Contemporary choreographer Hofesh Shechter will be adding his own moves to Broadway’s new ‘Fiddler on the Roof’, adding contemporary dance to the Jerome Robbins musical but without losing its folklore feel. For the upcoming revival of the classic musical in New York, the Israeli-born star of the UK’s contemporary dance scene will distinguish this production from the others.
Dance is far from the signature element of the 1964 musical about a Jewish family on the eve of a pogrom. Despite this, Shechter has worked with the dancers to convey a movement aesthetic that is both gritty and grounded, ready for the previews at the Broadway Theatre from 20 November. The movement vocabulary often requires a low centre of gravity, with knees bent and bouncy, while the arms are thrown upward to convey emotions.
After establishing his own company in 2008, Shechter has since won numerous awards in Europe. He is an associate artist at Sadler’s Wells, London’s premiere venue for dance, and The Brooklyn Academy of Music has presented his work, danced by companies such as The Royal Ballet and Nederland Dans Theater.
Shechter’s own culture feeds directly into his choreography; his early study of folk dance as a child in Jerusalem rooted him in tradition, emphasising the strength of his work in question. As a result, Shechter aimed for his Fiddler on the Roof to have a sense of realness about it, creating movement that comes from his culture. The eclectic result is the blending of ethnicity with contemporary dance, filtered through the unique prism of Broadway.
In the mid-1960s, the original choreographer Robbins researched for the musical by travelling to New York’s Jewish communities to watch wedding celebrations. Shechter is continuing in this vein by specifying his dancers must not be Broadway hoofers, crossing cultural currents for the sake of the show. The movement continues to be celebratory movement, that comes as a spontaneous reaction using the dancers as real people.