|
敬请期待中文版  The "FéeCaresse d'Eole" clip by Van Cleef & Arpels, featuring diamondsand rubies in a white gold setting, is inspired by the strength andlightness of ballerinas Picture credit: Van Cleef & Arpels EMERALD GREEN, ruby red, sapphire blue, and white diamonds- all those colours shimmering in sporty silk were worn on stage asdancers responded to the icy tinkle of music by PhilipGlass. The balletic presentation by Benjamin Millepied and his L.A.Dance Project was the final work in a series commissioned in 2013by high jewellery house Van Cleef & Arpels. And as the audienceat London's Sadler's Wells cheered the dancers to the echo, theshow brought down a metaphorical curtain on a ballet connectionthat started back in 1967. That was when the legendarychoreographer George Balanchine, inspired by the colourful jewelsin a Van Cleef display on New York's Fifth Avenue, first translatedsparkling stones into dance in the three-act ballet,Jewels.  A rehearsalfor "On The Other Side", the third installment of"Gems", commissioned by Van Cleef & Arpels andperformed at Sadler's Wells theatre by the LA Dance Project withchoreography by Benjamin Millepied (in red, right) Picture credit: MorganLupo The London evening featured three separate pieces, starting withMillepied's "Hearts and Arrows" - a vigorous piece also set toPhilip Glass, in which the dancers' movements in black-and-whitechecked sportswear complemented the leaping figures. "On the Other Side", the first performance of the final balletin the Jewels trilogy, was a different facet of jewelleryinspiration that featured dancers in colourful costumes playingagainst a backdrop as fresh and Spring-like as its floralcolours.  The Sadler'sWells performance of "On The Other Side", part of the"Gems" trilogy, commissioned by Van Cleef & Arpelsand choreographed by Benjamin Millepied Picture credit: LaurentPhilippe At the heart of the new ballet was the collaboration between VanCleef and Millepied, whose decade-long role as a dancer at the NewYork City Ballet was crowned by his choreography of the filmBlack Swan (2010), where he met his wife, the actressNatalie Portman. The impetus to meld jewels with dance came from Presidentand CEO Nicolas Bos, whose role at Van Cleef is a rare combinationof both creative director and chief executive. He had a mission: tore-imagine the original ballet/jewels partnership in a wayappropriate to the modern world.  BenjaminMillepied (left) puts his LA Dance Project team through their pacesin rehearsal for the "Gems" project Picture credit: Morgan Lugo "I developed a relationship with the New York City Ballet and wediscussed the idea of creating a new production ofBalanchine's Jewels," Bos said. "We thought it would beinteresting to try to recreate the context that provided thecollaboration behind the trilogy. Keeping the structure, theassociation with the colour, with the music and the dimensions, allon his terms, was meant as a tribute to and continuation ofBalanchine. That was the starting point four or five years ago -and this is the final act." Benjamin Millepied's vision was more abstract and he explainedwhat he saw as the major difference between his approach and thatof his predecessor. "Balanchine pitched (Gabriel) Fauré and (Igor)Stravinsky and I think these were the right composers for what thestones expressed to him," Millepied said. "In the costumes he isvery literal, as in the rendition of diamonds."  Scene fromBenjamin Millepied's ballet for Van Cleef & Arpels. The dancerwears a silk costume by Alessandro Sartori, known for his work forErmenegildo Zegna Picture credit: Laurent Philippe The French-born choreographer, now based in Los Angeles,continued: "Here, it is more about the symbolism of the stones andthe idea of spring, of hope and love. At the end, there is an ideaof uncertainty. So I would say that the piece is a combination ofwhat the music expressed to me and what I am interested in. Thepersonality of the dancers really inspires my work and the threepieces show my journey as a choreographer and an evolution of thethings that I explored." The London evening started with the graphic, visual modernism ofHearts and Arrows, followed by a very different anddramatic ballet called Harbor Me presented bychoreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui.  Thechoreography takes inspiration from the refracted light and facetedforms of cut jewels Picture credit: Laurent Philippe But where in this powerful and athletic dancing were thejewels in all their glittering glory and exceptional craftsmanship?The elegant evening at Sadler's Wells had not even one smallshowcase of stones, emerald or otherwise, although I had seen thatmorning in the windows of Van Cleef's Bond Street store, a modernversion of the tutu-clad figure that had been in the jewelleryhouse's repertoire since the 1940s. Nicolas Bos explained that the Van Cleef/ballet collaborationhas no tangible connection, although over eighty years the househad "really tried to interpret the movement, the lightness, and thefemininity of the ballerina". "But what matters is that it is partof the world we are designing," Bos continued. "What we findabsolutely fascinating is the original cross-inspiration andcollaboration with the House back in 1967. There is the element ofthe precious stone that kind of formed the language. But it didn'tcome at all as an instrument to promote rubies or emeralds. Takinginspiration from stones was not about celebrating jewellery. It hashelped to create a piece that was abstract and disconnected fromthe narrative." Bos then referred back to the 1967 Balanchine version ofthe ballet, saying that it was not cutting-edge contemporary, butrather brought an element of surprise and structure that wasinspired by the jewels.  The "Pas deDeux Nacre" clip from Van Cleef & Arpels dance-inspiredcollection, featuring white gold, diamonds, yellow sapphires, andwhite and golden mother-of-pearl Picture credit: Van Cleef &Arpels "The stone has a very powerful sense of emotion which issomething that I was absolutely fascinated by," Bos said. Theoriginal Jewels does not convey the colour or the facets -but it does convey the power, strength and history." For this ballet performance, three things stood out -beyond the power of dance itself: the chilly, evocative music ofPhilip Glass; the extraordinarily colourful backdrop by MarkBradford, like a map of a joyful world; and the vivid outfits,body-conscious to reflect the perpetual movement, created byItalian designer Alessandro Sartori, known for his work withItalian menswear company Ermenegildo Zegna.  The dancerstake a bow for the finale of "Hearts and Arrows", showing the hugepainted backdrop by Mark Bradford Picture credit: @SuzyMenkesVogue "It was all silk with different weights and effects," saidAlessandro, who had worked previously with Millepied at the Veniceopera house. On stage, the ever-moving figures wore clothes thatwere sporty, close to the body, shimmering in movement, suggestingan abstract connection to nature and its buffeting winds.Occasionally, the silken sheen gave the tilt of a cut stone. But at the heart of the evening, which included an elegantdinner backstage with the cast, friends and supporters, was notjewellery, but the art of dance. "It's been an interesting journey thinking about these threeworks," Millepied said, who plans to put the three Jewelsworks together in a single evening next year, possibly evenbringing them together without an intermission.  BenjaminMillepied (seated, right) in rehearsal Picture credit: Morgan Lupo "I really think this piece is an exceptional work of music,almost an hour long, exciting and quite a challenge for thedancers," Millepied continued. "The Philip Glass music carries somuch atmosphere. But it is all about fine balance, emotional andvisual elements, and transitions. There is always the inspirationfrom the jewels but also there is an evolution for me as achoreographer. It is really interesting to see the final work. Ithink that the more I choreograph, the more I am focused ontransitions - to keep the interest and surprise." Now, it is up to Van Cleef to take inspiration in reverse: touse this exceptional collaboration to bring the power of dance todiamonds, rubies and emeralds.  The "Pas deTrois" clip by Van Cleef & Arpels, featuring White gold,diamonds, black spinels, and white mother-of-pearl Picture credit: VanCleef & Arpels (责任编辑：admin) |