LA LA LA HUMAN STEPS

AMJAD

ISRAEL

Tel-Aviv
“A brilliant group of dancers and an inquisitive choreographer offer an intriguing work that explodes with energy, dizzying with its high-velocity moves […] Lock, like he has on former creations, goes all the way. It is a brave, bold and highly intelligent piece of art that finds its match in the newly composed music by Gavin Bryars and David Lang, performed onstage by a superb quartet.”

The Jerusalem Post, Tel-Aviv, January 12, 2009

SINGAPORE

Singapore
“An exquisite masterpiece, Amjad furthers the dialogue between modern ballet and its classical roots in a ferocious, majestic display.”
The Straits Times, Singapore, June 23, 2008

U.S.A

Los Angeles
Hip to Tchaikovsky
“The composers for Amjad are hip... The Amjad lighting is also hip… The costumes, all but one black, with the men sometimes bare chested, are -- you guessed it -- hip. The dancing is daft and dazzling… Lock's choreography was full of subversive plays on Petipa. Dancing on pointe was common, but Lock paid little tribute to tradition. There is seldom repose in his work. When stationary, the company became La La La Human Semaphores. The arms of the nine dancers were as astonishing as their legs. Rapidly quivering arm movements in harsh light created the effect of wings moving in the air.”

The Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, April 7, 2008

UNITED KINGDOM

London
“But this febrile, fantastical dream, a fragmentary swirl of iconic sights and sounds from Tchaikovsky's great ballets, goes way beyond imagining […] Amjad is an exhilarating memory trip and a brute assault course all in one […] For the nine dancers it's a stunning tour de force. They deliver at speeds no human being should be capable of; they are fearless and ultra-chic.”
The London Times, London, February 1, 2008

“[…] the essence of Lock's language is extraordinary, classical steps wired to extremes of speed and expression. And the focused conviction with which both dancers and musicians perform make this a true homage to its classical sources.”

The Guardian, London, February 1, 2008

FRANCE

Paris
« Edouard Lock affole et radicalise la danse classique […] Quelle intensité! […] Une heure quarante-cinq de haut voltage! Edouard Lock ne fait pas mentir sa réputation : du spectacle, d’accord, mais explosif, increvable. […] La vitesse supersonique de la danse érotise brutalement les duos. […] son écriture de l’affolement prend ici toute sa puissance […] Son utilisation des pointes très sexe, se révèle exceptionnelle. […] L’humanité mise en scène par Lock veut l’extase. Férocement. »
Le Monde Week-end, Paris, November 24, 2007

« Une pointe de génie. Pour Edouard Lock et la compagnie La La La Human Steps, l’amour est un espace à réinventer. Le pied. […] Edouard Lock, chorégraphe visionnaire de son état et fondateur de l’une des plus incroyables machines à danser qui soit, La La La Human Steps […] avec Amjad, sa dernière création, Edouard Lock nous balance un sacré coup de pied aux fesses. […] L’art de danser sur pointes, sans pour autant céder aux pensées mortes, est rarement projeté à ce niveau de pertinence. »
Télérama, Paris, December 15 to 21, 2007

SPAIN

Barcelona
“Canadian company La La La Human Steps treats audiences in Barcelona to another magnificent performance […] A stimulating, dazzling show […] If you love emotional intensity, don’t miss Amjad.”

El pais, Barcelona, November 14, 2007

“An electrifying work […] An abstract work that has the audience entranced with the quality of its interpretation […] Eight dancers who are borderline superhuman.”

El periodico de catalunya, Barcelona, November 17, 2007

“As of today, the word Amjad will stand for a dance piece that’s capital-A art — a work that’s feminine and masculine, classic and modern, funny and serious all at once, as only Édouard Lock could create.”

Avui Barcelone, Barcelona, November 19, 2007

SWEDEN

Stockholm
“Brilliant teamwork […] The dancers have exceptional timing and dizzying technical precision.”

Svenska Dagbladet, Stockholm, November 18, 2007

“Superhuman dance company […] Powerfully, and with the company’s characteristic tightness, a very rare intensity is created.”

Aftonbladet, Stockholm, November 18, 2007

“Swan Lake’s theme of inner search and longing has been translated into art for century 2000 dreamers in distress.”

Expressen, Stockholm, October 18, 2007

““Virtuosity performed.”

Upsala Nya Tidning, Stockholm, October 24, 2007

“Knockout! La La La Human Steps invites us to a lesson in perfection. […] The exceptional, superb dancers are required to give their utmost. And they give a bit more. […] Amjad is fascinating, beautiful, dizzying, illusive. and La La La Human Steps belongs to the ABC of dance.”

Dagens Nyheter, Stockholm, October 19, 2007

GERMANY

Frankfurt
“For 25 years, the Montreal dance troupe has enjoyed an enviable international reputation. […] The latest stroke of genius from this choreographer is entitled Amjad.”

Wiesbadener Kurier, Frankfurt, September 1, 2007

“With Amjad, presented at the Jarhunderthalle, Canadian troupe La La La Human Steps provides hope for dance in Frankfurt. […] Nine agile, athletic and eminent dancers.”

Frankfurter Neue Presse, Frankfurt, September 1, 2007

Düsseldorf
“In Amjad, a man dances en pointe: one of the most beautiful images we have ever been served up.”

Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger, Düsseldorf, August 27, 2007

“[Édouard Lock] gives Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty a contemporary spin. […] He has dubbed this ambiguous work Amjad— an astonishing choreography that’s blowing away audiences at the Tanzhaus.”

Westdeutsche Zeitung, Düsseldorf, August 25, 2007

“Breathtaking speed, seemingly endless pirouettes, a near-staccato tempo, choppy movements, dancers twirling onstage like projectiles — there’s enough here to enthuse any audience. Édouard Lock has radically transformed classical ballet into a bullet train.”
Mannheimer, Düsseldorf, August 25, 2007

AUSTRIA

Vienna
“Masterful deconstruction of Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty […] A programmed success, the choreographer works with the aid of his hypervirtuosos dancers.”

Der Standard, Vienna, August 9, 2007

CANADA

Vancouver
“It’s not often you get to watch a complete work of art on stage but that’s what Lock has created in his latest ballet. […] Amjad is a force of nature : beautiful, surprising, and often frightening.”

Vancouver Sun, Vancouver, June 19, 2007

Quebec
« Comme deux métaux précieux, le classique et le moderne se marient à la perfection dans Amjad de La La La Human Steps. Merci au chorégraphe Édouard Lock dont le génie créateur nous a encore une fois soufflés […] À travers cet esthétisme où aucun détail n’est laissé au hasard, le chorégraphe réussit à humaniser la danse, à la rendre sensible, fragile, émotive et sensuelle. Pas de doute, le classique sied à merveille à la La La Human Steps. »

Le Soleil, Quebec, June 6, 2007

Toronto
“It is fabulously physical, at times breathtaking in its sexy athleticism. It was passionate and physical and filled with portents.”

The Globe and Mail, Toronto, May 17, 2007

“World Premiere La La La Human Steps’ new work is a triumph of style and substance, Masters of illusion fly through time. [...] Choreographer Édouard Lock is an international darling because he gives audience razzle-dazzle. […] The result is a refreshing homage to the past while relentlessly pointing to the future. [...] It is as if he is saying that classical ballet does not have to be a museum and can be made to be relevant for today.”

The Globe and Mail, Toronto, April 23, 2007

Montreal
« La danse est magnifique: virtuose, audacieuse, métissage savant de haute technicité et de gestes impromptus. »

Communications VOIR, Montreal, May 10, 2007

« Amjad met en vedette neuf danseurs virtuoses, exceptionnels […] Un ballet classique en haute vitesse d’un romantisme noir comme notre époque […] De la grande classe qui nous fera honneur de Berlin à Los Angeles en passant par Barcelone et Budapest.
Téléjournal, Radio- Canada, Montreal, April 27, 2007

« Bienvenue dans l’univers d’Amjad, la nouvelle création de La La La Human Steps, dont la danse n’a rien perdu de sa charge physique et émotive. [...] Lock nous offre un des plus touchant travail de partenaire de sa carrière, dont une valse à trois hommes, aussi masculine que délicate, ainsi qu’un surprenant pas de deux [...] »

La Presse, Montreal, April 27, 2007

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