This article was first published in the Shawati’ Issue 61

Candoco Dance Company “Set and Reset/Reset”. © Camilla Greenwell.

When an all-male cast of 13 virtuoso dancers from Algeria and Morocco took to the stage at The Arts Center in New York University Abu Dhabi, audiences were thrilled by the stunning display of contemporary dance that combined capoeira, martial arts and urban-style street dance with powerful imagery evocative of orientalist paintings and the stone filigree of Islamic architecture.

It was a performance titled What the Day Owes to the Night, by the Hervé Koubi Company and was the inaugural show of the Dance Reflections Festival by Van Cleef & Arpels. Following the story of young boy from a novel by Yasmina Khadra, the extravaganza of movement and music was a metaphor to explain the complicated relations between France and Algeria. Hervé Koubi borrowed the title of the novel, not for the story but for the “senses” implicated within it. “It is a story of love and unlove,” said Koubi. “What the day owes to the night is also what peace owes to war, what brotherhood owes to hate, what Orient owes to occident.”

The performance was accompanied by Sufi sounds recorded by The Kronos Quartet, music by Hamza El Din from Egypt, and excerpts of Johan Sebastian Bach’s Passion. “I wanted to build bridges between my European culture and my roots that are from the other side of the Mediterranean in Algeria.

Yaa Samar! Dance Theatre "Last Ward". © Whitney Brown.

The musical accompaniment is thus a come and go between those two cultures that are melted in me, as a journey between the two shores of the Mediterranean Sea.”

For many years, the jewellery house Van Cleef & Arpels have been supporting diverse performances at festivals, as well as several companies for their future creations. Dance Reflections is now an annual event to support creativity and innovation with elements of education embedded within it.

Serge Laurent, Van Cleef & Arpels’ Director of Dance and Culture Program said: “Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels is the continuation of a very long and strong relationship between the Maison of fine jewellery and the world of dance. Initially a source of inspiration for the creations, meetings with choreographers have created a very strong bond. By launching Dance Reflections two years ago, the President of the Maison, Nicolas Bos wished to reinforce our commitment to an art form that is part of our history and whose creativity is absolute. What is fascinating about dance is that by expressing itself through movement, it can address audiences of very different origins without the language barrier. Dance is a universal art form that belongs and is found in all cultures.”

Compagnie Hervé Koubi' “What the Day Owes the Night”. © Nathalie Sternalski

Serge Laurent, Van Cleef & Arpels’ Director of Dance and Culture Program. © Marc de Groot.

In addition to Koubi’s choreographed show, The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi also staged Set and Reset/Reset and Last Shelter, by the Candoco Dance Company, which were in part experimental and improvisational dance.

Further afield, the festival also showcased international performances with leading names in the industry such as French choreographer Benjamin Millepied. The Van Cleef & Arpels Maison has been working with Millepied since 2012 and created choreographic performances as Gems, Romeo & Juliet and most recently Be Here Now, an hour of non-stop dancing with live music and graphic art that took place in Los Angeles in October 2022. Support of dance and creativity is part of the wider mission of the jewellery house to foster connections across various artforms for a better world.

In concrete terms, Van Cleef & Arpels provide financial support to dance companies to create new works and work with institutions to foster learning. “Education is one of the values on which we base our actions,” said Laurent. “We support many institutions around the world for the presentation of dance performances but also for educational programmes that allow people to understand and discover the discipline. Each performance is always accompanied by a meeting with the public. Each time, we try to give keys to better approach these contemporary proposals. We also wish to propose workshops with the local choreographic scene in order to engage a dialogue between artists and to stimulate creation,” he said.

Guests at “What the Day Owes the Night” performance at the The Red Theater, The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi. © Waleed Shah.

Pierre Arpels, ballerina Suzanne Farrell and George Balanchine, circa 1976. © BALANCHINE is a Trademark of The George Balanchine Trust.

Encounters with the public are essential to the core of the principles of this festival and programme on the whole. The initiative takes a fully rounded approach that grows creativity but also understanding and appreciation for this universal artform. And, what is more, it is a global programme that has both a regional and worldwide remit.

Talks with the creative industry in the UAE began a few years ago when Laurent visited Abu Dhabi and the Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi. “I was very impressed by the openness of the UAE to the world and to art,” he said. “When I came back a few years later, I could see that dance was an art form that had its place in this context. We started a collaboration with the Arts Center and the first experiences confirmed this interest in dance. My desire today is to further develop collaborations with cultural actors in the region to present more dance and a future edition of our festival.”

Compagnie Hervé Koubi' “What the Day Owes the Night” performance at the The Red Theater, The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi. © Waleed Shah.

Bill Bragin, Founding Executive Artistic Director of The Arts Center said that when the centre opened eight years ago, they were unsure of the audiences for contemporary dance, because so little had been previously available in the UAE. “Since that beginning, we've developed a large and loyal audience by presenting some of the finest artists in the field. For Van Cleef & Arpels, with a century-long tradition of supporting the finest levels of artistry in dance, as well as jewellery, to recognise The Arts Center’s role in leading the growth of the artform in the UAE and partner with us on Dance Reflections reflects an enormous vote of confidence, and a meaningful investment in our ability to continue to support dance presentation, creation, and education.”

Lady Danse watch. © Van Cleef & Arpels / Clément Rousset.

Dance Reflections continues until May 2023 with further performances in Abu Dhabi in the new year, when the presentation of Last Ward, by the Yaa Samar! Dance Theatre takes to the stage.

For The Love of Dance: Dance Reflections Supports Creativity All Around the World