The first part of the double bill, titled Clowns, questions society’s seeming indifference to violence, with dancers depicting a killing spree in a display of choreographed anarchy. The second part, The Fix, provides a tender antidote to that murderous energy by presenting a gentle exploration of human interactions.

“Clowns began as a playful exploration of the medieval royal court jesters employed to entertain kings,” says artistic director Hofesh Shechter, who originally created that piece for the Nederlands Dans Theater in 2016.

“We were creating theatrical killings on stage as a form of entertainment. But I began asking myself: why I was even curious about it? The more we choreographed it, the more powerful it became as an experience – you’re enjoying it, but it became disturbing.”

Shechter is an accomplished choreographer and composer, with works that combine different dance styles, from tribal to tap, and are complemented by atmospheric musical scores.

The creations of the Israeli-born and UK-based artist, made in reaction to the complex world around him, have drawn acclaim. In 2018, he was named an honorary Officer of the Order of the British Empire for his services to dance. At last year’s Cannes World Film Festival, he won the Best Dance Film award for Political Mother: The Final Cut, which he choreographed and directed as a statement on the political structures that define society.

In regards to what drives his work, Shechter says: “Being a child in Jerusalem is a reality that is tense. But I very quickly realised that there is another reality that augments our own, which is art – where you can experience things in very different ways than normal life.”

He adds: “It was a way to connect with people beyond language, and beyond the limitation of my hope. It was a way to express myself.”

Double Murder grew from a desire to create something that could inspire hope in an increasingly troubled world. As Clowns evolved after its original staging in the Netherlands, Shechter found that it had become increasingly depressing to watch.

So he created The Fix to serve as a counterbalance to the violent overtones of Clowns. The newer piece emphasises kinder and more vulnerable connections between humans, with the dancers’ movements becoming gentle and intimate. Shechter also experimented with what he calls a “landscape of sound”, using a meditative beat to follow the dancers’ close interactions.

“The dancers really have to listen to and be with each other, not the music,” he notes. “There are a lot of shifts of energy.”

Although The Fix was developed before the pandemic struck, the last few years have made the message of the piece feel even more poignant, Shechter says.

“That conversation about hope was already there, but everything became more focused and powerful. I’m trying to make work that is relevant. Dance can touch very deep issues like loss and love. But it can touch complex issues … and that sense that we are all a part of it.”

Production crosses borders and boundaries

The New Visions Arts Festival will also present the multimedia production The Once and Future on October 21 and 22 at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre. It combines film, laser displays and a live music performance to transport the audience to a world where the human race has migrated to the digital realm in an attempt to escape environmental catastrophes, choosing to exist as a collective artificial intelligence instead.

Singaporean filmmaker Yeo Siew Hua, who created the cinematic portion of the production, says: “The environment is a concern that is increasingly shared by all artists and filmmakers, because it’s an existential situation for all of us. Many of us are taking this seriously and contemplating its consequences.”

Yeo is known for his work on social issues, especially the struggles of the underdogs. He made the critically acclaimed 2014 documentary The Obs: A Singapore Story, which focused on a rebellious but ultimately successful art-rock band from the city state. He also received the Golden Leopard prize at the 71st Locarno Film Festival for his 2018 film A Land Imagined, which highlighted the plight of exploited migrant workers.

In The Once and Future, he addresses the entire human race and the unsettling predictions about what lies ahead for us. Yeo’s work will be accompanied by an original score by Eugene Birman, a contemporary composer known for creating intense music based on socially relevant issues.

During the show, Birman’s compositions will be performed live by members of the Berliner Philharmoniker playing as the ZeMu! Ensemble Berlin, under the baton of conductor Stanley Dodds. Joining them will be vocal soloist Anandi Bhattacharya, a librettist renowned for blending her classical Indian music training with pop and other genres.

Yeo recalls how this multinational production came to be. “[Producer] Roger Garcia approached us and wanted to make a work about voyages ... to cross multiple countries,” he says. But then, the Covid-19 pandemic hit. “Travel became almost impossible. I happened to be in Argentina, where I based myself for half of the time. It’s a large country, so we could still create a sense of a voyage.”

Filming abroad amid pandemic restrictions was a surprisingly pleasant experience for Yeo. “It was a really enjoyable way of working,” he says. As was common practice at that time, the collaborators had to conduct most of their communications online. Yeo also had to seize small windows of opportunity between lockdowns in Argentina to shoot with a locally recruited cast.

It was no small feat to coordinate the production’s multiple components. “The challenge for me as a filmmaker is that the film always takes centre stage,” Yeo says. “But this required me to think about it as a fuller piece of work, and how to create space for all the elements for play. I devised scenes that were less dependent on conversations and dialogues on screen.”

In the film for The Once and Future, very few words are spoken. Instead, dramatic music and singing guides the audience through scenes that evoke a sense of nostalgia. The film depicts people who have forsaken their bodies to exist digitally, with only their memories remaining – of things like companionship, being in nature and experiencing the senses.

During the creative process for the overall production, Yeo suggested incorporating a laser show to illustrate the presence of a consciousness. “I was trying to imagine a sort of singular consciousness without a body, to have something that can engage meaningfully with not just the image, but also the music,” he says.

“So the idea was to use a laser to re-create this consciousness. It interacts with the images, but also creates a certain kind of choreography. It dances with the music.”

The Once and Future was co-commissioned by the New Vision Arts Festival, and debuted in June last year at the Singapore International Festival of Arts.