Scottish Dance Theatre

Source: The List (Issue 596)
Date: 14 February 2008
Written by: Kelly Apter

Comments (0)

Dundee Rep, Thu 21–Sat 23 Feb, then touring.

CONTEMPORARY DANCE

When dance and music come together, it’s usually a fusion of creative sources – a symbiotic partnership of composer and choreographer. But when artistic director, Janet Smith commissioned Scottish Dance Theatre’s latest work, she got the dance equivalent of a supermarket BOGOF.

For, in Hofesh Shechter, she found not only one of the hottest properties in British contemporary dance, but a man renowned for his innovative scores. How does that dual talent work in practice? ‘It has its good and bad sides,’ says Shechter. ‘It’s good because I can get exactly what I need for the choreography – if the music is too long, too short, too noisy, I can just change it. The dance also inspires the music, and vice versa. The downside is it’s very time-consuming and draining – but there’s something exciting about creating the whole world of the piece.’

Born in Israel but now based in London, Shechter has been winning awards and garnering international commissions for the past six years. His new piece for SDT, Dog finds the atmosphere shifting dramatically from soft, cloud-like movement into something almost violently sharp. Shechter found the hard-working enthusiasm of Smith’s dancers an invaluable creative tool.

‘The dancers are completely giving – it was amazing in that sense,’ he says. ‘And it gives you a lot of energy to find a group of people who are hungry to experiment and want to discover something new.’

More: Hofesh Shechter, Janet Smith, Scottish Dance Theatre, Contemporary Dance (Dance), Previews (Theatre)