On the Other Side

Choreographer: Benjamin Millepied

On the Other Side premiered in 2016 and is the third installment of Benjamin Millepied’s “Gems” trilogy, a collaboration between L.A. Dance Project and Van Cleef & Arpels. (The two other ballets completing this trilogy are Hearts and Arrows, inspired by diamonds and the idea of light, and Reflections, inspired by the energy of rubies.) Millepied has described this trilogy of ballets as “an emotional journey” with “a strong and hopeful sense of lasting love and community amidst the uncertainty in which we live.” On the Other Side, inspired by emeralds, is set to a suite of piano études by Philip Glass with jewel-tone velvet costumes by designer Alessandro Sartori and a remarkable set by Los Angeles artist Mark Bradford. The piece’s eight dancers ebb and flow naturally between ensemble dancing, pas de deux, solos, and groups of three or four, sustaining Millepied’s high lyricism and emotional momentum through to the ballet’s pensive conclusion.

Premiere
June 24th, 2016 at Sadler’s Wells in London, United Kingdom

Art
Mark Bradford

Lighting Design
Lucy Carter

Costume Design
Alessandro Sartori

Music
Philip Glass: Etude No. 1, 2, 6,12,16,18.   Orphee Suite – Mvmnt 2 & Mvmnt 7, Trilogy Sonata Mvmnt 1 – Knee Play No. 4 from Einstein on the Beach by Philip Glass.  ©1999, 2012, 1993, 1976.  Dunvagen Music Publishers, Inc.  Used by Permission.    From Philip Glass: The Complete Piano Etudes – Maki Namekawa, piano (2014, Orange Mountain Music) and The Orphee Suite for Piano, Music by Philip Glass – Paul Barnes, piano (2003, Orange Mountain Music).

Length
43 minutes

Commissioned by Van Cleef & Arpels.

On the Other Side