DanceHouse Opens 15th Anniversary Season With DOUBLE MURDER From UK's Hofesh Shechter Company

DanceHouse presents the Canadian premiere of Hofesh Shechter Company's hypnotic and high-energy double bill Double Murder, on stage October 21 and 22, 2022 at 8pm at the Vancouver Playhouse. Created by internationally celebrated choreographer/composer Hofesh Shechter (OBE), Double Murder is a thrilling exploration of the chaotic and oppressive forces present within our modern times. The performance features two distinctly contrasting works: Clowns is a sarcastic and playful nod to our ever-growing indifference to violence, while The Fix presents a tender, fragile antidote to the omnipresent forces of aggression that press on us daily. Set to Shechter's sweepingly cinematic, percussive score, Double Murder exposes painful truths and deep emotions.

"We are delighted to open our 15th anniversary season with the highly anticipated return of the inimitable Hofesh Shechter Company, who were last seen on the DanceHouse stage in 2015," says Jim Smith, Artistic and Executive Director of DanceHouse. "The Company's explosive energy and rhythmically intricate choreography will bring audiences on a spellbinding journey of raw and emotional discovery, from the urgent movement and pounding beats of Clowns to the calming and meditative sounds of The Fix."

Opening the evening is Clowns, which premiered in 2016 at Nederlands Dans Theater 1 in The Hague, and was later produced as a 2018 dance film for the BBC. Pulsing with "anarchy and tongue-in-cheek showmanship" (The Stage), Clowns is a macabre comedy of murder and desire, which unleashes a whirlwind of percussive, frenetic energy, testing how far we are willing to go in the name of entertainment.

As a healing balm to the murderous power of Clowns, Shechter's newest creation, The Fix - which premiered in London in September 2021 - brings a tender, fragile sentimentality to the stage, with gentler, rolling sounds and soothing, meditative choreography. Lauded by The Observer as "heartwarming and beautiful, an antidote to the suffering of the world," The Fix brings a compassionate moment, shielding us from the white noise and aggression of our daily lives. Violence, tenderness and hope are all laid bare through Shechter's achingly beautiful, cinematic lens.

Influenced by a diverse collection of sources, including Israeli folk dance, clubbing culture, rock performance, and installation art and film, Shechter's high-energy and distinctive choreographic style has been described as a "combination of dance-maker and rock-star, but with film-director sensibilities" (The Times). The Israeli-born, UK-based contemporary choreographer and composer has created more than a dozen works through his eponymous dance company, which launched in 2008. His works have been performed at leading festivals and on major international stages from Rio to Sydney, Shanghai to New York, winning him a passionate worldwide following.

Shechter has also worked as a choreographer in theatre, television and opera, most notably with the Metropolitan Opera, the Royal Opera House, Paris Opera Ballet, and Bartlett Sher's Fiddler On The Roof on Broadway (2015), for which he was nominated for a Tony Award. In 2018, Shechter was awarded an honorary OBE (Order of the British Empire) for Services to Dance, and he currently serves as Artist-in-Residence of Gauthier Dance in Stuttgart, Germany (2021-2023), and as an associate artist of Sadler's Wells Theatre.

For tickets and further information, visit: dancehouse.ca

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