Hearts & Arrows

Choreographer: Benjamin Millepied

Hearts & Arrows premiered in 2014 and is part 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 Reflections, inspired by the energy of rubies, and On the Other Side, inspired by emeralds.) 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.” Hearts & Arrows, with costumes by company dancer Janie Taylor, is inspired by diamonds and the idea of light. The dancers’ impressive athleticism and musicality are amplified through Millepied’s masterful choreography. The New York Times described the work as “a propulsive, kinetic stream of movement…[that] offers a glowing display of Mr. Millepied’s craftsmanship — the way he keeps his eight dancers constantly moving through asymmetrical and contrapuntal patterns…Everything is unexpected, everything feels serendipitously right.”

Premiere
December 1st, 2014 in Miami, Florida

Visual Concept
Liam Gillick

Lighting Design
Roderick Murray

Costume Design
Janie Taylor

Music
Philip Glass, String Quartet No. 3 (Mishima)
1. 1957 – Award Montage
2. November 25 – Ichigaya
3. 1934 – Grandmother And Kimitake
4. 1962 – Body Building
5. Blood Oath
6. Mishima/Closing
© 1985, Dunvagen Music Publishers Inc. (ASCAP). Used by permission. Performed by Kronos Quartet – Nonesuch Records. Recorded in 1993. Produced by Judith Sherman, Kurt Munkacsi, and Philip Glass.

Length
17 Minutes

Commissioned by Van Cleef & Arpels.