Van Cleef & Arpels\u2019s Dance Reflections festival is returning to New York this month with a series of 16 performances to take place across the city between February 19 and March 21. Dedicated to supporting creative artists and dance-adjacent institutions, the program will feature work by world-renowned choreographers, including Trisha Brown, Benjamin Millepied, and Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker. The city\u2019s first iteration of the event took place in 2023, with the festival traveling to Kyoto, London, and Seoul in the following years. Now, it has returned to New York City, and is bigger than ever. <\/p>\n
Festivities kick off on the 19th at the New York City Center with The Lyon Opera Ballet\u2019s performance of Merce Cunningham\u2019s Biped, followed by Mycelium by choreographer Christos Papadopoulos. From there, four weeks of dance events will be hosted throughout the boroughs. The Perelman Performing Arts Center will host a trio of performances choreographed by Millepied, presented in its entirety for the first time. At the Park Avenue Armory, meanwhile, one can find his Romeo & Juliet Suite, a contemporary take on Sergei Prokofiev\u2019s ballet with dancers from the L.A. Dance Project. There is also No\u00e9 Soulier\u2019s The Waves and Herv\u00e9 Koubli\u2019s Sol Invictus at The Joyce Theater, Lucinda Childs\u2019s Early Works at the Guggenheim, and a number of productions taking place at NYU Skirball. <\/p>\n
Dancers from the Benjamin Millepied L.A. Dance Project performing Reflections: A Triptych. <\/p>\n
\u00a9 Van Cleef & Arpels; Laurent Philippe<\/p>\n
As a testament to Dance Reflections\u2019 commitment to education, workshops will also be held at the New York Center for Creativity & Dance. Twenty contemporary dance classes are scheduled over the course of the program, and are open to all levels. The first workshop, Age of Content Repertory, will be held on February 19. It will allow participants to immerse themselves in the world of the Ballet National de Marseille by training with Alida Bergakker, a member of the BNM company. In March, the Afrofusion workshop offers the opportunity to take a class with dancers from the acclaimed South African dance company Moving into Dance Trust.<\/p>\n
Van Cleef & Arpels has a long relationship with the world of dance. Louis Arpels, one of the brand\u2019s founders, was a lover of ballet and would often take his nephew, Claude, to the Opera Garnier. In the early 1940s, Van Cleef released its first gem-embossed ballerina pins, which the brand continues to sell to this day. Arpels then met renowned choreographer and co-founder of the New York City Ballet, George Balanchine, in the \u201950s; it is said that the pair\u2019s shared love of precious stones inspired Balanchine\u2019s Jewels. Van Cleef has maintained its strong connection to the world of dance in the 21st century, supporting both festivals and institutions, like the Croisements Festival in China. Dance Reflections is an extension of this long-standing relationship between the luxury jewelry brand and the art form. <\/p>\n
Dancers from (LA)HORDE Ballet National De Marseille performing Age of Content. <\/p>\n
\u00a9 Van Cleef & Arpels; Alexandra Polina<\/p>\n