Hofesh Shechter Company At Sadler's Wells: Visceral, Raw And Animalistic

By Laura Dodge Last edited 131 months ago
Hofesh Shechter Company At Sadler's Wells: Visceral, Raw And Animalistic

The movement style of Hofesh Shechter Company is incredible. Choreography is visceral, raw and animalistic, with a wonderfully powerful inner aggression expressed by dancers. But the Uprising and The Art of Not Looking Back double bill at Sadler’s Wells does not provide the best opportunity in which to appreciate this astonishing dance.

Uprising is all about male energy and relationships. To thumping beats, seven dancers crawl, crouch and push in Shechter’s inimitable style. But for at least 80% of the time, the stage is in near darkness with the performers almost impossible to see. The work also feels disjointed, with vastly different sections not following on from one another logically.

Shechter describes The Art of Not Looking Back in terms of “things that you try to forget…denial, but also survival.” For six females, an innovative mix of choreography – from robotic to fluid – is accompanied by deafening screaming sounds and loud bangs. This extreme volume makes the work highly confrontational and we spent most of the time trying to protect our poor eardrums.

Hofesh Shechter Company is well worth seeing – its dancers are nothing short of superb in their performance. But the darkness and the din spoilt the show for us this time.

Hofesh Shechter Company are at Sadler's Wells at 7:30pm tonight only. Tickets priced £12-27 are available from the Sadler's Wells website. Londonist received a complimentary ticket for this performance.

Pictured: Hofesh Shechter Company in Uprising. Photo by Ben Rudick

Last Updated 29 April 2013