Louise Lecavalier

2014 Lifetime Artistic Achievement (Dance)

Dancer and choreographer

Louise Lecavalier is one of this country’s most admired and respected contemporary dancers. As principal dancer with the Montreal-based company La La La Human Steps for nearly 20 years, she developed bold, physically demanding moves that revolutionized the repertoire, and was nicknamed “the Blond Tornado” for her astonishing speed and energy on stage. Her remarkable talent has earned her many awards and honours, and she has been invited to teach across Canada, Europe and the United States. As an independent artist since 1999, she continues to dazzle audiences and expand the boundaries of contemporary dance.

A native of Montreal, Ms. Lecavalier studied classical, modern and jazz dance in Montreal and New York, and began dancing professionally at 18 with Pointépiénu, then Le Groupe Nouvelle Aire.

In 1981 she joined La La La Human Steps, where her acrobatic spins, passionate engagement, and savage virtuosity had a huge influence on the work of artistic director Edouard Lock. She performed in all of the company’s original productions—notably Oranges (1981), Businessman in the Process of Becoming an Angel (1983, Bessie Award), Human Sex (1985), Infante, c’est destroy (1991), 2 (1995), and Exaucé/Salt (1999)—and in several joint projects with prominent international artists, including David Bowie and Frank Zappa, and directors Michael Apted (Inspirations) and Kathryn Bigelow (Strange Days).

After leaving La La La Human Steps in 1999, she launched her career as a solo artist, and in 2006 founded her own company, Fou glorieux, whose flexible structure allows her to work with other artists who share her creative vision. She has worked with some of Canada’s most renowned choreographers, including Benoît Lachambre, Crystal Pite, Tedd Robinson, Nigel Charnock, and Jakop Ahlbom, and made her own choreographic debut in 2012 with So Blue.

Louise Lecavalier is an Officer of the Order of Canada (2008). Other awards and distinctions include a Bessie Award (New York, first Canadian to receive this award), Jean A. Chalmers National Dance Award, inaugural recipient of the Prix de la danse de Montréal, Prix du Syndicat de la critique (France), and the 2013 Léonide Massine Award (Positano, Italy) for Most Outstanding Female Dancer of the Year on the Contemporary Scene.