A new dance festival will be held in New York this fall. French luxury jeweler Van Cleef & Arpels announced Tuesday that it will sponsor a 16-day event aimed at attracting more international choreographers and ensembles to New York.
Groups such as LA (HORDE), a French group that performs works set to electronic music, will appear at the festival “Dance Reflections” along with the National Ballet of Marseille. The festival kicks off with the 1979 collaboration of postmodern choreographer Lucinda Childs and composer Philip Glass with the American classic Dance, with the Lyon Opera and Ballet at New York City Center on October 19. performed by.
“We want to combine very different approaches to promote diversity and richness in dance,” said Serge Laurent, Director of Dance and Culture Programs at Van Cleef & Arpels in an interview. . “It is important for the growth of artists and audiences to be exposed to different approaches and to have new perspectives on the international scene.”
The line-up also includes works by experimental choreographer Gisèle Vienne and the US premiere by director Rashid Olamdan at the Théâtre National de Chaillot in Paris. Contemporary choreographer Dimitri Chambras collaborates with Kim Gordon. Polish-born choreographer Ola Maciejewska. and British-Rwandan artist Dorote Munyaneza.
Van Cleef & Arpels has played a role in promoting dance in recent years. In 2020, the company launched the Dance Reflections series, with festivals in London last year and Hong Kong this year.
The company cited its long-standing ties to New York as the inspiration for putting the festival there. Renowned choreographer George Balanchine was a close friend of Claude Arpels and inspired him to create the jewel-themed ballet Jewels, which premiered at the New York City Ballet in 1967.
The company’s president and chief executive officer, Nicholas Boss, said in a statement that the festival was an opportunity to “restore our heritage in the United States.”
“Dance Reflections” runs through November 3rd at various theaters including City Centre, New York University Skirball, New York Live Arts, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Pioneer Works and France Institute Alliance Française.
