Paris Opera Ballet's 'Red Carpet' reveled in the garishness of glamour - 48 hills

"And so it was with all manner of promise and high hopes the curtain rose on the 75-minute work, an investigation of red carpets-their glamour, traditions, history, celebrity associations, and more. The grim underbelly of glamour, in Shechter's imagination is grotesqueness, grit, grime, and ambiguity. All of this made its way into the abstract narrative. The set, lighting, music, and pacing of the London-based choreographer's ballet were evocative of an underground cabaret or a warehouse nightclub"

"The company's dancers are best known for their mastery of classical ballets such as Swan Lake, Giselle, and the like. But in Red Carpet, they abandoned tradition and cavorted like swans on steroids. Tossing aside their pointe shoes, pink tights, and tutus, the dancers launched into outer orbit propelled by the stunning band. The abandon was wanton, the energy maxxed, the overall race pace interrupted only by sporadic lava lamp-like episodes that feel like group hallucinations or slow, touch-less orgies."

Paris Opera Ballet presented Hofesh Shechter’s Red Carpet in North America with 13 company dancers, Chanel costumes, and live music by the choreographer alongside a four-member jazz-rock band. The 75-minute work investigated red carpets—their glamour, traditions, history and celebrity associations—while foregrounding a grotesque, gritty underbelly. The set, lighting and pacing suggested an underground cabaret or warehouse nightclub, and a lavish amber chandelier opened the curtain. The dancers shed pointe shoes and classical conventions, performing with maximal, wanton energy punctuated by slow, lava lamp-like episodes that registered as collective hallucinations or ambiguous, touchless encounters.

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