Its been an amazing journey full of outsized memories folded over decades. The artists I met, worked with and today hold as friends. The people we performed for and those who made our performances possible. Memories linked one to the other regardless of time or origin. Today this wonderful adventure ends. I’m announcing my resignation as choreographer and artistic director of LaLaLa Human Steps, a position it’s been my great privilege to hold for 35 years. The last tour was a difficult one financially. Though the debt was reduced substantially due to the generosity of many of our creditors, the cuts that followed and the decision not to guarantee more than the current year of subsidy has made it impossible to continue. My letter of resignation has been sent to the funders and a resolution dissolving the company has been signed by the board. LHS is no more. It’s time to say goodbye and to give thanks.
I couldn’t have imagined all that was to come when on June 10, 1980 the company premiered its first creation in a small theatre in the working class district of St. Henri. From that Eskabel theatre to the The Kremlin Palace. From The Kitchen in the SoHo of the 80’s to the Palais Garnier Place de l’Opera. 275 theatres each anchored to their time. Over the years in the dark of the stalls, I was never able to meet the audiences for which I was so privileged to perform. Though they will always remain intimate strangers, I believe the company’s history and identity will always reside first and foremost in the living memory of these audiences.
I am so thankful to have shared this journey over these many years with such talented artists. The diversity each composer brought to their work and the excellence of their contributions ranging from Hindu pop, to a deconstruction of Orfeo, to a score lovingly built around Lou Reed’s lyrics, encapsulated a unique moment in the life of the company and the streets of the time. The visual artists whose work framed our stages with their twisting lace and shadowed forms : After a performance, when the décor hung alone, lit in black, I would sit and observe dance of another kind. The film community who helped migrate my work onto new media and new lands and whose outreach enabled bodies of light to dance on the cinema screen. The designer who’s black on black designs, intricate whispered textures and couture creations framed my ballets for 23 years. The lighting designers who helped me rediscover what my fathers drawings had taught me : that shapes are more playful in shadow. The musicians who danced with us over the years, instrument in hand and whose meticulous attention to detail brought these complex scores so unerringly and passionately to life. To all these amazing artists I give great thanks. To the dancers what can I say. Their dancing covered them in a mystery that only beauty at its most fragile deserves. To these dance artists who traced such a unique path through the years and who reached both into the work and out toward the seats in equal measure I offer my heartfelt gratitude.
LHS公式より
鬼才エドゥアール・ロック率いるカナダ・モントリオールのダンスカンパニー、ラ・ラ・ラ・ヒューマンステップスが35年間の活動に終止符を打ち、解散することを発表しました。
代表作の一つ「アメリア」は、ため息の出るほど美しい世界でした。
最後に行ったツアーで大きな赤字を残してしまい、今後の財政的な支援の拡大も望めないことが、解散の大きな理由ということです。非常に残念なことです。