Press room

For immediate release: Tuesday 1 March 2022

Blanca Li Dance Company
Le Bal de Paris

Friday 1–Saturday 9 April 2022, Barbican Theatre
Press performances: Friday 1 April 2022, 6pm, 7.15pm, 8.15pm, and 9.15pm

Music and dance merge with ground-breaking VR and body-tracking technology in this stunningly original virtual reality show, Le Bal de Paris. Audiences are invited to the biggest party in Paris as they enter a universe as poetic as it is fantastic. As they dance, move and interact with real-life performers and the other guests, they follow a heart-warming love story unfolding in breath-taking locations including a monumental, glamorous Parisian ballroom and a magical garden party.

Developed by world-renowned Spanish choreographer Blanca Li, Le Bal de Paris won the Best VR Experience award at the 78th Venice International Film Festival. With digital costume design by fashion house CHANEL, and virtuosic musical score by Tao Gutiérrez, the show takes audiences on an unforgettable journey, from classical waltz to a rip-roaringly wild Cancan finale. After the virtual experience audiences will have the opportunity to learn some of the dances with the Blanca Li team.

After training with Martha Graham in New York, Blanca Li founded Blanca Li Dance Company in 1993, based in Paris. Li’s productions have toured around the world’s most prestigious stages. She has also directed three feature films and a VR 360° film. She has collaborated with renowned institutions, fashion designers, stage and film directors as stage director, choreographer and filmmaker. She was elected member of the French Académie des Beaux-Arts in April 2019. Li’s last production at the Barbican, Robot, in 2017, saw performers interacting with dancing robots.

CHANEL fashion house has a long-standing history with the dance world. Founder Gabrielle Chanel had a strong interest in the art form and worked with leading figures at the time such as Nijinsky and Serge Lifar. Today, CHANEL continues to support dance, through patronage for companies such as Opera de Paris and ballets around the world.