Van Cleef & Arpels celebrates a long-term love affair with dance
Van Cleef & Arpels’ Dance Reflections festival continues to celebrate the wealth of choreographic talent around the world – here’s the latest
‘Dance, as an art form, is very diverse, with a lot of different influences,’ says Serge Laurent, Van Cleef & Arpels’ director of dance and culture programmes. ‘The main issue is managing the relations with the audience. When you are a curator, you are making a mediation between artists and audiences.’
This relationship is key to the rich programme of the Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels festival, which is held across the world, from New York to London, Hong Kong, Seoul and Kyoto. It is a natural initiative for Van Cleef & Arpels, which continues to build on strong foundations in dance that were first established in the 1920s. They were later reinforced in the 1940s, after Claude Arpels friendship with choreographer George Balanchine led to Balanchine's ballet Jewels, first performed in New York in 1967.
Mycelium, performed by Le Ballet de l'Opéra de Lyon
It is a history which continues to be relevant. This year, the Second Edition of the Dance Reflections Festival in New York encompassed 16 shows across nine venues across the city, presenting a considered blend of contemporary works. ‘It's very important to be eclectic, because as a curator, I don't want to tell you who or what is the art of today,’ Laurent adds. ‘An artwork exists with the eyes of the audience. People may feel uncomfortable because they think it’s not for them, but this festival is an invitation to live an experience, and discover new ways of creating.’
The New York Dance Reflections festival intertwined these influences into a blend of classic and contemporary works. One particular highlight, Mycelium, performed by the Lyon Opera Ballet, encompasses this pioneering spirit. ‘Mycelium has been a very special piece for the company,’ says Cedric Andrieux of Ballet de Lyon. ‘When it was created in 2023, it was the first time that [Greek choreographer] Christos Papadopoulos was working with dancers outside of his company. It has become one of our signatures over the past three years. It's something that we've been able to tour all over the world, and we’ve been very happy about how the audience responds. It's a radical piece, but also very powerful and accessible. It doesn’t keep the audience away, it draws them in.’
Le Ballet de l'Opéra de Lyon perform Mycelium
For Benjamin Millepied, who presented two pieces with LA Dance Project, Reflections: a triptych, and Romeo & Juliet suite, the festival is a chance to introduce classic works to a new audience. ‘My work is so related to music, and the idea to have access to this level of composers, conductors, musicians and acoustics is something that I absolutely love,’ he says. ‘Without the support of Van Cleef & Arpels, nothing like this would have been possible over the last 12 years. It's incredibly fortunate that we have this vision by Nicolas [Bos, CEO of Richemont] and the vision of Serge, that is incredibly sincere and passionate and real, to the extent that we're all here today. It always takes one person to make a difference, and that's the beauty of it.’
The next festival performance – Colossus by Stephanie Lake – will take place in June at London’s Southbank Centre, dancereflections-vancleefarpels.com
This article appears in the June 2026 Issue of Wallpaper*, available from 7 May in print on newsstands, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today
