Louise LecavalierOC (born October 3, 1958) is a Canadian dancer known as one of the icons of Canadian contemporary dance.
Biography
Lecavalier was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec. She began her professional dance career at the age of eighteen when she joined Le Groupe Nouvelle Aire. It was there that she met Édouard Lock.
Lecavalier became Lock's main character and inspiration in his company La La La Human Steps. With her mane of platinum dreadlocks, her physical power and her mastery of the full-body barrel jump – a gravity-defying, fully horizontal, mid-air barrel roll – her image was a signature for the company. She was the embodiment of Lock's frenetic and technically challenging androgynous aesthetic in works such as Human Sex (1985) and Infante, c'est destroy (1991).
She joined La La La Human Steps in 1981 for its production of Oranges and went on to perform in each of the company's productions up until Salt in 1998.
In 1985, Lecavalier became the first Canadian to win a Bessie Award in New York for her performance in Businessman in the Process of Becoming an Angel (1983). The London Times critic found Lock's "extravagant" play poor but stated that there were
"...two women who seemed quite skilled at performing various odd dance steps; the fair-haired one [Louise Lecavalier] had a pleasing bravado whenever the production gave her half a chance."[1]
She danced in Human Sex (1985), New Demons (1987), Infante, c'est destroy (1991) and finally, 2 (1995) and Salt (1998).
On April 7, 2010, she was awarded the Order of Canada.[3] On December 7, 2012, her piece "So Blue" premiered in Düsseldorf. It was her first dance choreography. In May 2014, Lecavalier received the Governor General's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement in dance. The award is Canada's highest honour in the performing arts.[4]
Notable performances
Oranges (1981)
Businessman in the Process of Becoming an Angel (1983)
Human Sex (1985)
New Demons (1987)
Infante, C'est destroy (1991)
2 (1995)
Salt (1998)
Lula and the Sailor
Cobalt Rouge (2005)
Children (2010) L.L. / Fou Glorieux
So Blue (2012) L.L. / Fou Glorieux
Movies and videos
1982 The Mondo Beyondo Show (TV)
1989 Carole Laure's "Danse avant de tomber" as Dancer
