Alejandro Gómez Palomo, founder and creative director of the Spanish fashion house Palomo Spain, designs the costumes for the dance piece ‘Silk’. As the latest work by Spanish choreographer Iván Pérez, the performance will premiere on Saturday at the Heidelberg Theater and Orchestra.
In the dialogue between the movement of the body and the texture of silk, ‘Silk’ is a sensual dance performance that deals with the concepts of gender roles and self-expression. Palomo Spain’s vision blurs the boundaries between masculinity and femininity and suggests a unique form of sexual identity inspired by the metamorphosis of the silk-producing butterfly, the silkmoth. The project follows artists Palomo and Pérez’s previous collaboration for the Paris Opera Ballet in ‘The Male Dancer’ in 2018.
The silk used in the piece’s costumes references the texture and refined elegance of the fabric – characteristics that have given the material its reputation as a most precious textile treasure for centuries. Originally coming from China and transported via the Silk Road trade route, it used to only end up in the hands of the world elite.
Inspired by this traditional history of the material and deepening the exploration of masculinity begun in ‘The Male Dancer’, Pérez questions binary concepts in ‘Silk’. Smooth movements and complex choreography explore the interplay between body and silk.
To bring the narrative to life, Palomo designed a transparent silk skin for all dancers that acts like their own cocoon. In Pérez’s choreography, sensuality and androgyny are subsequently explored through synchronous gestures that evolve from uniformity to individuality, creating a nuanced dance that overcomes binary conventions through fluid and flexible movements of the material.
The piece can be seen from March 2nd in the Marguerre Hall of the Heidelberg Theater and Orchestra.
This article originally appeared on FashionUnited.es. Translated and edited by Heide Halama.