La La La Human Steps Tickets

Really great presentation, artistically beautiful!

I had mixed feelings about La La La. It was a "one note act" because it stayed on the same energy level for the first hour: fast, dark and repetitious to the point of irritation. No new movement vocabulary and I hated the lighting in the first half which detracted from the dance. I have been watching Lock's work since 1986 when I first saw them at Dance Theater Workshop, NYC. They performed Human Sex in a space that could only hold 100 people with hard rock music blasting the whole time on stage. Louise Lecavalier was his lead dance star at that time, muscled beyond belief with wild crazy blonde locks and a fake blonde mustache - totally androgynous. Although my ears rang for a week afterward, I knew I had seen innovative movement up close. I liked Amelia and Salt. Lock was evolving then. The thing most provocative and fascinating for viewers of La La La is to see these dancers working, performing. They are always incredible. But in "New Work", the lighting is so erratic and dark that you can barely make out their faces and forms, missing a big part of what is enticing about La La La. The choreography bored me after a while: I have seen all of those moves before and I am bored with the way he uses his men: Always in suits, always in the back ground, manipulating the women dancers in predictable ways. Too much repetition and not enough movement contrast. I was relieved when the lighting changed and you could actually see the duet with the beautiful Asian dancer closer to the end. Also the video was interesting and needed at these key points to give your eyes a rest from straining to see the rapid fire images in low light, although this use of video screens are nothing new to him or to the dance world. Senta Driver of NYC and her company Harry created far more interesting video panels in the 80's that were interactive with the dancers. Lock's "New Work" has not evolved since the last time I saw them. Too bad. I give them 2 stars out of 5 this time.

The dance technique displayed was impressive - ballet point work amped to the max. But the range of gestures and movement were highly repetitive. The work was abstract with little narrative. Lighting was dark - mostly down spots from positions upstage of the performers. As a result they were presented in silhouette - no faces. The end result was an interesting 20 minute dance that felt stretched to cover over 80 minutes. This length, the minimal staging, the repetitive choreography, and the dark lighting made it an tiring show to watch. It was as though the intent was to keep from the audience the qualities of spectacle that used to be the trademarks of La La La. Overall a disappointment.

Brilliant, exhausting, dangerous, beautiful, stark! La La La always lives up to my expectations. I was exhausted when I left. Do not miss this masterpiece.

technically astounding but conceptually obscure. Very strange choice of lighting which kept much of the virtuosity in the dark. And the virtuosity was the main drawing point. The least of the La La La repertoire.

The music was incredible, especially the sax players. the sound was so rich and full, that until I saw the ensemble, I thought it was a small orchestra. My friends had previously watched the dance troupe on-line and had requested we attend. I would see another performance again if La La La Human Steps returned to Ottawa! My friends really enjoyed the performance.

The non-stop frenetic arm movements made me tired. The staring video people made me feel awkward (perhaps that was the point). I enjoyed it later in the performance when the movements slowed down a little. Very talented dancers, but I felt my lack of ability in interpreting contemporary dance, made me enjoy the show less.

It was magic. It is unbelivalble to see them doing movements so fast. They looked like marionnettes. It must be exhausting. they were on stage for 1h30. It was beautiful. I had a great moment