Exclusive: Dior presents Ballet Nuit Blanche in Rome
It is no secret that dance has been a lifelong passion for Maria Grazia Chiuri – whose Dior Spring/Summer 2019 collection is dedicatedly solely to the art of dance.
And when the time comes for the Ballet Nuit Blanche to take the stage at Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Rome, Maria jumped at the chance to collaborate with Eleonora Abbagnato, the Director of Ballet at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma and an étoile at the Opéra National de Paris, to design special Dior costumes for the performance.
One of the three ballet acts to take the stage at the theatre, hosted in homage to the composer and musician Philip Glass, Eleonora will perform star dancer Friedemann Vogel in a piece choreographed by the French talent Sébastien Bertaud.
On her collaboration with Eleonora, Maria says, “I’ve admired Eleonora Abbagnato’s work for years. She is an extraordinary artist who has worked hard to achieve her goals. She represents a great source of inspiration for a new generation of women. Her career, much like mine, was forged between Italy and France, which brings the two of us even closer together."
Much like Monsieur Christian Dior himself, the creative director has always found solace in the world of dance and for this collaboration, we can see that she poured her heart and soul into creating a series of masterpieces to perfectly illustrate Ballet Nuit Blanche.
Swipe gallery below to see the design sketches:
Much like her Spring/Summer 2019 collection for Dior, Maria finds inspiration in the body of movement in dance, which results in a series of costumes that brings to mind a reflection on the specificities of dancers’ bodies.
For Nuit Blanche, she created sixteen costumes including those of the star dancers that highlights the beauty of both femininity and masculinity as they merge into one single entity – bringing new, contemporary definitions to the idea.
The star of the collaboration is definitely Eleonora's piece, where her skirt is dotted with romantic silk flowers visible between two layers of tulle, mirroring the idea of flowers preserved between the pages of a book – which also a nod to Dior's fascination for flowers.
To accompany Eleonora, the dance troupe is dressed a kaleidoscope of powdery hues sheathed in black tulle dressed with delicate silk flowers, while the male lead Sébastien floral-laced tulle bottoms to complement Eleonora's dress.
Maria says, "I am delighted and honoured to be able to contribute to the staging of a project that combines so many elements of performance art, including music, choreography, set design and costume design. Here, my work is like a ‘choreographic exercise’ in itself, because it involves creating costumes that integrate perfectly with movement."
And here, we also present to you an exclusive behind-the-scenes view of the collaboration (both images and video included):
[FILM] The Savoir-Faire Behind the Costumes for the Ballet ‘Nuit Blanche’
The Ballet Nuit Blanche is now running nightly at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma from 29th March to 2nd April 2019. For more information, visit www.operaroma.it.
