Mercury feet set. Chic elegance. Spider sets and black fishnet suits are cool enough to be featured on the cover of Vogue. La La La Human Steps is where ballet and high fashion collide; where traditional movements are redefined to current relevance. The choreography is an interplay of speed and extremes, a physical challenge mixed with lyricism that has brought the Canadian ballet company to international fame. But it is their unique combination of innovative dance vocabulary, contemporary music, and film effects that sets them apart from other ballet companies of their caliber.
The dancers have classic training, but add sports training to develop the right strength for the gravity-defying twists and turns and leg whipping each piece requires. This year, the company celebrates its 30th anniversary with a new work created by founder and choreographer Edouard Lock, featuring Kirov prima ballerina Diana Vishneva, who was recently described as “the most important classical dancer today” by Ballet Magazine. The North American debut of the new work will be in May at the Place des Arts’ Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier. As of yet, there are no announced plans for a US tour.
Since the founding of La La La Human Steps in 1980, Edouard Lock has collaborated with an eclectic lineup of stars, including David Bowie, Frank Zappa, Skinny Puppy, and David Lang. He has created works for the Paris National Opera, the Paris Opera Ballet and the Netherlands Dance Theater. Since the creation of “Human Sex” (1985), the ballet company has toured the world, to Europe and Asia, touring two years for each new production.
His most beloved play, “Amelia” (2002), originally choreographed for the Prague Opera, has been made into a film that debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York, followed by the Slamdance Film Festival in Park City Utah. . It is a study of chic wrestling, the dramatic emotions that come to life in the limbs of dancers, including principal dancer and muse, Louise Lecavalier. Its use of multiple angles offers perspective distortion that alternates between falling and flying at times. The film has won the best of its category in numerous international festivals, and received 2 GEMINI AWARDS for best director and best editing, 2 ICE (individual creative excellence) awards from the National Association of Broadcasters of the United States for the best director of photography and editing. and was a finalist at the International Emmy Awards. Direct blocking of all your own videos. Excerpts from the movie “Amelia” can be found on YouTube.
