Situated in the stage’s center, they were literally dazzling, eliciting first gasps and then applause from a rapt audience. Last year, the Met Opera also welcomed their first black composer, Terrence Blanchard, signifying a broader trend of the high arts necessary embrace of the modern, a welcome diversification, and Knowles’ natural suitability to the avant-garde, her multidisciplinary bent.įollowing a stirring performance of George Balanchine’s Symphony in C, the sunshine yellow curtain lowered then lifted, revealing a bouquet of dancers. The first, Lido Pimienta, composed “sky to hold” for the company in 2021. Knowles is, stunningly, only the second black woman to ever write a score for the NYCB. Excited chatters about “Solange’s Ballet”, formally titled “Play Time”, buzzed through the theater halls. Knowles, however, was without a doubt, the draw of the evening. This is 23-year-old Reisen’s third piece for the ballet. Premiering were three new ballets, set to musical compositions by James Blake, Samuel Barber, and Knowles, who worked with designer Alejandro Gomez Palomo, and fellow wunderkind, choreographer Gianna Reisen. Last Wednesday’s event was set to honor Sarah Jessica Parker, who serves as its vice chair, (SJP was not in attendance, due to an urgent family matter) heading a board of directors that includes the likes of Laverne Cox, Diane Kruger, Claire Danes, and Elaine Welteroth. Koch theater: a pair of Tabi boots bearing the wearer’s name on their soles a woman draped in an architectural creation which for a moment, seemed to make sitting an impossibility opera gloves of supple, black leather, and enough plumes to fill an aviary. As a former dancer turned multidisciplinary artist, there is perhaps no one more suited to answer than Solange Knowles, who wrote an original musical score, her first and no doubt last turn as a composer.Īs expected, the show before the show was provided by the gala attendees.

It has been an attempt to answer the question of whether fashion and dance can become one. Over ten years, the fashion gala has raised over 24 million dollars in funding, featuring artists varied as Dries Van Noten, Giles Deacon, Raf Simons, Valentino, Justin Peck, and James Blake – remaining one of the city’s most anticipated cultural events, a showcase of not only what art is at present but what it could be. SOLANGE BALLET DEBUT – Image Courtesy of Beyoncé’s IG

Long black leather opera gloves