DANCE REFLECTIONS BY VAN CLEEF AND ARPELS
words by FLYNN LANZ
Dance Reflections is a festival founded on the values of creation, transmission and education. In collaboration with many prestigious partners, including Van Cleef and Arpels Festival, it paves way for recent works of contemporary dance repertoire whilst establishing a forum for artist expression and film screenings. This festival offers the public a panorama of dance spanning from the 1970s to the present day, proudly observing both emerging and touring artists. It is clear that Dance Reflections is a festival with great meaning; it is an event that draws our attention to the celebration of contemporary choreographic art.
This Festival has been staged all around the world, notably in London (2022), Hong Kong (May 2023), New York (October - December 2023), and most recently in Kyoto and Saitama (October - November 2024). Each of the Dance Reflection Festivals go beyond their singularity and richness in contemporary culture by highlighting the various aspects of Van Cleef and Arpels’ creative and artistic history. The first Dance Reflections, featured in London 2022, initiated an exploration between dance and jewellery - delving into ways in which art can represent movement. Since then, the festival has voyaged into new themes and performances; showcasing individuality at each location.
The upcoming second Dance Reflections by Van Cleef and Arpels in London portrays an opportunity to explore new aspects of contemporary dance heritage. Through this collaboration in the British capital, it focuses on the continuity of dance history and its contributions to the diffusion of contemporary art forms - providing a shared passion for choreographic arts with the widest possible audience. The upcoming Dance Reflections Festival will be held in London with its long standing partners, Sadler’s Wells, Royal Ballet and Opera, Tate Modern and Southbank Centre. This edition will feature recent and repertory works that operate around dance workshop forums and awareness initiatives that highlight the link of choreographic heritage with contemporary creation.
A number of creations will embody this approach, including Working Title (1985) by Trisha Brown, and In The Fall (2023) from Noé Soulier, commissioned by the company. Major works of Merce Cunnmningham, Beach Birds and BIPED, will be reinterpreted by the Lyon Ballet - showcasing the recent history of dance. Meanwhile, François Gremaud will revisit a fundamental romantic work of the classical Giselle (1841). This is also an occasion to unveil new works, such as CROW and Pigeons by British choreographer Jules Cunningham, and Neither drums nor trumpets by American choreographer Pam Tanowitz. With these highlighted acts plus many more performances - both revisited and current - it reaffirms that Dance Relations is a festival that cannot be missed.
By weaving together these modern and contemporary expressions, Dance Reflections offers us a phenomenal representation of historical perspectives to understand today’s choreographic art; nurturing a path for future expression.
