Édouard Lock, the founder of La La La Human Steps, and the choreographer, designer, director and editor of this filmed version of Amelia is, to say the very least, a prodigiously talented man. Any of the single elements he brings to this project is tantamount to a very active genius, but when taken together, they are overwhelming at times. Let's start with the set. Shown from above at the start of the film (a perspective that is highlighted throughout the piece), it appears the dancers are on a strangely patterned parquet floor. Once the camera gets to their level, it's actually revealed that they're in a sort of curved floor box made of stripes of wood. It's almost impossible to describe (as you're probably experiencing right now), but it is one of the more minimalist yet strangely evocative and provocative set designs I've experienced recently. The walls, such as they are, are ambiguous, they almost float up as part of the floor, and openings through which the dancers enter and exit are largely hidden due to the unformity of the wood pattern, becoming evident only through judiciously placed lighting. You've never seen a dance set quite like this, that I can pretty much guarantee you.

Moving on to the dance steps, they are also next to impossible to describe. Moving through a series of solos, pas de deux, and occasional trios, Amelia has some of the most ambitiously athletic moves I've witnessed in modern dance. These fabulous artists do some spectacularly interesting movement, some of it only with the joints of their wrists or ankles. At times dancers will literally run across the open area of the wooden box, fly into space, almost landing on the wall a la Fred Astaire in Royal Wedding. At other times their bodies are for the most part still while their arms flail about in rapid jerking motions. Yes, it sounds bizarre, but visually it's unforgettable. At still other times, the dancers seem to be like robots on fast forward, with limbs akimbo and repetitive motions of the knee and thigh that are equally unforgettable.

Lock's work as director and editor is similarly impressive. This is a man who should be helming a major Hollywood musical, if you'd like my considered opinion. The camera is, forgive the pun, locked in on these dancers almost as if it itself is participating in the choreography. Lock offers some simply stunning crane and other high altitude shots which, in the informative commentary, he mentions he wants to accentuate the isolation of the dancers, which it certainly does. More importantly to me, however, it provides a weird sort of perspective on the ambiguity of the space in which the dancers find themselves. Up high it's virtually impossible to tell if the dancers are on the floor or leaning against one of the "walls," which makes their oft-times weird positions even more unique. Lock handles the editing chores with equal aplomb, eschewing the faddy quick cutting techniques of a lot of modern dance directors to give a sweeping, fluid approach (sometimes with dissolves, no less) that gives a surprisingly languid feel to the movement, considering how herky-jerky it is at times.

Musically this is a fascinating piece as well. Lock has a long history of pushing the boundaries of what constitutes an "acceptable" score for a modern dance piece, working with such luminaries as Frank Zappa. In this particular piece, his longtime collaborator David Lang reworks the songs and lyrics of Lou Reed as well as offering some minimalist melodies of his own. Though Lang's work is highly motivic here, in the time honored Adams-Glass technique, it's less repetitive and, frankly, dull than those composers can be in their less than inspired moments. A haunting female voice floats over simple accompaniments in a lot of these pieces and the effect is singular. Fans of the Velvet Underground are going to want to check out this BD if for no other fact that Reed's songs are so imaginatively redone.

If, like I do, you tend to shy away from modern dance performances, you may want to rethink that attitude insofar as it applies to Amelia. This is some startlingly innovative work, beautifully filmed and scored, and it's really opened my eyes to the incredible variety of modern dance that La La La Human Steps is offering.

The Blu-ray

Video:
Amelia is offered in a 1.78:1 AVC transfer which is nowhere near reference BD quality, but which provides a solid enough visual foundation from which to enjoy the performance. There's quite a bit of grain, surprisingly, especially in medium shots, perhaps made more apparent by the wood walls which surround the performing space. The image tends to be on the soft side in everything other than extreme close-ups. In these close-ups, however, the BD finally reveals its strengths, with unbelievable precision and detail--you can literally count the pores on the dancers' faces.

Sound:
What's here on this soundtrack is beautifully reproduced. The fact is there's not enough here to warrant a stellar BD mix. We are offered PCM 2.0 and 5.0 mixes, and there frankly is not that much difference between them. Lang's score simply doesn't have that much going on to warrant an envelloping sound mix. What is here is lovely and of excellent fidelity. Just don't expect fireworks. Subtitles (for the commentary) are available in French, Spanish, German and Italian.

Extras:
The best extra is a very informative commentary by Lock, where he discusses the dancers, filming and choreography in detail. An interactive mode allows you to access SD supplementary behind the scenes material. Note: on my PS3, pressing "Enter" paused the film when the interactive icon appeared. Strangely, I could only get the icon to work by pressing the "Pop Up Menu" button when it appeared.

Also available is an interesting 25 year retrospective of La La La Human Steps' many productions, with snippets from some of them.

Final Thoughts:
I guess maybe I can finally pry my face off the back of the plush velvet theater chair and start enjoying dance performances. La La La Human Steps has to be one of the most viscerally exciting troupes around, and Amelia shows both them and founder Lock off to incredible advantage. Highly Recommended.

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"G-d made stars galore" & "Hey, what kind of a crappy fortune is this?" ZMK, modern prophet