We caught up with David Steele, Head of Education and Learning Partnerships, at Hofesh Shechter Company (HSC) who talks us through developments within the partnership between NSCD and Hofesh Shechter Company over the last four and a half years.
How has the partnership developed since the inception in 2021?
"As with all our partnerships we started slowly but surely, finding a way forward as we established an understanding of how our two institutions could effectively work together. It now feels, after four and a half years, as if the partnership has matured and our two organisations have found a way to ensure that Hofesh’s work has a real presence within the range of experiences that the students encounter over their time at NSCD. I would also stick my neck out and suggest that some of the students are using the work to develop their own practices in terms of how they approach movement. Graduating students have been able to meet the work and absorb it over the duration of their course developing a sense of ownership and individual presence. I think this was tangibly (and beautifully) evidenced at the recent auditions for our junior company, Shechter II, where two students who trained at NSCD were selected from amongst more than 1,200 applicants to join our second company."
What has been delivered to date?
"Over the years of our engagement with NSCD we have delivered a full range of the dance practices that both underpins our company work and the vocabulary of Hofesh’s creations. The students have had the opportunity to explore our approach to movement fundamentals, improvisation, creative task and repertory. At the end of the 2024 academic year, one of the original cast of Hofesh’s Grand Finale restaged an extract of the work together with some of the final year NSCD students. So, the short answer is that we have delivered a full experience of our work from company warm up class through to repertory in performance. In addition, although not directly part of the curriculum, we have also had the opportunity to present Shechter II in the Riley Theatre. Seeing Shechter II in their own home theatre, is a fantastic way of giving NSCD students a sense of where all those hours in the studio ends up."
What should current and prospective students look forward to?
"It really feels as if NSCD and our company have developed a healthy and creative dynamic and so hopefully an ongoing momentum in terms of the work that we can achieve together. I should also say that I believe that one of the standout aspects of our partnership is the meeting between our extraordinary dance artists and the students. I have always believed that proximity to professional practice is essential in the growth of young dance artists. At HSC, from the top down, we believe that all of our HSC education work should be delivered by our company artists. The very people who are at the centre of the company, its creations and its professional practices an invaluable exchange of the skills that underpin and support the development of artistry and professional practice. Oh, and they can also look forward to seeing and cheering on two of their own as part of Shechter II."
What are your thoughts on NSCD alum Skyie Nataliah and Ella Roberts' successful entry into the junior company?
"Applications for the auditions for Shechter II are always many and in the past graduates from NSCD have been successful in getting through and joining the junior company and other areas of our work. We were absolutely delighted, as signposting career pathways is an essential aspect of the education work that we do at HSC, that this was also true for the auditions that took place in 2025, where again two students from NSCD were selected to join our second company, was fantastic. That’s two amongst just eight company members for the next season, drawn from across the world. Of course, it’s not just the fact that Skyie and Ella had exposure to the work whilst students at NSCD, they are both beautiful dancers and their success is clearly grounded in their individual talent and skill, but they were familiar and versed in the dynamic of Hofesh’s movement and how we work as a company. They have a very exciting time ahead of them!"
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