NYCDP Questionnaire:

Lar Lubovitch, Artistic Director and Choreographer, Lar Lubovitch Dance Company

What inspires you in your choreography (outside of dance)?
LL: Music and the fear of death
What dancer (living or dead) would you most want to choreograph for and why?
LL: Louis the 14th, King of France (1643 to 1715), also known as the "Sun King" (for his portrayal of Apollo in one of the first ballets ever created). He invented entrechat's and multiple pirouettes and staged monumental spectacles requiring that all courtiers learn to dance.
What is your process in creating a new piece - do you already have movement in mind, or is it developed in collaboration with the dancers? What comes first?
LL: Music first. A mind emptied of all knowing, great dancers to create with.
Even when you choreograph an abstract dance, do you have a story in your mind?
LL: Music always has a story.
What is your greatest indulgence?
LL: Doing nothing and chocolate.
What is your most treasured possession?
LL: Time.
What do you love most about NYC?
LL: How beautifully ruined it is.

Your work is very musical. Have you had any formal musical training?
LL: I have trained to play music with my body.
What qualities do you look for in a dancer?
LL: Gravity, imagination, freedom.
If you were going to give 2 photographers tickets to your opening, who would they be?
LL: Is that a trick question?
What do you most value in your friends?
LL: A soft place to fall.
You’ve impressed us working with so many types of movement - including Broadway and ice skating. Is the process different working with non dancers (or dancers of different styles)?
LL: The creative process is no different whatever the vernacular: seeing something with the inner eye, taking the leap to make it manifest so that others may see it as well. Though high minded people may be found in every field of performance, there are few that match the incredible integrity of dancers.