Hofesh Shechter Company (UK)

Choreographer Hofesh Shechter OBE is recognised as one of the most exciting artists making stage work today, renowned for composing atmospheric musical scores to compliment the unique physicality of his movement. He is Artistic Director of the UK-based Hofesh Shechter Company, formed in 2008. The company are resident at Brighton Dome and Shechter is an Associate Artist of Sadler’s Wells.

Hofesh Shechter’s repertoire for the company includes Uprising (2006), In your rooms (2007), The Art of Not Looking Back (2009), Political Mother (2010), Political Mother: The Choreographer’s Cut (2011), Sun (2013), barbarians (2015), Grand Finale (2017), SHOW (2018) and POLITICAL MOTHER UNPLUGGED (2020). Grand Finale was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production.

Shechter has also staged and choreographed works on leading international dance companies including the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Batsheva Ensemble, Candoco Dance Company, Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, Nederlands Dans Theater 1, Paris Opera Ballet, Royal Ballet and Royal Ballet Flanders.

He has choreographed for theatre, television and opera, notably at the Metropolitan Opera (New York) for Nico Mulhy’s Two Boys, the Royal Court on Motortown and The Arsonists, the National Theatre on Saint Joan and for the Channel 4 series Skins. As part of #HOFEST, a 4 week festival celebrating Shechter’s work across 4 iconic London venues, he codirected Gluck’s Orphée et Eurydice with John Fulljames at the Royal Opera House. In 2016 he received a Tony Award nomination for his choreography for the Broadway revival of Fiddler on the Roof.

In 2018 Hofesh Shechter was awarded an honorary OBE for Services to Dance and the company’s first dance film, Hofesh Shechter’s Clowns, was broadcast by the BBC in September to great acclaim. Shechter’s follow up short dance film POLITICAL MOTHER: The Final Cut premiered in the UK in July 2021.

In 2020, Hofesh Shechter Company was named the winner of the Fedora – VAN CLEEF & ARPELS Prize for Ballet for LIGHT: Bach Dances, in collaboration with Royal Danish Opera and co-directed by Hofesh Shechter and John Fulljames.

Hofesh Shechter’s new creation Double Murder premiered on 14 September 2021 at Sadler’s Wells Theatre London.

Robinson Cassarino

From: France
Training: Studio Harmonic and Ballet Junior de Genève
For Hofesh Shechter Company: SHOW, East Wall, Shechter Underground, Grand Finale
First worked with Hofesh Shechter Company in 2018

Frédéric Despierre – Rehearsal Director

From: France
Training: Conservatoire de Paris
For Hofesh Shechter Company: Uprising, In your rooms, Political Mother, Political Mother: The Choreographer’s Cut, lukewarm and loving it, Sun, barbarians, Orphée et Eurydice (Royal Opera House production), Grand Finale, Hofesh Shechter’s Clowns
First worked with Hofesh Shechter Company in 2011
Other work: After three years studying classical ballet Frédéric joined the contemporary section. He was taught by and worked with André Lafonta, Christine Gérard, Yutaka Takei and Cristiana Morganti (Pina Bausch). In 2011 he performed Yuval Pick’s The Him with the Junior Ballet and worked on Angelin Preljocaj’s Noces.

Rachel Fallon

From: USA
Training: LINES Ballet Training Program and Manhattan Youth Ballet
For Hofesh Shechter Company: Political Mother, Political Mother: The Choreographer’s Cut, Orphée et Eurydice (Royal Opera House production), Grand Finale, Hofesh Shechter’s Clowns
First worked with Hofesh Shechter Company in 2017
Other work: Tanz Luzerner Theater, Idan Sharabi and Dancers, and Marina Mascarell.

Emma Farnell-Watson

From: United Kingdom
Training: London Contemporary Dance School
For Hofesh Shechter Company: SHOW, East Wall, Shechter Underground, Grand Finale
First worked with Hofesh Shechter Company in 2018
Other work: Jasmin Vardimon Company and Shahar Binyamini.

Mickaël Frappat

From: France
Training: Epsedanse Montpellier, under the direction of Anne-Marie Porras
For Hofesh Shechter Company: Political Mother, Political Mother: The Choreographer’s Cut, Orphée et Eurydice (Royal Opera House production), Grand Finale, Hofesh Shechter’s Clowns
First worked with Hofesh Shechter Company in 2017
Other work: Centre Chorégraphique National de Nantes, directed by Claude Brumachon, and has been a member of Florence Bernad, Hélène Cathala and Laurence Wagner companies.

Natalia Gabrielczyk

From: Poland
Training: Anton Bruckner University
For Hofesh Shechter Company: SHOW, East Wall, Shechter Underground, Grand Finale
First worked with Hofesh Shechter Company in 2018

Charles Heinrich

From: France
Training: Ballet Junior de Genève
For Hofesh Shechter Company: Political Mother UNPLUGGED, POLITICAL MOTHER: The Final Cut, En corps, Double Murder
First worked with Hofesh Shechter Company in 2020

Yeji Kim – Rehearsal Assistant

From: Republic of Korea
Training: Korea National University of Arts and London Contemporary Dance School
For Hofesh Shechter Company: In your rooms, The Art of Not Looking Back, Political Mother, Political Mother: The Choreographer’s Cut, Last of His Act (as dancer/choreographer), Sun, barbarians, Orphée et Eurydice (Royal Opera House production), Grand Finale, Hofesh Shechter’s Clowns
First worked with Hofesh Shechter Company in 2009
Other work: Yeji performed with K-Arts Dance Company in New York in 2008 and in San Francisco in 2009. She also performed in the Critic’s Choice of Korean Young Artists in 2009 and received the Golden Prize in the 38th Dong-A Dance Competition in Korea.

Juliette Valerio

From: France
Training: Ballet Junior de Genève
For Hofesh Shechter Company: SHOW, East Wall, Shechter Underground, Grand Finale
First worked with Hofesh Shechter Company in 2018
Other work: Nightshifter (Temper Theatre), Long Past (Rosalba Torres) and Bodhi project company (2016/2017).

Zunnur Zhafirah

From: Singapore
Training: School of the Arts, Singapore and London Contemporary Dance School
For Hofesh Shechter Company: SHOW, East Wall, Shechter Underground, Grand Finale
First worked with Hofesh Shechter Company in 2018
Other work: Sri Warisan, T.H.E.(Second) Dance Company, Bhumi Collective and P7:1SMA.

Colette Hansford – Executive Producer

As Executive Producer and co-founder of Hofesh Shechter Company, Colette has led on the business and strategic development of the company for the last 10 years, growing the brand worldwide and producing and delivering UK and international touring work, alongside numerous large-scale creative projects.  These include Olivier Award nominated production Grand Finale, Political Mother: The Choreographer’s Cut at Brixton Academy, Orphée et Eurydice at the Royal Opera House and Hofesh Shechter’s Clowns, commissioned by the BBC for Performance Live.  Prior to this, Colette worked in programming, artist development and venue management, initially with ATG Theatres before moving into dance, as Administrative Director – Theatre and Artistic development at The Place.

Colette is a Trustee of Stopgap Dance Company.

Bruno Guillore – Associate Artistic Director

From: Egypt
Training: Conservatoire de Paris, under the direction of Quentin Rouillier.
For Hofesh Shechter Company: Bruno was a founding member of the Company and has been involved in all of Hofesh’s creations, since the early works of Uprising and In Your Rooms to his most recent piece Grand Finale. He has performed in Uprising, In your rooms, Political Mother, Political Mother: The Choreographer’s Cut, Survivor, Sun, barbarians.
Other Work: Beatriz Consuelo (Ballet Junior de Genève), Richard Wherlock (Luzern Ballet and Komische Oper Berlin), Iracity Cardoso and Paulo Ribeiro (Ballet Gulbenkian, Lisbon). He danced in works by Richard Wherlock, Guilherme Botelho, Ed Wubbe, Örjan Andersson, Rui Horta, Itzik Galili, Ohad Naharin, Mats Ek, Stijn Celis, Mauro Bigonzetti, Didy Veldman, Marie Chouinard, Clara Andermatt, Rui Lopes Graça, Regina van Berkel and Paulo Ribeiro. Bruno featured in the film Passengers by Richard Wherlock.

Barb Clausen

Barb Clausen worked in the Vancouver dance community from 1980 until she retired in 2015. She was one of the founders and the first Executive Director of Vancouver’s Dance Centre and has managed dance companies, mentored dancers and administrators, and programmed dance in a variety of venues. She founded Vancouver’s New Works and ran that organization for 17 years until May 2010.

Barb and Jim Smith created DanceHouse, Vancouver’s only large-scale contemporary dance series. DanceHouse is currently celebrating its 15th season.

Barb now lives in Victoria where she is a volunteer counsellor with Citizens Counselling and swims in the Salish Sea several mornings a week.