Hofesh Shechter Opens Up About His 'Very Folkloristic' FIDDLER ON THE ROOF Choreography

The highly anticipated new revival of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF starring Danny Burstein and directed by Bartlett Sher is getting a slight modern twist. Choreographer Hofesh Shechter talked to The Wall Street Journal about bringing a modern spin on the Fiddler on the Roof choreography.

In a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal, Hofesh Shechter talked about bringing his own modern twist the iconci choreography in Fiddler on the Roof. He says the choreography is "something about the palms up. Very strong palms... Very folkloristic."

Bartlett Sher spoke to working with Shechter saying, "He's not steeped in the world of musical theater... He's coming from the world of pure dance."

Hofesh Shechter was a young dancer in Israel's Batsheva Dance Company and established his own company in 2008 and has won numerous awards in Europe. He is also an associate artist at Sadler's Wells, London's premiere venue for dance.

Shechter tells The Wall Street Journal that the culture rooted in Fiddler on the Roof is reflected in the choreography. He says, "There is a lot of dance in the culture... It was raw, strong. It is about...the strength of the group." Working with Bart Sher has also been a new experience for Shechter. He says that they both connected over what they want to accomplish with the new choreography in Fiddler on the Roof. Shechter says, "When Bart said to me...'I want it to be real,' I connected to it," He adds, "Bart is not asking me to change myself for Broadway. We are creating movement that comes from my culture."

Check out the full Wall Street Journal article here.

The upcoming Broadway revival of Fiddler on the Roof will begin performances on Friday, November 20, 2015, with an official opening night on Sunday, December 20, 2015, at The Broadway Theatre (1681 Broadway). It will star Danny Burstein as Tevye, Jessica Hecht as Golde, Adam Dannheisser as Lazar Wolf, Adam Kantor as Motel, Alix Korey as Yente,Samantha Massell as Hodel, Melanie Mooreas Chava, Ben Rappaport as Perchik, Nick Rehberger as Fyedka, Alexandra Silber as Tzeitel and more.

Fiddler on the Roof will be directed by Tony Award winner Bartlett Sher, who most recently helmed the 2015 Tony Award-winning Broadway revival of The King and I. Sher has directed Burstein on Broadway in the revivals of Golden Boy and South Pacific, as well as in Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. It will be choreographed by Hofesh Shechter, inspired by the original choreography of Jerome Robbins, and the music director will be Ted Sperling (The King and I, South Pacific).

Fiddler on the Roof has book by Joseph Stein, music by Jerry Bock and lyrics bySheldon Harnick. The original Broadway production of the show, which opened in 1964, was the first musical in history to surpass 3,000 performances. The show won the 1965 Tony Award for Best Musical in addition to eight other Tony Awards that year.