Choreographer: Armin Hokmi
Armin Hokmi makes his Sadler’s Wells debut with the UK premiere of Shiraz, inspired by an arts festival which took place annually for ten years between 1967 and 1977 in Southern Iran. This is contemporary dance at its most hypnotic, a piece that doesn’t simply recall history but breathes new life into it through mesmerising choreography that exists in a realm of beautiful paradox.
Shiraz is a choreography for seven dancers, weaving together a fabric of movements and gestures, and what emerges is genuinely compelling. The dancers move in synchronised randomness, dancing in unison yet somehow alone, each occupying their own physical space while remaining acutely aware of and connected to the others. This tension between unity and independence, togetherness and solitude, runs through the entire piece.
The soundtrack is striking: an industrial rhythm underpinned by Middle Eastern melodic influences that drives the dancers into an almost trance-like state. The music’s insistent pulse complements Hokmi’s vision, creating an atmosphere where historical memory and contemporary movement converge.
The starting point for this piece is the Shiraz Arts Festival, a festival for live arts that radically rethought the relationship to the audience and challenged conventional ideas about how art should be presented. Hokmi transforms this historical inspiration into something visceral and immediate. The dancers trace patterns that feel simultaneously choreographed and improvised, their bodies creating ephemeral constellations that form and dissolve with notable fluidity.
What makes Shiraz particularly successful is how it embodies paradox. Shiraz is both an homage and a fictional setting, seeking to reimagine the ambitions of the festival and its love for the live arts. The performers are unified but independent, synchronised but free. This is a dance that invites you to surrender to its hypnotic pull, a considered exploration of cultural memory and the enduring power of connection.
Runs until 15 November 2025
