The BRIT School and Hofesh Shechter Company Announce New Partnership
They will re-imagine an extract from Hofesh's internationally acclaimed work Political Mother as Political Mother: Made in Croydon.
By: Stephi Wild Jul. 12, 2022
Hofesh Shechter Company and The BRIT School announced a new partnership which will develop a multi-stranded programme of activity as part of a shared commitment to increasing diversity and equal opportunities within dance and the wider arts sector.
As part of this partnership Hofesh Shechter Company and The BRIT school will re-imagine an extract from Hofesh's internationally acclaimed work Political Mother as Political Mother: Made in Croydon. This ambitious and extensive project brings together leading artists of Hofesh Shechter Company with over 86 BRIT school students whose specialisms range from dance, music and film, to re-create this bespoke piece alongside a behind-the-scenes documentary for school performances on 14 July.
Stuart Worden, Principal, The BRIT School said "We are thrilled to be collaborating with Hofesh Shechter. I remember a BRIT visit to watch Hofesh's Political Mother at Brixton Academy. The experience was life changing and this collaboration will be life changing for all our students involved. Hofesh's embracing of music, dance, theatre and media is deeply akin to the stimulating environment fostered at The BRIT School. We are very excited about how this will grow."
Speaking about the new partnership, Hofesh Shechter commented "I am enormously excited by the collaboration between my own company and the BRIT School. The school's breadth of artistic disciplines, focus on excellence, and support for young people parallels with our own apprentice and participation programmes. I hope over the coming years our partnership will inspire a new generation of young people with a passion for dance, music or film by creating opportunities and clearer pathways of progression for all. This is at the heart of what we both believe in, and what together we are working towards."
Ray Oudkerk, Assistant Principal at The BRIT School added "This large-scale partnership has brought together so many people from both organisations (dancers, support staff, managers, technicians and students) with a shared purpose, centred around Hofesh's seminal work Political Mother. The project is significant part of the students' Post 16 qualification and The BRIT School is so proud to be offering such a potent educational experience to young people in the UK.
Hofesh Shechter Company is a boundary-breaking dance company that produces exceptional work created by Artistic Director Hofesh Shechter OBE, with, at its core, an extraordinary company of internationally diverse dancers.
Founded in 2008, the company's repertoire 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) and Grand Finale (2017) , Double Murder (2021) with SHOW (2018) and POLITICAL MOTHER UNPLUGGED (2020), Contemporary Dance 2.0 (2022) performed by Shechter II, its apprentice programme. Hofesh Shechter Company has played in cities around the world including Paris, New York, Melbourne, Tokyo, Berlin, Tel Aviv, Rome, Seoul, Rio de Janeiro and many more.
The company collaborates on exceptional, world-leading, large-scale stage and film projects including a revival of Hofesh's production of Gluck's Orphée et Eurydice at La Scala, Milan (2018), co-directed with John Fulljames; East Wall (2018) at Tower of London, in partnership with East London Dance, Historic Royal Palaces and LIFT; short films - Hofesh Shechter's Clowns (2018), broadcast on the BBC and POLITICAL MOTHER: The Final Cut (2021); feature films - En Corps ( 2022) and LIGHT: Bach Dances (2021) winner of the Fedora - VAN CLEEF & ARPELS Prize for Ballet 2020, produced in collaboration with Royal Danish Opera
Central to its belief that dance can bring about meaningful change is Shechter Moves, the company's learning, engagement and development programme. Primarily aimed at young people age 14+, this programme shapes opportunities for everyone to experience the life-enhancing potential of their creativity.
In all our work, we strive to move ourselves, and our audiences, beyond reason.
Hofesh Shechter Company is supported with public funding through Arts Council England.
Hofesh Shechter Company benefits from the support of BNP Paribas Foundation for the development of its projects.
Hofesh Shechter is an Associate Artist of Sadler's Wells, London and Artist-in-Residence of Gauthier Dance (2021-2023). Hofesh Shechter Company is Resident Company of the Brighton Dome
The BRIT School is the UK's first and leading free performing and creative arts school for 1,400 young people aged 14 to 19. The School - an exempt charity based in Croydon - invests in the future of the UK's cultural wealth by nurturing young artistic talent from all backgrounds and teaching the skills needed by the rapidly growing creative industries. We believe that young people of all backgrounds should be able to develop their creative talent and craft and make a powerful contribution to society.
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