Part of Millepied's Gems trilogy, this will be the first time the performance is staged in Singapore.
After presenting award-winning Le Syndrome Ian by Christian Rizzo at the Singapore International Festival of Arts (Sifa) in August, French jeweller Van Cleef & Arpels will be bringing in choreographer Benjamin Millepied and his company, L.A. Dance Project for Esplanade’s da:ns festival this month.
(Related: Van Cleef & Arpels Supports Sifa Dance Performance)
Best known for his work in Black Swan (2010), Millepied’s company will perform a repertoire of four dance works, including a choreographed piece from his Gems trilogy, commissioned by Van Cleef & Arpels.
Christened Hearts And Arrows—inspired by the cut of a diamond—the piece is the opening chapter to his three-part act. The ballet features eight dancers moving “through asymmetrical and contrapuntal patterns, surging in and out of groups, [and] separating into solos and pairs”, as if mimicking the gem as it catches light. This is played out to Philip Glass’s otherworldly String Quartet No.3 Mishima.
White, Star and Moon, a collection of three duets in tribute to American modern dancer Martha Graham; the upbeat Murder Ballades by Justin Peck of New York City Ballet; and Closer, a duet choreographed by Millepied to Glass’s rhapsodic Mad Rush complete the programme.
(Related: Up Close With... Ballerinas Maria Sascha Khan & Nadia Khan)