Édouard Lock (born March 3, 1954 in Morocco) is a Canadian dance choreographer and the founder of the Canadian dance group,

La La La Human Steps La La La Human Steps was a Québécois contemporary dance group in Canada, active between 1980 and 2015, known for its energetic, acrobatic style involving fast-paced and athletic physical contact. Its signature move was the barrel jump – a gra ...

Career

Founder, Artistic Director and Choreographer Édouard Lock began his choreographic career at the age of 20 and founded La La La Human Steps in 1980. Over the years Mr. Lock has been invited to create works for some of the world's leading dance companies, including the

Paris Opera Ballet The Paris Opera Ballet () is a French ballet company that is an integral part of the Paris Opera. It is the oldest national ballet company, and many European and international ballet companies can trace their origins to it. It is still regarded a ...

, the Het Nationale Ballet of Holland, The

Nederlands Dans Theater Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT; literal translation Netherlands Dance Theatre) is a Dutch contemporary dance company. NDT is headquartered at the ''Amare'' building in The Hague. NDT also performs at other venues in the Netherlands, including Amste ...

, the Cullberg Ballet and the Royal Ballet of Flanders. At the invitation of Robert Carson and the Paris Opera, Mr. Lock choreographed "

Les Boréades ''Les Boréades'' is a ''tragédie lyrique mise en musique'', or a lyric tragedy put into music, a type of opera, in five acts by Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764). It is the last of his five such works. The libretto, attributed to Louis de Cahus ...

" composed by Rameau and performed by his company LHS at Le Palais Garnier.

Collaborations

Édouard Lock has also worked with several figures in the world of music. He created a choreographed event with

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

and Louise Lecavalier as part of the 40th anniversary celebrations of the

Institute of Contemporary Arts The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) is an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. Located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps and Admiralty Arch, the ICA c ...

, filmed by video artist

Nam June Paik Nam June Paik (; July 20, 1932 – January 29, 2006) was a Korean American artist. He worked with a variety of media and is considered to be the founder of video art. He is credited with the first use (1974) of the term "electronic super h ...

, then continued his collaboration with Bowie in 1990 as creator and art director of his Sound + Vision world tour. In 1992. he worked with Frank Zappa on the performance of '' Yellow Shark'', alongside the

Ensemble Modern Ensemble Modern is an international ensemble dedicated to performing and promoting the music of modern composers. Formed in 1980, the group is based in Frankfurt, Germany, and made up variously of about twenty members from numerous countries. Hi ...

, the Frankfurt

Alte Oper Alte Oper (Old Opera) is a concert hall in Frankfurt am Main, Hesse, Germany. It is located in the inner city, Innenstadt, within the banking district Bankenviertel. Today's Alte Oper was built in 1880 as the city's opera house, which was destr ...

, the

Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. History The Berlin Philharmonic was fo ...

and the

Vienna Konzerthaus The Konzerthaus is a concert hall located in Vienna, Austria, which opened in 1913. It is situated in the third district just at the edge of the first district in Vienna. Since it was founded it has always tried to emphasise both traditional and ...

. He also commissioned works from and collaborated with Iggy Pop, Einstürzende Neubauten (Blixa Bargeld, Marc Chung, F. M. Einheit), Shellac of North America (Steve Albini), Skinny Puppy, My Bloody Valentine (Kevin Shields) David Van Tiegham, West India Company (Stephen Luscombe, Pandit Dinesh). He has also worked with American composer and Pulitzer Award winner David Lang for Salt (1997) and Amelia (2002) and with British composer

Gavin Bryars Richard Gavin Bryars (; born 16 January 1943) is an English composer and double bassist. He has worked in jazz, free improvisation, minimalism, historicism, avant-garde, and experimental music. Early life and career Born on 16 January 1943 in ...

, for ''2, Amjad, and New Work.''

Other Activities

Various films have been made on Mr. Lock's work including ''Le Petit Musée de Vélasquez'' directed by Bernar Hébert, and the documentary ''Inspirations by British director Michael Apted'', which also included Roy Lichtenstein, Tadao Ando and

amongst others.

Recognition

His works have garnered many awards, including the Chalmers choreographic prize, the New York Dance and Performance Award, the Prix Denise-Pelletier, the National Arts Centre Award, the Benois de la Danse choreographic award given in Moscow, the Governor General's Performing Arts Award, the Premio Positano Leonide Massine Award, The Molson Prize given by the Canada Council for the Arts and an honorary doctorate granted by the Université du Québec. The film adaptation of Amelia, directed by Edouard Lock, had its American premiere at the 2004

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. Tribeca was f ...

and its European premiere at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. The film won its category at the Chicago International Film Festival, the Prague International Film Festival and the Rose d'Or Festival in Switzerland as well as winning two I.C.E. and two Gemini Awards for best direction and best editing. Mr. Lock was named a Chevalier de l'Ordre national du Québec an
Officer of the Order of Canada

*1982 : National Jean A. Chalmers Choreography Award (Oranges 1982) *1986 :

Bessie Award The New York Dance and Performance Awards, also known as the Bessie Awards, are awarded annually for exceptional achievement by independent dance artists presenting their work in New York City. The broad categories of the awards are: choreography, ...

(New-York) *2001 : Knight of the

National Order of Quebec The National Order of Quebec, termed officially in French as ''l'Ordre national du Québec'', and in English abbreviation as the Order of Quebec, is an order of merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Governo ...

*2001
Governor General's National Arts Centre Award
*2001 :

National Arts Centre The National Arts Centre (NAC) (french: Centre national des Arts) is a performing arts organisation in Ottawa, Ontario, along the Rideau Canal. It is based in the eponymous National Arts Centre building. History The NAC was one of a number of ...

Award *2001 : Jean A. Chalmers National Dance Award (Exaucé / Salt) *2002 : Prix Denise-Pelletier *2003 :

Prix Benois de la Danse The Benois de la Danse is a ballet competition held annually in Moscow. Founded by the International Dance Association in 1991, it takes place each year on or around April 29 and it's judged by a jury. The members of this jury change every year and ...

*2004 : Gemini Awards *2006 : Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada *2010 :

Governor General's Performing Arts Award A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

*2010 :

Molson Prize The Thomas Henry Pentland Molson Prize for the Arts is awarded by the Canada Council for the Arts. Two prizes are awarded annually to distinguished individuals. One prize is awarded in the arts, one in the social sciences and humanities. The priz ...

*2010 : Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

*2010 : Doctor ''honoris causa'',

Université du Québec à Montréal The Université du Québec à Montréal (English: University of Quebec in Montreal), also known as UQAM, is a French-language public university based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest constituent element of the Université du Qué ...

*2011 : Prix Premio Positano Leonide Massine per la Danza *2012 : Prix du CALQ pour la meilleure tournée internationale *2015
Le Grand Prix de la Danse (The Seasons 2015)

Works

*1976 : ''Temps volé'' *1977 : ''La Maison de ma mère'' *1977 : ''Remous'' *1978 : ''Le Nageur'' *1980 : ''Lily Marlène dans la jungle'', ''Western'' *1981 : ''Oranges ou la Recherche du paradis perdu'' *1983 : ''Businessman in the Process of Becoming an Angel'' *1985 : ''Human Sex'' *1987 : ''New Demons - La belle et la bête'' *1988 : ''Bread Dances'' for Het Nationale Ballet *1990 : ''Infante, c'est destroy'' *1995 : ''2'' *1996 : ''Étude'' for

Les Grands Ballets Canadiens Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal (GBCM) is a ballet company based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. A creative and repertory company, it performs works that reflect the diverse trends of contemporary ballet. History Les Grands Ballets Canadien ...

*1999 : ''Exaucé/Salt'' *2002 : ''Amelia'', ''AndréAuria'' for

Opéra national de Paris The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be ...

*2003 : ''Les Boréades'' for

*2007 : ''Amjad'' *2011 : ''Untitled/New Work/A Piece'' by Édouard Lock *2013 : ''The Seasons'' for São Paulo Companhia de Dança *2013 : ''11th Floor'' for The Cullberg Ballet *2014 : Reprise ''AndréAuria'' for Opéra national de Paris *2014 : Creation for LA LA LA Human Steps contemporary arts - exhibition at the Boijmans Museum Rotterdam *2014 : Directed a film of The Boijmans Museum event

References

External links

Édouard Lock
at

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available f ...

*
Archival footage of Louise Lecavalier performing Édouard Lock's ''A Few Minutes of Lock'' in 2011 at Jacob's Pillow.

La La La Human Steps
* Watch the 2010 short documentar
''Lock''
at the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lock, Edouard 1954 births Living people Canadian choreographers Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Knights of the National Order of Quebec Officers of the Order of Canada Prix Denise-Pelletier winners Concordia University alumni Governor General's Performing Arts Award winners Bessie Award winners