From the opening night, choreographic heritage meets contemporary creation with Biped/Mycelium by Merce Cunningham and Christos Papadopoulos, followed by The Age of Content by (LA)HORDE – Ballet national de Marseille, Lucinda Childs’ Early Works, and Reflections: A Triptych by Benjamin Millepied with L.A. Dance Project. The program also revisits landmark works linked to Robert Rauschenberg through Dancing with Bob: Rauschenberg, Brown & Cunningham Onstage, which includes Trisha Brown’s beloved Set and Reset alongside Cunningham’s Travelogue, a vaudevillian pièce de résistance featuring music by John Cage that has not been performed by a professional company since 1979.
Since the 1920s, Van Cleef & Arpels has maintained close ties with the world of dance. These were strengthened in the late 1940s when Claude Arpels met choreographer George Balanchine. Their shared passion for precious stones led to an artistic collaboration resulting in Balanchine’s ballet Jewels, first presented in New York in April 1967. Echoing this encounter, a new partnership was initiated in 2012 with Benjamin Millepied, former principal dancer at the New York City Ballet and founder of the L.A. Dance Project company. In 2020, the Maison’s commitment to dance was reaffirmed with the creation of Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels.
In 2023, the first New York edition of the Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels Festival marked a significant milestone in the program’s young history. Over several weeks, some ten different performances-including recent works and pieces from the contemporary repertoire-as well as dance workshops, provided a panorama of international choreographic creation. Holding a new Festival in the city in 2026 illustrates the dedication to highlighting the importance of this art form in cultural expression and society at large. The new program will enable a growing audience to discover a universe whose richness, still often underrecognized, has captivated and inspired the Maison for over 80 years.
Founded at Paris’ 22 Place Vendôme in 1906, Van Cleef & Arpels came into being following Estelle Arpels’ marriage to Alfred Van Cleef in 1895. Over the decades, the excellence and creativity of the High Jewelry and Watchmaking Maison have established its reputation across the world. With a blend of inventiveness and poetry, Van Cleef & Arpels perpetuates a highly distinctive style that has produced numerous signatures: the Mystery Set technique, the Minaudière precious case, the transformable Zip necklace and the Alhambra motif. Its selection of gems that instill an emotion and the savoir-faire of its virtuoso craftsmen have given birth to enchanting jewelry and watchmaking collections. Whether inspired by nature, couture, dance or imaginary worlds, the Maison opens the gate to a timeless universe of beauty and harmony. The transmission of this exceptional craftsmanship, often unknown to the general public, has always been at the heart of the values of Van Cleef & Arpels. In 2012, the Maison therefore decided to create a unique entity in the world: L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts, with the aim to share the culture of jewelry with the widest possible audience, through courses, talks, exhibitions and books.
