So Blue, Southbank Centre

The celebrated Canadian dancer Louise Lecavalier brings her unique brand of raw, high-energy dance to the South Bank with the UK premiere of her piece, So Blue.

Set to a fast-paced soundtrack by Turkish DJ, Mercan Dede, So Blue was choreographed by Lecavalier and consists of a solo and duet performed with Frédéric Tavernini. The piece doesn’t tell a story as such; instead, in the words of the German critic Dagmar Kurz, “dance is used to work through feelings until a trance-like state is achieved. The body speaks what words can’t say.”

Known for her gravity-defying athleticism, in this piece Lecavalier uses her remarkable gifts to explore her ‘ atomic blue soul’. "My research always goes beyond physical limits," says Lecavalier. " Blue is ‘the colour of the soul, of the spirit, and alternates between different wonderfully unbearable states".

Described by Melody Maker as “the most tragically brilliant dancer alive today” Lecavalier was the star of Édouard Lock’s La La La Human Steps in the 1980s and 90s. She worked with the late Frank Zappa and collaborated with David Bowie on his Sound and Vision tour.  She was also given a part in director Kathryn Bigelow’s 1995 sci-fi thriller, Strange Days.

Lecavalier's numerous international awards include Dance Personality of the Year 2010-11 from the French Critics Circle in Paris. She was the first ever winner of the Prix de La Dance the Montreal in 2011.