Gillian Lynne, you created the famous choreography for "Cats" in 1981 and made a significant contribution to the global success of this musical. What significance did this have for your life?
To be honest: I still love these choreographies to this day - because they are totally influenced by me! There is an incredible amount of me in the "Cats" choreographies. So this commission was extremely meaningful for my life - and still is today, because my work is still very present.
What was the atmosphere like back then, around the premiere of "Cats"?
Oh, it was anything but easy! We had to fight hard to realize "Cats" at all. For example, I only had four weeks to rehearse the choreography, which was based on real cat movements, with the cast, composer Andrew (Lloyd Webber) and Trevor (Nunn) were frantically writing lyrics, and we could barely get the money together for the production. Because "Cats" seemed so crazy, people laughed at us! Then it premiered and the musical was a massive hit!
"We barely got the money together for "Cats" and were laughed at."
What was your life like after the "Cats" premiere?
I had no free time at all. For five years, I was the only choreographer who could really teach the "Cats" choreography. So for five years, I traveled from country to country, always to where "Cats" was premiering, which was of course also an exhausting time. And the work came at a high price: I've had two steel hips and a steel part in one foot ever since.
The stage movements of the cats in "Cats" are incredibly realistic and cat-like. What is your relationship with cats like? Do you have any yourself?
Not when I was developing the "Cats" choreography in 1981. But then my pianist gave me two cats for our wedding - one white and one black. So I had the opportunity to study these cute animals up close. It helped me a lot to understand their movements and also why they can suddenly attack you! I understood their mood changes, from cuddly to totally prickly. Today, those cats are long gone, but I have two new ones.
What about the changes you made to "Cats" in 2014 together with Andrew Lloyd Webber and part of the original team?
Oh, that concerns the cat Rum Tum Tugger. He now sings a hip-hop song instead of a rock song. And Growltiger's Italian aria has also changed slightly, but that's not particularly noticeable.
How was it for you to meet your old team again for this work, for example Andrew Lloyd Webber?
It was fantastic! I also saw stage designer John Napier again, it was very exciting for me to have the whole creative team back together.
You have received countless awards in the course of your life, and the British state awarded you two honorary awards. You have choreographed 50 stage productions, worked for eleven films and for various TV productions. Do you still have any professional aspirations?
Yes, I'm always working on something! There are two projects at the moment: The first is a stage production that combines dance and acting, but I can't reveal any more about it yet - only that this show will premiere in 2017. And secondly, I'm working on a big dream of mine: I want to turn the book I wrote four years ago, "A Dancer in Wartime", into a movie. I will have the role of a consultant in this film adaptation.
What significance does dance have for your life?
Dance is my whole life! Since I was eight years old, I have practically only danced. I was discovered at 14, I danced my first leading role at 17, and when Covent Garden reopened after the Second World War in 1946, I danced one of the six fairies in Sleeping Beauty, my first big solo. It was just wonderful.
What is your favorite music to listen to?
I still like classical music best: Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich and so on. And I like good old jazz: Erroll Garner and Ella Fitzgerald. I'm pretty old-fashioned in that respect.
