EXCLUSIVE: Parfums Christian Dior Hosting Dance Performance in Versailles
DIOR’S GREEN THUMB: For the newest installment of its Dior Cultural Gardens project, the brand is hosting a dance performance at the Chateau de Versailles on Wednesday.
“Sunlight Under Water,” which was choreographed by Carolyn Carlson, will be performed by Hugo Marchand near Jean-Michel Othoniel’s fountain sculptures, called “Les Belles Danses,” in the chateau’s Water Theater Grove.
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Dior Cultural Gardens — which have formerly collaborated with Othoniel — in the past were held at the gardens of the Petit Palais museum in Paris in fall 2021 and Seoul’s Imperial Palace this August.
Parfums Christian Dior also will be unveiling the J’Adore Parfum d’eau fragrance at the event.
“This new collaboration with the Dior Cultural Gardens embraces the water emergency issue that can be heard all over the world,” said Othoniel, who created a prestige edition of J’Adore in 2013, in a statement.
“This performance marked by water and dance resonates with the world and its immediate concerns,” he said.
“The trees, the grass, the sky, water and earth merge with the inner rhythms of the étoile dancer, like a journey into nature and into his own inner self,” said Carlson. “Hugo explores the world between the sacred and the profane, the spiritual and the physical. He explores the connection to the silent phenomenon of earthly splendor, to be at one with nature and especially with water, which represents the eternal flow of creativity and the life force of our existence.”
“Having the possibility to create a dialog between dance, sculpture and music in the grove where Louis XIV had imagined his water theatre is a great joy for me,” said Marchand. “Bringing dance back to Versailles, where it was created, means recognizing its heritage and being aware of the importance of its development. I have always been inspired to use dance as a way to engage in order to create links, to ask questions and to dream. This opportunity shines a spotlight on French heritage by using it as a showcase to celebrate nature and beauty.”
For those not in Versailles, the event will be streamed on Wednesday at 7:15 p.m. CET on dior.com, as well as DiorBeauty Instagram and YouTube accounts.
Versailles, underlined Laurent Kleitman, president and chief executive officer of Parfums Christian Dior, is a symbolic location for the LVMH Mo?t Hennessy Louis Vuitton-owned brand. Dior has sponsored the restoration of the Queen’s Grove there, and ad campaigns for J’Adore have been filmed in the Hall of Mirrors.
“This unique encounter is a dazzling celebration of the house of Dior’s passion for dance, sealed through numerous collaborations initiated by [Dior artistic director] Maria Grazia Chiuri with women choreographers,” said Kleitman.
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