Hofesh Shechter

Hofesh Shechter was born in 1975 in Jerusalem

Hofesh Shechter was born in Jerusalem in 1975. He began studying piano at 6 and became interested in folk dance at 12.

At 15 he was accepted to the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance as a pianist. Once there, he moved to dance and studied ballet and modern dance.

During his army service he held a clerical job in Tel Aviv and trained with the Batsheva Ensemble. He later danced in the main Batsheva company, in works by Ohad Naharin and Wim Vandekeybus, while also studying percussion.

After 3 years he left Batsheva to study music in Paris and play drums in a rock band. In 2002 he moved to London to dance with the Jasmin Vardimon Company, and in 2003 he created his first work, Fragments.

He founded his own dance company in 2008 and created works such as Political Mother and Grand Finale. In 2016 he was nominated for a Tony Award for the choreography of Fiddler on the Roof on Broadway, and in 2018 he received an honorary OBE.