If Unreal Estate, a project by death metallers Entombed, recorded live in 2002 when the band played musical accompaniment to the Royal Swedish Ballet, had provided the necessary spark of inspiration, the rest of the Ballet Deviare’s aesthetics owes its genre-transcending character almost exclusively to the singularity of Kowalewski’s and Carpetner’s vision. Classical ballet, butoh, modern dance and heavy metal “posturing” are all united by Ballet Deviare to make this ground-breaking act as entertaining as it is meaningful, allowing metal music to find expression through an entirely new language, as well as taking ballet into a territory it hasn’t chartered before.

When asked about the challenges of choreographing for metal as opposed to classical music, however, Kowalewski says she doesn’t see any. “Since we have been listening to this music for a long time, it is natural to me,” she says. “I know musical phrasing, I know what to expect in the time signatures, etc, while creating my choreography.” At the same time, she admits that in the process of developing Ballet Deviare some changes were still made to the format. “I started training in classical ballet at the age of three,” she begins. “I changed from classical to more contemporary ballet in my early twenties and when we developed Ballet Deviare, I changed my format completely due to my choreographic style”.

Like with all pioneering ideas, the creative process underlying Ballet Deviare depends as much on its creators’ experience as on their intuition and ability to see beyond constrictions of both art forms they are combining. Metal is welcomed by Ballet Deviare in a vast variety of its genres—from doom and grind to folk and prog. Performing to the music of Arsis, Gwynbleidd, Opeth, My Dying Bride, Swallow the Sun, Funeral, Japanische Kampfhörspiele, and Celestiial, Ballet Deviare has managed to bring out the unique qualities of each of these metal artists, at the same time taking the impetus behind their music one confident step further. So it isn’t surprising that Kowalewski and Carpenter have encountered no objections to their use of the bands’ musical material so far. “As of now every band we have worked with has been completely open to us using their music,” says Carpenter.

Asked which bands Ballet Deviare would like to work with in the future, Carpenter admits that to him this is a tough question. “There are so many great metal bands that it’s hard to say,” he says. “One thing we know is whatever bands we work with in the future, will always be definable as metal.” When asked about the criteria that guide the choice of music for their shows, he has the following to say: “It depends on the theme and what we are looking for exactly in terms of phrasing, and melodic elements.”

A good match between what Kowalewski and Carpenter look for in music and what musicians can provide, was found in Ballet Deviare’s collaboration with James Malone from the band Arsis, who composed a score for a part in the second act of Ballet Deviare’s 2006 production of Seven. It was a 13-minute track called “A Diamond for Disease”, a piece of staggering melodic beauty and orchestra-like complexity where compound time signatures and polyphonic melodies are taking epic death metal onto a level beyond genres and stylistic distinctions, perfectly matching the vision of Ballet Deviare.

Kowalewski and Carpenter, however, don’t have time to rest on their laurels, and Memento Mori is their most recent production. Carpenter explains the reason for using the everlasting Latin maxim “Remember Your Death” as its name: “Ballet Deviare chose this phrase for its performance to both confront our common element of death and to celebrate the fact we still cast shadows on the Earth. Without an understanding of our temporality, how can we live each day to the fullest?”

And while you ponder this deepest of questions, you can plan for a trip to the Painted Bride in Philadelphia, where on September 13 Ballet Deviare will deliver a special showcase of their newest production. Memento Mori ran for three days at the Baruch Performing Arts Center in NYC in May, but this is going to be another chance to catch the performance. If, however, you are located outside of NYC, you can still check Ballet Deviare’s web sites referenced above to see what answers this cutting edge act is finding so far to questions of life, death and living your life to the full.