La La La Human Steps and the choreographer Édouard Lock
The work of Édouard Lock and the La La La Human Steps ensemble includes the presentation of many original chorographical works, such as: Lily Marlene in the Jungle (1980), Oranges (1981), Businessman in the Process of Becoming an Angel (1983), Human Sex (1985) and New Demons (1987), Infante, c'est destroy (1991 - music: Einstürzende Neubauten), 2 (1995). With each new performance, the dance ensemble embarks upon a two-year long tour, taking them throughout Europe, North and South America, the Middle East and Asia. The premiere of the last choreographic work by Lock made for the La La La Human Steps ensemble, called Salt, was made following a six-week residency at the Saitama Arts Theater in Japan in 1998. The world tour of this performance ended in 2000.
La La La Human Steps and Édouard Lock also often work together with rock musicians: Édouard Lock was the artistic director for David Bowie's Sound and Vision tour, the director of all the films from this tour, and created the choreography for his song Look Back in Anger for the concert in the London Institute of Contemporary Arts. In 1992 La La La Human Steps participated in a project by Frank Zappa and the contemporary music orchestra Ensemble Modern, called The Yellow Shark, which was performed in the Frankfurt Alte Oper, the Berlin Philharmonic and Vienna Konzerthaus.
From the last choreography Salt. Author: Édouard Lock.
Since its establishment, the performances of La La La Human Steps have been presented at many international dance festival and stages, such as the Internationale Tanzwochen Wien in Vienna, the Jerusalem Festival, Internationales Tanzfest in Berlin, Spring Dance Festival (Netherlands), Edinburgh Festival (Scotland), Carlton Dance Festival (Brazil), Greek Festival (Barcelona), Octobre en Normandie (France), Dance Theatre Workshop in New York, Théâtre de la Ville in Paris, Sadler's Wells in London, Het Muziektheater in Amsterdam, Cankarjev Dom in Ljubljana, Centro cultural de Belém in Lisbon, Saitama Arts Theater in Japan and Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles. La La La Human Steps also regularly performs at Montreal's Place des Arts, National Arts Centre in Ottawa and the Hummingbird Centre in Toronto.
Édouard Lock was born in 1954 in Casablanca, moving to Quebec after his third year. He created his first choreographic work at the age of 21 for the Groupe Nouvelle Aire, a group that has launched the careers of a majority of the Quebec contemporary choreographers. Additional choreographic works followed: for the Museum of Fine Arts, Groupe de la Place Royal and Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. With this experience, he then founded the group Lock-Danseurs in 1980, which later was renamed La La La Human Steps.
Édouard Lock is the recipient of many prestigious awards, such as: the Bessie Award (New York), Jean A. Chalmers Award (the highest Canadian award for choreography - 1981 and 2001) and National Arts Centre Prize (for the most exceptional contribution to dance in Canada - 2001). He was named by the media and critics as "one of the ten artists most likely to influence North-American culture" (U.S. News and World Report), "Dance Personality of the Year" (La Presse, Montreal) and "one of the top ten choreographers in the world" (1997 - Dance Magazine, Tokyo). In 2002 he was named Officer of the Order of Canada, which is the highest Canadian award for lifetime contribution.
In addition to his works for La La La Human Steps, Lock has choreographed pieces for the Dutch Nederlands Dans Theater 1 (Touch to Include), Theater am Turm in Frankfurt, The Netherlands National Ballet (Bread Dances to the music of Tchaikovsky's Concert in D major for the violin), the Parisian Théâtre de la Ville, Opéra de Paris, Centre National de Danse contemporaine in Angers, Festival international de nouvelle danse in Montreal, Festival Octobre en Normandie in Rouen, Grande Ballets Canadiens (Études), Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and many others. Édouard Lock has also photographed his performances himself and his photographs have been exhibited in Montreal, Los Angeles and Stockholm.
In 1996 Édouard Lock and Louise Lecavalier participated in the documentary film Inspiration by the British director Michael Apted, which was about the creative processes of artists from various areas, including the painter Roy Lichtenstein, the musician David Bowie and the architect Tadao Ando.
David Lang
The music composer David Lang is a co-founder and the artistic co-director of the Festival of New Music Bang on a Can. He has composed music for companies such as the Santa Fe Opera, the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, The Cleveland Symphony Orchestra and Kronos Quartet, and his music can be heard in the choreographic works of, for example, Ashley Page, Twyla Tharp, Susan Marshall, Margaret Jenkins Company, Alvin Ailey Company, The Nederlands Dans Theater, Boston Ballet, Shen Wei and the Royal Ballet. His works have been presented in Lincoln Center, the South Bank Centre, Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Barbican Centre, and in the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Most recently, he composed an opera for the Kronos Quartet based upon the libretto of Mac Wellman and directed by Carey Perloff, an opera with computer animation for the visual artist Ronald Jones, the opera Modern Painters about the art critic John Ruskin, etc. His compositions have already been heard several time in Archa Theatre played by Agon Orchestra, Charlie Barber Orchestra from Great Britain, in the choreography of the Margaret Jenkins Company and during the concert of his own orchestra Bang on a Can All Stars.
Stéphane Roy
Following the completion of his studies at the National Theatre School in Canada in 1988, Roy worked as a stage designer on more than 60 productions in the field of theatre, film, dance and advertising, including: performances by the groups O Vertigo, Cirque du Soleil, Espace Go, the Jean-Duceppe ensemble and others.
