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CATARINA LAPPIN IS VIVACIOUS IN THE extreme and, with her cheeky grin and twinkly blue eyes, she seems the antithesis of the haughty ballet dancer. Yet she is one of the rising stars of Scottish Ballet, and is now turning her hand to choreography.
‘When I think back to it, chore-
" ography has always been there,’ she
says. 'Whenever I listen to music, I imagine stuff in my head, see pictures
and make things up. And I've asked other
people, "Do you do that?" And they say, “No, I just hear music”. So I guess it’s been there for a long time.’
Lappin's first break as a choreographer came last year, when she created a piece based on the film Wings Of Desire to music by The Bathers. Since then, she's done catwalk choreography for a hair show involving dreadlocks, mohicans and the Virgin Mary walking a tightrope.
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Lappin is currently devising a section of the Scottish Ballet's National Tour with four other female dancers, using 20th century piano music. ’l’m having a great time working on it,’ she says. ’I like my dancers to be able to act; it’s not enough to be able to get up and be abstract. One of the two pieces is about two girls with a power thing going on. And the other one is a little pas de deux with a slow bit where the guy carries the girl across the stage. He’s got her life in his hands and he's protecting her.’ She grins naughtily. ’That’s my little lovey bit, but I suppose it’s just because I'm in love at the moment.’
Lappin is determined to push out the frontiers of ballet. 'lt’s like you get to a certain place and then you want to go, "Okay, so what else can I do with it?”,’ she explains. ’I don’t think you should stay still, I think you should be pushing
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’I want to work with U2. I even know what it’s going to be. Bono can dance if he wants. He's a sexy man.’
Catarina Lappin
things forward all the time and looking for inspiration all over the place, not just in the ballet world.
’I want to work with U2,’ she says bluntly when asked what her dream project would be. ’I will work with U2. I even know what it’s going to be and U2 will be doing the music for it. Bono can dance if he wants,’ she adds. ’He’s a sexy man.’
Lappin has the kind of determination that can convince you that her working with U2 is a foregone conclusion. ’lt’s all about taking the risk and believing in yourself enough to think "Yes I can!”,’ she explains. ’I always remember that line in one of the Waterboys’ songs — "Don’t talk about wings, just fly”.'
Scottish Ballet's National Tour begins at the Mitchell Theatre, Glasgow on Wed 16 Sep. See Drama & Dance listings for tour details.