≈ 1 hour 35 minutes · With intermission
Last updated: November 8, 2022
Artistic Notes
With the suggestive yet tongue-in-cheek title, Double Murder, the inimitable Hofesh Shechter creates a dynamic double bill of contrasting dance works, unfurling ideas and emotions that are connected by a common humanity. We are blasted with the frenetic energy of Clowns – originally created for Nederlands Dans Theater – and then soothed with the tenderness and fragility of The Fix: a beautifully constructed program that once again reveals Shechter’s distinct style. He is both a choreographic and musical wizard who draws us into worlds rich in meaning and sentiment. Always an NAC audience favourite, we’re thrilled to welcome the company back to our stage.
Enjoy!
Choreographer’s Note
"After being separated due to world events for a few years, I’m so excited to reunite with our audiences in Ottawa again - an audience we already shared so many moments with.
This evening, Double Murder, is in particular one that is meant for sharing, for experiencing communally and collectively. There are some things we can only understand when sitting together. I was adamant to give through this evening an array of angles, observing our confused human experiences and existence. The bright and the dark, the funny and the grotesque, painful and beautiful, all with the hope of producing just a little bit of hope… That precious currency.
There is a whole wonderful team to thank for putting this evening so skilfully together, and my deepest thanks to the dancers, who are not only at the heart of the work but are the heart of the work - their commitment and emotions are such a present to us all - I’m grateful to them for giving themselves so wholly each and every time they step on stage."
Program
95 minutes – With Intermission
Quote
“It’s heartwarming and beautiful, an antidote to the suffering of the world” – Sarah Crompton, The Observer
Synopsis
Having repeatedly dazzled NAC audiences with his unique and exciting vocabulary, Hofesh Shechter, one of the world’s most celebrated choreographers, returns with a double bill that is the stuff of genius. Incorporating elements of folklore, theatre, ballet and contemporary dance, this Double Murder brilliantly blends order and chaos in a gripping emotional journey.
The first half, Clowns—which was produced as a film and broadcast by the BBC to great acclaim—, is a delightful blend of raw physicality and meticulous detail. Like a black comedy, Clowns denounces our collective insensitivity to violence. A fierce energy emanates from the group of performers in symbiosis, in an often furious dance tinged with a cynical yet current vision of the world.
As an antidote, The Fix brings a more tender and fragile energy to the stage. The work explores the sweetness of human relationships, marked by joy or melancholy: an appeal for compassion to mitigate the violence of everyday life exposed in the first half of the program. Here, slower sequences offer contemplative moments of incredible power.
The musical score, also composed by Shechter, is a perfect complement to the movement. Atmospheric, almost cinematic, it conveys a strength that transcends the stage. Stunningly beautiful, Double Murder reveals Shechter’s unique mastery in its most complete form.
Artists
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 co-directed 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.
Performers
- Robinson Cassarino (France)
- Frédéric Despierre - Rehearsal Director (France)
- Rachel Fallon (USA)
- Emma Farnell-Watson (United Kingdom)
- Mickaël Frappat (France)
- Natalia Gabrielczyk (Poland)
- Charles Heinrich (France)
- Yeji Kim and Rehearsal Assistant - (Republic of Korea)
- Juliette Valerio (France)
- Zunnur Zhafirah (Singapore)
Music
- Composer
Hofesh Shechter - Additional music for Clowns:
“Can Can”
Composed by Jacques Offenbach. Published by BMG Rights Management (UK) Limited, BMG Company© Used with permission. All right reserved. - Additional music for The Fix:
“ Le Roi Renaud ”(instrumental version)
Composed by Pierre Bensusan (Sacem, Paris, France) for the Album Pierre Bensusan #2 (Dadgad Music – DM1002)
“The Sun” performed by Kim Jung Mi.
Written by Shin Joong Hyun (KOMCA). Published by Shin Joong Hyun MVD (KOMCA). Courtesy of Light in the Attic Records.
Credits
- Choreography • Music
Hofesh Shechter - Clowns
- Lighting Design
Lee Curran - Additional Lighting Design
Richard Godin - Based on costume designs for Clowns by
Christina Cunningham - The Fix
- Lighting Design
Tom Visser - Costume Design
Peter Todd
Co-Producers
Double Murder is produced by Hofesh Shechter Company.
Commissioned by Sadler’s Wells, Théâtre de la Ville Paris, Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival, Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg. Co-commissioned by Shanghai International Dance Center Theater (SIDCT), Hong Kong – New Vision Arts Festival, National Performing Arts Center, by Taiwan R.O.C. – National Taichung Theater, Festival d’Avignon, Danse Danse Montréal, Scène Nationale d’Albi, Torinodanza Festival / Teatro Stabile di Torino - Teatro Nazionale, Marche Teatro / Inteatro Festival, Opéra de Dijon and HOME Manchester. Developed in part at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.
Double Murder is supported by the International Music and Art Foundation.
Hofesh Shechter Company benefits from the support of BNP Paribas Foundation for the development of its projects and is supported using public funding through Arts Council England.
NAC Dance Team
- Executive Producer
Cathy Levy - Associate Producer
Tina Legari - Special Projects Coordinator and Assistant to the Executive Producer
Mireille Nicholas - Company Manager
Sophie Anka - Education Associate and Teaching Artist
Siôned Watkins - Technical Director
Brian Britton - Communications Strategist
Julie Gunville - Marketing Strategist
Marie-Chantale Labbé-Jacques
International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees