Grand Finale - Program

CREATOR’S note I’m really looking forward to returning to Toronto. It’s been six years since we brought Political Mother here, and I remember the fantastic atmosphere in the audience – buzzing and full of energy. I hope we can create something similar with Grand Finale.

It’s quite dark in places, and it’s also got a touch of humour if one can spot it… but I’m not going to say much more. As long as what we do on stage touches the audience in some way, I’m fulfilled. For Grand Finale, we had this incredibly intense creation period in Italy, where we stayed and worked for a month in the same place, isolated from the world outside. It really gelled all the different ideas I had – the sense of things around us being out of control, but no one feels responsible, we all just carry on. Grand Finale has been on tour all around the world, and is constantly evolving. I’m excited to share it with this special place and people.

Hofesh Shechter

artistic team, dancers + musicians

Hofesh Shechter

Tom Scutt

Tom Visser

Nell Catchpole

Yaron Engler

Christopher Allan

Bruno Guillore

Robinson Cassarino

Chien-Ming Chang

Frédéric Despierre

Rachel Fallon

Mickaël Frappat

Yeji Kim

Kim Kohlmann

Erion Kruja

Attila Ronai

Hannah Shepherd

James Adams

Rebekah Allan

Lucy French

Sabio Janiak

Desmond Neysmith

Executive Producer’s note Grand Finale is an intelligent and culturally relevant commentary on the 21st century. Hofesh Shechter has a distinct vision of the world and he continues to expand the boundaries of his artistic craft and his voice within it. Grand Finale reminds us our belief in humanity can conquer our fears. Love and empathy remain the best defense against adversity. With our humaneness and tenderness we can help one other by not turning our back to those who are isolated and displaced by war, persecution, global conflicts, or marginalized by divisive forces that disrupt our communal harmony. Our humanity is about survival, self preservation, and the future. There are so many complexities interwoven into the social fabric of a single moment, a day, a week, a lifetime - observing these small interactions places the larger and unimaginable events in a proper context. It’s the ceremonial ritual in the choreography performed in set sequences around communion and revolt that is heart-stopping and chilling.

The quietness, the stillness, the chaos, and the ugliness – there is a solace and beauty to Grand Finale that resonates and strikes a chord in the deepest chambers of our being. This work never lets us forget we are all implicated in a shared human experience.

SHERRIE JOHNSON

artistic team

TOM VISSER

HOFESH SHECHTER

Tom Visser was born to a theatrical family. He began his career in musical theatre and later turned to contemporary dance as a member of Nederlands Dans Theater. He began his career as a lighting designer in the mid-2000s and has since worked extensively as a designer for dance, working with companies including Nederlands Dans Theater, Royal Swedish Ballet, Compañía Nacional de Danza, Norwegian National Ballet, Ballet Vlaanderen, Sydney Dance Company, Göteborg Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo and Balé da Cidade de São Paulo. Recent work includes Crystal Pite’s Flight Pattern, for the Royal Ballet season 16/17.

Grand Finale is Tom’s first creative collaboration with Hofesh Shechter.

Choreography, Direction + Original Music

Choreographer Hofesh Shechter is recognised as one of the most exciting artists today, renowned for composing atmospheric musical scores to complement the unique physicality of his movement. Grand Finale is the latest full-length work for his company, which was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production and a Bessie Award for Outstanding Production. Other repertoire for the company includes Political Mother (2010), Sun (2013), barbarians (2015) and their first dance film, Hofesh Shechter’s Clowns (2018), broadcast by the BBC to great acclaim.

Shechter has worked with leading international dance companies and choreographed for theatre, television and opera. In 2016 he received a Tony Award nomination for his choreography for the Broadway revival of Fiddler on the Roof.

TOM SCUTT Set and Costume Designer

Tom is an Associate Artist for The Donmar Warehouse and has designed the 2015 & 2016 MTV Video Music Awards. Theatre includes: King Charles III (Almeida/West End/Broadway); Constellations (Royal Court/West End/ Manhattan Theatre Club); The Deep Blue Sea, Medea, 13 (National); The Weir (Donmar); A Number (Nuffield/ Young Vic); Mr Burns, King Lear, Through A Glass Darkly (Almeida); East is East (Trafalgar Studios/UK Tour); Hope, The Ritual Slaughter of Gorge Mastromas, No Quarter, Remembrance Day (Royal Court); The Life of Galileo, The Merchant of Venice (Almeida) Romeo and Juliet (RSC); The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (Kensington Gardens). In 2013, Tom received the Whatsonstage Award for Best Set Designer for Constellations and The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.

Lighting Designer

NELL CATCHPOLE Music Collaborator

Nell studied classical violin and holds an MA in Social Anthropology. She teaches at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. In 1995, she co-founded music theatre company The Gogmagogs with theatre director Lucy Bailey. Nell has worked with Hofesh Shechter since 2007. In 2015, she co-composed the music for Untouchable with Hofesh, a new piece commissioned by the Royal Ballet and Orchestra for the ROH. She has worked extensively with Brian Eno as well as with John Cale, U2 and Mumford and Sons. In 2012, she composed and devised the music for the live band in Kate Tempest’s Brand New Ancients, which won a Herald Angel at the 2013 Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

YARON ENGLER Music Collaborator

Yaron Engler is a drummer, speaker and a mentor. After graduating from Berklee College of Music, he worked on many projects across the US,

Europe and Israel. He is a long-time collaborator with Hofesh and has played a leading role in producing many of Hofesh’s major productions.

Yaron took part in the creation of Akram Khan’s piece Until The Lions and is currently touring with the company. Yaron was commissioned to create the opening piece of the 2014 Walled City Tattoo in Derry while his trio After They Left was commissioned to create the sound track for New Adventures Award winner John Ross.

In 2016 he composed the music for the Open Theatre Production of Shakespeare’s Henry V.

Christopher Allan From: Scotland Training: Guildhall School of Music and Drama For Hofesh Shechter Company: In your rooms, Political Mother, Political Mother: The Choreographer’s Cut, Survivor, Grand Finale Other work: Member of the acclaimed group The Gogmagogs.

Christopher was solo cellist with the Mike Westbrooke company and has collaborated with numerous creators, including John Tavener, Django Bates, Stephen Warbeck, Errollyn Wallen and Paul Clark. He recently toured Ireland playing solo cello on Here All Night, with Gare St Lazare Ireland. He plays with a number of chamber groups, chamber orchestras and contemporary music groups. Christopher plays a William Forster cello built in 1800.

Bruno Guillore Associate Artistic Director

From: Egypt Training: Conservatoire de Paris, under the direction of Quentin Rouillier.

For Hofesh Shechter Company: Bruno was a founding member of the Company and has been involved

in all of Hofesh’s creations, from the early works of Uprising and In Your Rooms to his most recent piece Grand Finale. He has performed in Uprising, In your rooms, Political Mother, Political Mother: The Choreographer’s Cut, Survivor, Sun, and barbarians.

Other Work: Beatriz Consuelo (Ballet Junior de Genève), Richard Wherlock (Luzern Ballet and Komische Oper Berlin), Iracity Cardoso and Paulo Ribeiro (Ballet Gulbenkian, Lisbon). He danced in works by Richard Wherlock, Guilherme Botelho, Ed Wubbe, Örjan Andersson, Rui Horta, Itzik Galili, Ohad Naharin, Mats Ek, Stijn Celis, Mauro Bigonzetti, Didy Veldman, Marie Chouinard, Clara Andermatt, Rui Lopes Graça, Regina van Berkel and Paulo Ribeiro. Bruno featured in the film Passengers by Richard Wherlock.

dancers ROBINSON CASSARINO From: France Training: Studio Harmonic and Ballet Junior de Genève For Hofesh Shechter Company: SHOW, Grand Finale Joined Hofesh Shechter Company as an apprentice in 2018

CHIEN-MING CHANG From: Taiwan Training: Taipei National University of the Arts, Taiwan For Hofesh Shechter Company: Uprising, In your rooms, Political Mother, No Face, Political Mother: The Choreographer’s Cut, Survivor, Sun, Orphée et Eurydice (Royal Opera House production), barbarians, Grand Finale Joined Hofesh Shechter Company in 2008 Other work: Cloud Gate 2 in Taiwan and Bern Ballett (Stadttheater Bern) in Switzerland under the direction of Cathy Marston.

FRÉDÉRIC DESPIERRE

YEJI KIM

ERION KRUJA

Rehearsal Assistant 1

Rehearsal Assistant 2

From: France Training: Conservatoire de Paris For Hofesh Shechter Company: Uprising, In your rooms, Political Mother, Political Mother: The Choreographer’s Cut, lukewarm and loving it, Sun, Orphée et Eurydice (Royal Opera House production), barbarians, Grand Finale Joined Hofesh Shechter Company as an apprentice in 2011 and became full-time in 2012 Other work: After three years studying classical ballet Frédéric joined the contemporary section. He was taught by and worked with André Lafonta, Christine Gérard, Yutaka Takei and Cristiana Morganti (Pina Bausch). In 2011 he performed Yuval Pick’s The Him with the Junior Ballet and worked on Angelin Preljocaj’s Noces.

From: Korea Training: Korea National University of Arts and London Contemporary Dance School For Hofesh Shechter Company: In your rooms, The Art of Not Looking Back, Political Mother, Political Mother: The Choreographer’s Cut, Last of His Act (as dancer/choreographer), Sun, Orphée et Eurydice (Royal Opera House production), barbarians, Grand Finale Joined Hofesh Shechter Company as an apprentice in 2009 and became full-time in 2010 Other work: Yeji performed with K-Arts Dance Company in New York in 2008 and in San Francisco in 2009. She also performed in the Critic’s Choice of Korean Young Artists in 2009 and received the Golden Prize in the 38th Dong-A Dance Competition in Korea.

From: Albania Training: Pioneer’s House of Tirana and The National Ballet School of Albania For Hofesh Shechter Company: Uprising, In your rooms, Political Mother, Political Mother: The Choreographer’s Cut, Sun, Orphée et Eurydice (Royal Opera House production), barbarians, Grand Finale Joined Hofesh Shechter Company in 2011 Other work: Classical ballet performances with the company of the National Theatre of Albania. go! and emballe-moi with Compagnie Linga in Lausanne, under the direction of Marco Cantalupo and Katarzyna Gdaniec. Theater Chemnitz (Ballett Chemnitz) between 2006 and 2008 and Bern Ballett (Stadttheater Bern) between 2008 and 2011.

RACHEL FALLON From: USA Training: LINES Ballet Training Program and Manhattan Youth Ballet For Hofesh Shechter Company: Grand Finale was Rachel’s debut performance for the company Joined Hofesh Shechter Company in 2017 Other work: Tanz Luzerner Theater, Idan Sharabi and Dancers, and Marina Mascarell.

MICKAËL FRAPPAT From: France Training: Epsedanse Montpellier, under the direction of Anne-Marie Porras For Hofesh Shechter Company: Grand Finale was Mickaël’s debut performance for the company Joined Hofesh Shechter Company in 2017 Other work: Centre Chorégraphique National de Nantes, directed by Claude Brumachon, and has been a member of Florence Bernad, Hélène Cathala and Laurence Wagner companies.

KIM KOHLMANN From: Amsterdam Training: Codarts, Rotterdam Dance Academy with one semester at SUNY Purchase, New York For Hofesh Shechter Company: In your rooms, The Art of Not Looking Back, Political Mother, Political Mother: The Choreographer’s Cut, Sun, Orphée et Eurydice (Royal Opera House production), barbarians, Grand Finale Joined Hofesh Shechter Company in 2012 Other work: Internship with Dansgroep Amsterdam performing pieces by Itzik Galili, Krisztina de Châtel and Mark Baldwin. In 2009, Kim joined Noord Nederlandse Dans under the artistic direction of Stephen Shropshire where performances included work by Stephen Shropshire, Emanuel Gat, Andrea Miller, Roy Assaf and Edan Gorlicki.

ATTILA RONAI From: Hungary Training: Hungarian Dance Academy, Budapest For Hofesh Shechter Company: Political Mother: The Choreographer’s Cut, Sun, Orphée et Eurydice (Royal Opera House production), barbarians, Grand Finale Joined Hofesh Shechter Company as an apprentice in 2013 and became full-time in 2014.

HANNAH SHEPHERD From: Brighton Training: Sussex Downs College, London Contemporary Dance School and EDge 07 For Hofesh Shechter Company: In your rooms, The Art of Not Looking Back, Political Mother, Noble Thinking, Political Mother: The Choreographer’s Cut, lukewarm and loving it, Sun, Orphée et Eurydice (Royal Opera House production), barbarians, Grand Finale Joined Hofesh Shechter Company in 2009 Other work: Hannah started her training in gymnastics and trampoline and competed frequently at regional and national level.

musicians JAMES ADAMS From: UK Training: Guildhall School of Music and Drama For Hofesh Shechter Company: Political Mother, Political Mother: The Choreographer’s Cut, Survivor, Grand Finale Other work: James set up WAYout recording studios and music education centre in Sierra Leone, with funding from the Joe Strummer Foundation.

He has performed with various ensembles including Tuareg band Agna at the Ali Farka Toure International Festival in Mali. James composed for an Africa-wide UN convention held in Mauritius (2016). His latest project, @roameomusic, brings his love of technology and music together to provide experiential party bands and other live acts to the events industry.

REBEKAH ALLAN From: Scotland Training: Trinity College of Music and The Royal Conservatory, Den Haag For Hofesh Shechter Company: In your rooms, Political Mother: The Choreographer’s Cut, Survivor, Grand Finale Other work: Rebekah toured Brazil with the British Council-sponsored Britton-Carvalho Ensemble, freelanced with Orchestra of the Swan, Rambert Dance Company, English Touring Opera, National Theatre, Clod Ensemble and the Heritage Orchestra, and regularly guest leads the Chameleon Arts Orchestra. Recent sessions have been for Rag'n'Bone Man (BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge), Emeli Sandé, Rebecca Ferguson, Marina and the Diamonds, and numerous film scores. She performed live in Kate Tempest’s Brand New Ancients (2012). Her concerto performances include Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante and the Brahms, Beethoven and Mendelssohn Violin Concertos.

LUCY FRENCH

DESMOND NEYSMITH

From: UK Training: Birmingham Conservatoire and Guildhall School of Music and Drama For Hofesh Shechter Company: Grand Finale is Lucy’s first production with the company Other work: Since graduating in 2017, Lucy has freelanced with Longborough Festival Opera, Ixion Ensemble, Saint Paul’s Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra Vitae and the Royal Shakespeare Company.

She has performed as a soloist with The Carice Singers and regularly collaborates with composers, recently in Góis, Portugal, where she co-produced an immersive art/sound installation. For the past three months she has been a volunteer cello teacher in the Escuela de Iniciación Musical, ‘Santa Cecilia’, in Vicente Guerrero, Zaachila, Oaxaca, Mexico.

From: UK Training: Royal Academy of Music For Hofesh Shechter Company: Political Mother: The Choreographer’s Cut, Survivor, Grand Finale Other work: Desmond has been working with Hofesh since 2010 and relishes the opportunity to experience different genres of expression.

Desmond plays regularly with the orchestra of the Royal Opera House, the Philharmonia Orchestra and is principal cellist of Chineke! Orchestra.

grand finale

A HOFESH SHECHTER COMPANY PRODUCTION PRESENTED BY CANADIAN STAGE COMMISSIONED BY GEORGIA ROSENGARTEN dance programming supporter

november 14 -18 Bluma Appel Theatre DANCERS

Hofesh Shechter

Robinson Cassarino Chien-Ming Chang Frédéric Despierre

PERFORMED BY

Hofesh Shechter Company SET & COSTUMES DESIGNED BY

Tom Scutt LIGHTING DESIGNED BY

Tom Visser

From: Poland Training: Akademia Muzyczna im.

Ignacego Jana Paderewskiego w Poznaniu and London Centre of Contemporary Music For Hofesh Shechter Company: Grand Finale is Sabio’s first production with the company Other work: Sabio has associated himself with music and art since early childhood. His 23 years of experience as a composer and session multi-instrumentalist alongside world-famous artists has allowed him to develop the unique ability of being able to play more than 100 instruments, which informs his work as a musician, producer and composer.

MUSIC COLLABORATORS

#csGrandFinale

CHOREOGRAPHY, DIRECTION + ORIGINAL MUSIC

BY Hofesh Shechter

CHOREOGRAPHY & MUSIC BY

SABIO JANIAK

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Season Sponsor

Nell Catchpole and Yaron Engler ORIGINAL SCORE BY

Hofesh Shechter RECORDED PERCUSSION

Hofesh Shechter Yaron Engler

with

SCORE TRANSCRIBED BY

Christopher Allan ASSOCIATE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Bruno Guillore DESIGN ASSISTANT (SET & COSTUME)

Rosie Elnile RUN TIME: 140 MINUTES (including one 20 minute intermission) AUDIENCE ADVISORY: Grand Finale features live amplified music at concert-level volume. Ear protection is available from audience services.

Additional Music: ‘Merry Widow Waltz’ by Franz Lehar, as performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra and by arrangement with Glocken Verlag Limited, Andante Cantabile String Quartet No.1 and Suite No. 4 in G Major by Pyotr Tchaikovsky and ‘Russian Tune’ by Vladimir Zaldwich Our commissioning partners are Sadler’s Wells, Théâtre de la ville-Paris / La Villette-Paris and Brighton Dome and Festival. Co-commissioned by Colours International Dance Festival Stuttgart, Les Théâtres de la ville de Luxembourg, Romaeuropa Festival, Theatre Royal Plymouth and Marche Teatro / Inteatro Festival together with Danse Danse Montréal, HELLERAU – European Center for the Arts Dresden in cooperation with Dresdner Musikfestspiele, Dansens Hus Oslo, Athens and Epidaurus Festival, Home Manchester and Scène Nationale D’albi.

Grand Finale is generously supported by The International Music and Art Foundation

(Rehearsal Assistant 1)

Rachel Fallon MickaËl Frappat Yeji Kim (Rehearsal Assistant 2)

Kim Kohlmann Erion Kruja Attila Ronai Hannah Shepherd MUSICIANS

James Adams Rebekah Allan Lucy French Sabio Janiak Desmond Neysmith TECHNICAL MANAGER

MJ Holland RE-LIGHTER

Andrej Gubanov SOUND TECHNICIAN

Guy Coletta STAGE MANAGER

Leon Smith ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER

Emma Dymott TOUR MANAGER

Linda Peterkopa