary dance? I’m not sure about that label actually – it meant something 30 years ago but I think it’s a bit of an obsolete term these days. We all dance in different ways, as children in our bedrooms, as adults at parties, even just tapping along to a song. We watch it on TV and in films.  It’s everywhere. That aside, if you’re new to this ‘contemporary dance’ world, then here are a few things to look out for in the show. (Don’t worry, I won’t ruin it for you – no spoiler alerts required) Firstly, the moment quite early on in the musical prologue when <something> happens and your stomach flips and drops and the crowd roar. You’ll know it when it comes…. Enjoy that! Then there is the gradual revealing of the space…and realising how many people inhabit this strange world.  

Later on there is a quiet and touching moment - a short solo - when a dancer unravels physically and emotionally. You’ll want to run up on to stage and tell him he’s going to be ok. Of this moment Hofesh says “That’s him losing his identity, just right there in front of you...”

Look out for the mosh pit at the front of the stage. It’s life affirming to see young people ROCKING OUT at the front of the stage and having such a real and visceral experience. (It’s a shame my moshing days are in the past but I still get such a kick out of seeing this at one of our shows….) I once asked one of our company dancers, Fred Despierre, what his best moment on stage had been. He said “Easy. Any performance of Political Mother: The Choreographer's Cut because that piece just makes me feel like a rock star.”

So come to Brixton this autumn and see our show, full of rock star dancers and musicians! Maybe I’ll see you in the mosh pit…. Political Mother: The Choreographer’s Cut Wed 7 & Thu 8 Oct 2015 O2 Academy Brixton Info and tickets: hofesh.co.uk

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Meet our #PLAYATBRIX Winners: Introducing Gabriel & Lola

We’re thrilled to announce the winners of our #PLAYATBRIX competition.

At last! Our search for the next generation of gifted guitarists has come to a conclusion.

The competition was called #PLAYATBRIX and the prize was to play live with our band, an awesome group of of 24 musicians, when we perform POLITICAL MOTHER: THE CHOREOGRAPHER’S CUT at O2 Academy Brixton - a part of the upcoming #HOFEST. 

We launched the competition on social media, daring young players to learn one of our riffs and throw in something creative of their own. 

We were blown away by the entries and, frankly, a little worried. How on earth we were going to pick from all this talent?

Here’s how it went down. Six finalists aged between 18 – 25 joined us for a workshop at Pop Brixton. 

They learnt a variety of riffs from Political Mother: The Choreographer’s Cut and also had a chance to showcase their own style during a jam session. 

Hofesh Shechter and Joe Ashwin, a musician in our band, worked with the young players and selected two winners.

Those winners are Gabriel Levy and Lola Frichet-Perrignon, both just twenty. Huge congratulations to them both! 

Gabriel Levy

Gabriel Levy is a 20-year-old guitarist and songwriter from Southgate, North London. After picking up the guitar at the age of 7, he’s covered many genres with various teachers over the years including: Classical, Folk, Rock/Metal, Heavy Metal, Blues and Jazz.  He also writes, performs and produces original music with his band Cellars, who gig regularly, and often collaborate with artists and other musicians. 

“I am looking forward to being part of such an amazing production, and through that to meeting loads of talented musicians and dancers. There's nothing more inspiring than watching someone who is great at what they do, let alone being able to stand on the same stage as them.  I've also seen a lot of my favourite bands at O2 Academy Brixton, and to play at a venue with such a rich musical history is an opportunity I couldn't miss.”

Lola Frichet-Perrignon

Lola is 20 and lives in Paris.  She began to study classical guitar aged 7 and started playing the electric guitar at the age of 15. She has played in different bands and has gigged all over Europe including France, Germany and Spain.  She has worked in studios as a bassist on varied projects from Hip Hop to Rock music.  She graduated from the Music Conservatoire Paris and has a degree in History from La Sorbonne. She created Cacofonix, an events collective, who organize concerts and festivals. 

She has practised Judo for many years and is almost black belt. 

“I entered the competition because I saw Political Mother: The Choreographer’s Cut in Paris. I felt really involved in the show and I liked the intensity of the music. I am looking forward to feeling the same but this time from the stage!“  

Hofesh worked with the guitarists and chose Gabriel and Lola because of the particular qualities they could bring to the show’s sound:

“All of the finalists were skilled musicians. I was drawn to Lola and Gabriel, as I knew their sounds would blend really well with our band's sounds. Lola has a very quirky, bluesy style and gives a lot of energy to her performances. Gabriel is a very cool, fluid and relaxed guitarist and that mood works well for me too. 

I am always excited about working with young people who don’t fully understand their potential, but are extremely talented.  This is a crazy opportunity - they’re going to be playing with our band at the legendary O2 Academy Brixton.  It’s a pretty special gig for a young musician and I hope they'll get lots from the experience.” 

For details of the show they’ll be playing in click here.

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A couple of weeks ago our board member Andrew Hillier QC flew out to Avignon Festival. Here he muses about seeing barbarians for the first time:

‘Avignon was hot, very hot & La FabricA – a dusty 20 minute walk from town. But by 1.30pm there was already a line of hopefuls sitting on the pavement in the full sun waiting for returns for the 3 o’clock show. From that searing heat to the cool of Hofesh's choreography – beams of cold light searching for dancers...

...then heavy doors slamming on hopes of escape, hammer- blows of sound spliced with ‘notes de tendresse’  – his dancers – at once wild and intimate - challenge you at every turn of this stunning 3 piece show – ‘what are you doing?’ asks Hofesh of himself– but what are we doing, allowing this search-light into our very souls? 

Then, just as despair seems to be overwhelming, all the angst, turmoil & dislocation are resolved - the company ensemble return and, picking up the duet's earlier mesmerising rhythms, they lead us into the last elegiac number –finally they and we are at peace.’