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Hofesh Shechter Company Presents: Theatre of Dreams
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Shanghai International Dance Center
1650 Hongqiao Lu, near Shuicheng Lu, Changning District
虹桥路1650号, 近水城路
Hofesh Shechter Company brings Theatre of Dreams, a full-length contemporary dance work choreographed and composed by Hofesh Shechter. Blending powerful physicality, live music, and cinematic soundscapes, the piece explores fantasy, the subconscious, and shifting emotional states. It’s a visually and musically immersive production from one of today’s most prominent contemporary choreographers.
Premiered in Paris in June 2024 and now on a global tour, Theatre of Dreams combines elements of hip-hop, folk, and nightclub culture into a high-energy, emotionally charged spectacle. Whether you’re a dance enthusiast or a newcomer, this is an electrifying experience that promises to captivate with its bold visuals, magnetic choreography, and deeply resonant themes.
Theatre of Dreams is a new full-length work by Hofesh Shechter that highlights the physical intensity and complexity of his choreography, performed by his long-term company of dancers. The piece takes audiences into a shifting landscape of fantasy and the subconscious, revealing fears, hopes, desires, and layered emotional states that extend beyond dreams into waking life.
On stage, the dancers move between poetry and reality, supported by live musicians and Shechter’s signature cinematic compositions. The work continues Shechter’s collaborative approach, reuniting him with lighting designer Tom Visser, who has worked with him on previous productions including Grand Finale, The Fix, Contemporary Dance 2:0, Wild Poetry and From England with Love.
The production opened in Paris at Théâtre de la Ville on 27 June 2024. It is scheduled to premiere in the UK at Sadler’s Wells in October 2024, followed by an international tour including the Netherlands, Italy, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria and Germany. In Spring 2025, Theatre of Dreams will return to the UK as part of the Brighton Festival.
Hofesh Shechter OBE is the Artistic Director of the UK-based Hofesh Shechter Company, Associate Artist of Sadler’s Wells, and Artist-in-Residence of Gauthier Dance (2021–2024). He is known for creating work for both stage and film, and for composing original scores that accompany his distinctive movement style.
His repertoire for the company includes Uprising (2006), In your rooms (2007), The Art of Not Looking Back (2009), Political Mother (2010), Sun (2013), barbarians (2015), Grand Finale (2017), SHOW (2018), Double Murder (2021), Contemporary Dance 2.0 (2022), From England with Love (2024), and Theatre of Dreams (2024).
Shechter has choreographed for theatre, television and opera, including at the Metropolitan Opera (New York), on Broadway for Fiddler on the Roof, at the Royal Court, and at the National Theatre. His works have been staged by companies including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Martha Graham Dance Company, Nederlands Dans Theater 1, Paris Opera Ballet, and The Royal Ballet.
He has received numerous awards and nominations, including the British Theatre Institute’s Award for Excellence in International Dance (2011), a Tony nomination (2016), an Olivier Award nomination (2018), and Best Dance Film at the Festival de Cannes (2023). He was awarded an honorary OBE in 2018 for Services to Dance.
Founded in 2008, Hofesh Shechter Company is an international dance company known for its boundary-pushing contemporary work. The company has performed worldwide in cities including Paris, New York, Melbourne, Tokyo, Berlin, Tel Aviv, Rome, Seoul and Rio de Janeiro.
The company also develops large-scale stage and film projects and runs Shechter Moves, a learning and engagement programme aimed primarily at young people aged 14+.
For audiences interested in contemporary dance that combines strong physical expression with live music and original composition, Theatre of Dreams presents a full-length work from an established international choreographer. The piece brings together choreography, lighting, and sound in a production that has already premiered in Paris and is touring internationally.
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