It’s been described as a ‘danced musical video for the MTV generation’ and is as far from what you would expect of contemporary dance as possible. Hofesh Shechter, the brains behind Political Mother, tells Ramona Depares how the concept was born.

How, and why, was Political Mother born?

Political Mother started with a little sketch in my notebook that outlines the imagery of the first eight minutes, give or take, of the piece. It was a train of thoughts translated into images, images of different realities flashing one after the other – it was very simple – I was curious as to the emotional effect these series of images will have.

Their somewhat contradictory nature felt interesting and intriguing to me and mirrored questions that were rolling in my head about how we accept the existence of different, parallel realities.

It’s a sort of a hard-hitting, loud, powerful piece, using all elements imagery, audio, movement vocabulary live music on stage and hinted character world that make the piece a total experience. Political Mother is a very angry piece... There was a bit more of a let go in this process, or, allowing the piece to become more extreme in its venture to tell a story about power, the human attraction to power and how pathetic it is.

It is a loud and overwhelming experience, including a metal band on stage, a shouty leader, a set of characters in a jigsaw of worlds.

Contemporary dance is one of the more notoriously inaccessible genres of art and your message is a strong one – do you believe that the audiences ‘get it’?

For me, success is when the audience can forget themselves in the intellectual sense, losing the judging part of the brain. And they are suddenly drowning, totally engaged, they lose themselves inside this massive sound, movement, visuals, whatever emotions it brings.

It’s when the carpet is dragged really quickly from under your thinking mind and you experience a powerful emotion without seeing it coming.

Your shows are often described as a high octance rock show, rather than a straight dance production – what is it about your shows, that leads to this description?

For me, loud music can make the experience more intense and focused, in particular for Political Mother it’s about creating a very specific atmosphere.

You created both music and choreography yourself. What influences your sound and your choreography?

Music is the reason I do dance. That’s it. I love the feeling when music is played in a theatre.

It just gives me a thrill… It can create an atmosphere, it can create rules, it can create thoughts, it can take you somewhere in a split second. It is as important as the dance and is the big connecting thing. Making dance is about focusing energy into physical being, that’s the essence of it and in my experience, that’s when it is in its strongest form for both performer and spectator.

What are the typical reactions from the audience?

It’s amazing. We are very privileged to have such a supportive audience in every corner of the world and be able to reach them all and share these emotions with them is unbelievable. What are the biggest challenges in putting up a work of this nature? The process is highly complex. It starts on my own and later on, slowly grows through work on music, work in the studio with the dancers, with designers, collaborators, conversations and so on.

At the end of the day though, as a choreographer, you make the decisions alone. As the title implies, Political Mother carries a strong political message.

Now that some seven years have passed since you created it, is there a specific situation on the international stage that you find reflected in the work?

I am and therefore my work is, influenced by my experience of the world. Human interaction is what I find interesting, surprising, sad, hopeful, pathetic and so on. The way people interact along with their motives are my inspiration.

The world of dance is about connecting with people without barriers. Politics is doing the opposite

I am hoping to create an emotional world in a work, something of a confusing experience for my audience rather than a coherent analytical experience. An experience of sensations and emotions is what makes dance such an interesting device – trying to define that device too clearly is very dangerous in the way it can ruin it.

You are known for not being afraid of experimenting. Is there anything that you consider unacceptable on stage? Is there ever a stage when you can go: this is unnecessary?

I find asking relevant questions, even if difficult, acceptable. What is less acceptable for me is things that happen on stage just for the sake of shocking or upsetting, when it feels not genuine. And, of course, hurting people or animals on stage is unacceptable! But otherwise, when it comes to genuine, relevant, problematic issues and questions to raise on stage… I think it’s a very interesting and important thing to do. To challenge our own thinking.

What is wrong with the world today?

There is violence in the world. Just go out in the streets and you will see the brutality of people, see the way that they behave with each other, the way they drive, the way they walk and talk. You can see everywhere the fight for a place, for territory, for power. The world is shouting so loud you can no longer understand anything.

And can the arts be used to counteract this?

The world of dance generally, along with the world of art, is about connecting with people without barriers, without problems of language, or of territory, of borders. Politics is doing the opposite; politics is separating, defining. I think it’s ambitious to say that art can heal the world, but dance can change your state of mind for the moment you watch it, it can be a little change but at times the impact can be lasting.

Political Mother is part of the Malta International Arts Festival. The performance takes place on July 13 at 9pm at Fort St Elmo, Valletta. Tickets are available online.

http://maltaartsfestival.org/

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