Provocative motion from Canada

“For me, the paths and directions of the body in movement are as real as the bones that compose it and the thoughts that govern it,” the choreographer Edouard Lock once said.
Lock’s latest brainchild for the Montreal-based dance company La La La Human Steps, “Amelia,” is on a world tour through the fall. The company will be in Seoul for performances at the LG Arts Center from June 3 to 5.
“Amelia” ― a co-production of Korean, French, Canadian, Dutch, Belgian and Austrian entities ― had its world debut in 2002 at the Prague State Opera in the Czech Republic. The piece opened the 2003 Dance Inversion International Festival of Modern Dance in Moscow, of which one critic wrote, “The first three minutes were enough for the audience to feel an aesthetic shock.”
The Chicago Tribune’s Sid Smith wrote, “Ballet can be fast and adventurous, but in the hands of Canadian choreographer Edouard Lock, it becomes revolutionary, as startling and provocative as any dance imaginable.”
In “Amelia,” Lock’s dancers perform lightning-quick and complex moves on toe, a visual play on seduction and passion.
The scores were composed by New Yorker David Lang for the piano, violin and cello. Nadine Medawar sings. Lighting effects are by John Munro and set design by Stephane Roy. Film and video are also used. The setup may sound elaborate, and in a sense it is, but Lock actually uses a black-on-black presentation to strip the stage bare.
Born in Casablanca in 1954, Lock moved to Montreal at an early age, but it was only at university that he became fascinated with dance. By age 21, he had choreographed a piece for Groupe Nouvelle Aire, one of the most avant-garde dance companies in Quebec.
He founded his own company, Lock-Danseurs, in 1980, but changed the name to La La La Human Steps to turn the spotlight away from him. Pieces like “Orange,” “Businessman in the Process of Becoming an Angel” and “Human Sex” were award-winners.
His works have evolved over the years. Works on point started in 1986 with “Break Dances,” set to Tchaikovsky’s Concerto for Violin in D Major, followed by “New Demons,” which made use of traditional Indian devotional chants and pop. Following the “New Demons” world tour, U.S. News and World Report magazine named him one of 10 artists most likely to influence American culture. For the 10th anniversary of London’s Institute of Contemporary Arts, Lock choreographed a piece for his muse, Louise Lecavalier, and David Bowie as part of a performance-art piece entitled “Wrap Around the World.” The Korean video artist Paik Nam June was part of this 1988 collaboration. With “Amelia,” Lock continues to explore the human gesture, with nine dancers.

by Joe Yong-hee

Tickets are 30,000 ($26) to 70,000 won. For more information, visit the Web site www.lgart.com, or call (02) 2005-0114.