BIOGRAPHIE COLLABORATEURS - Théâtre du Passage

their evocation of passion and poignant awareness that all relations, not matter how intense, areslaves of human mortality. At intervals, two large vertical screens were lowered in parallelshowing a pretty young woman on one side in a touching visual conversation with a version ofher old self on the other. Aging and its ultimate end were inevitable, and no amount of spinningor vigorous movement, the entire work implied, could delay one’s fate.The final statement on this came in a closing duet with Vishneva and veteran company memberJason Shipley-Holmes, the coolest and most reliable of partners. With a lyricism unusual forLock, the two calmly bid an extended farewell, Vishneva demonstrating the relaxed ease, fineline and expressiveness that make her outstanding as Giselle and Odette-Odile. The last image ofVishneva alone on the ground, her body arched over her one extended leg, patently evoked theDying Swan, a coy but highly effective little homage from Lock.The participation of the world-famous artist came after she searched for some high-profilechoreographers to prepare pieces for her in a one-off show. Lock was considered. Although thetwo were unable to collaborate on that show, Lock felt there was potential to work together.Vishneva spent an intensive month in Montreal preparing her role. Rehearsals regularly lasteduntil midnight. Though she was accustomed to memorizing big parts (she’s performing threelarge-scale classical ballets this year including La Bayadere with the Maryinsky in Ottawa inFebruary), Lock’s work was demanding even for her.“This feels like ballet for the 21st century,” Vishneva said in a back-stage interview after theshow. “After this, classical ballet feels like slow motion.”Almost everything connected with the rehearsal was a challenge.“First I learned the steps slowly, but then I was having sleepless nights wondering how I couldever perform them fast the next day. And we rehearsed without mirrors or music. Never had Iworked that way! I heard the music for the final duet just two days before the premiere. ButEdouard asked me to trust him, and I did. I danced through his eyes.”Vishneva will dance in selected cities on the company’s European tour and also in Montreal inMay (but not in Toronto). Undoubtedly Lock will fiddle with the work before it gets to Montreal,hopefully adding a slow duet for Vishneva that was dropped because of an injury to her partner.But the performance this week showed unusual polish for a Lock premiere.Equally up to the challenge were the splendid company members hired last year – Diego Castro,Mi Deng, Sandra Muhlbauer, Marcio Vinicius Paulino Silveira, Grace-Anne Powers, AlejandraSalamanca Lopez, William Lee Smith and Kai Zhang. Statuesque veteran Zofia Tujaka roundedout the formidable cast.© Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette