Fashion and dance: A lasting romance

By Viktoria Koltsova

The St. Petersburg Times

Published: September 12, 2012 (Issue # 1726)

FRENCH VOGUE Sylvie Guillem poses for Vogue.

Ballet in St. Petersburg may only just be coming to the end of its regular summer hiatus, but Erarta has stepped in to console those pining for it with a photo exhibit titled “Dance in Vogue” organized by Russian Vogue and Aurora Fashion week, among others. The exhibit celebrates and explores the unbreakable bond between fashion and ballet.

Russian Vogue prepared a special edition titled “Dance in Vogue” to mark the grand reopening of Moscow’s newly refurbished Bolshoi Theater in October last year. The issue featured ballet photographs that had been taken especially for Vogue during the last 13 years. A vast collection of ballet-related photos were found in the archives of the Conde Nast publishing house during the selection process, and these have now been compiled to create an exhibit devoted to photographic masterpieces inspired by the art of ballet.

The show comprises 120 photographs taken during the last 100 years.

“It is an exhibit of stars, by all means,” said Mikhail Ovchinnikov, director of Erarta, at the opening of the exhibit last month. The subjects include Anna Pavlova, Margot Fonteyn, Rudolf Nureyev, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Margie Gillis, Sylvie Guillem and Diana Vishneva, captured by legendary Vogue photographers such as Vivian Maier, Horst P. Horst, Cecil Beaton, Helmut Newton and Arthur Elgort.

“The main goal of the Dance in Vogue project is to show the unbreakable bond between fashion and ballet, and the trend-setting role of Russian ballet,” said Viktoria Davydova, editor-in-chief at Russian Vogue.

“There has always been a strong chemistry between ballet and fashion,” she said. “Still, the greatest romance of the century happened between ballet and fashion photography. Prima ballerinas established fashion trends in high society, designers looked for inspiration in the works of famous choreographers ... and fashion designers made costumes for ballet performances.”

Sergei Diaghilev’s Russian Seasons, which featured costumes by Coco Chanel, among others, had an enormous influence on Paris fashion trends for several years in a row. Pierre Cardin created multiple collections inspired by Maya Plisetskaya, made costumes for several ballets in which she starred, and designed more than 30 dresses especially for the ballerina. Gianni Versace worked on costumes and scenery for Maurice Bejart’s ballet company.

The exhibit does not focus solely on Russian dancers. Stars of the New York City Ballet, Opera Garnier and Covent Garden are captured executing flawless arabesques and grand battements. The changes in the idea of the perfect body in ballet can also be traced though the exhibit: One decade, tiny childlike dancers rule the stage, while the next is dominated by tall and mature-looking performers.

The photographer Annie Leibovitz, herself the author of many spectacular dance shots, once said: “Dancing is almost impossible to shoot, because it is born from the air and tends to disappear in it.”

Despite this difficulty, all the works at the exhibit have captured the movement of dance — and kept it hostage. Style and esthetics have also been preserved for eternity in the images: George Balanchine’s dancers look sharp, sophisticated and striving for perfection, just like his choreography, while Plisetskaya appears as an explosion of energy, just as she performed. Photos of Sylvie Guillem likewise capture her commanding stage presence.

The featured photographs, though depicting a range of different styles and epochs, together form a fascinating and beautiful timeline of ballet, fashion and the art of photography.

“Dance in Vogue” is on show through Oct. 14 at Erarta Museum and Galleries of Contemporary Art, 2, 29th Liniya, Vasilyevsky Island. Tel. 324 0809.

www.erarta.com