Hofesh Shechter’s new dance production Uprising, begins with a fragmentary glimpse into the evolution of the modern male psyche beginning with such brutal force the audience is snapped into a heightened state of consciousness.
In uprising the mood changes so dramatically from jocularity to something more sinister within an instant. He creates a hurtling dynamic, with the dancers captured through the rapid fire strobe.
There is a savage grace to their movements, man rises from crawling primate to all conquering man, it is the connection that always remains the difficult part.
In Your Rooms is Shechter’s follows a similar aesthetic to Uprising but in a much more self depreciating style. Commissioned by The Place, Southbank Center and Sadler’s Wells it is an experiment to support one of Britain’s most exciting contemporary choreographers.
With his signature aesthetic of a cruel grace, tightly insular movement, tableaux framed by bursts of blinding light the piece resembles a primal scream and desperate aggression, coupled with an inertia and impotence to change anything; khaki clad dancers move with unwavering attack juxtaposed with moments of small finicky, repetitious movement.
The voice over says ‘I think I can do better than that. No, no. I can’t’ Even if that is the case, I think that Shechter has a great future ahead of him.
In Your Rooms moves to Sadler’s Wells 28-29 September. http://www.sadlerswells.com/show/Hofesh-Shechter