Dance in Colour: Roksanda Designs for The Royal Ballet's 'Diamond Celebration'

LONDON — Let there be color!

Roksanda Ilinčić brought spring colors to the dancers of the Royal Ballet at the Royal Opera House for the universe of Valentino Zucchetti premiere of "Prima", a reinterpretation of "For Four" by Christopher Wheeldon as part of "A Diamond Celebration".

Zucchetti invited Ilinčić aboard his ballet to mirror the female-centric piece, which highlights featured the Royal Ballet's principal dancers — Francesca Hayward, Mayara Magri, Fumi Kaneko and Yasmine Naghdi.

“He wanted a designer to tell that story through the costumes. It was such a pleasure to be invited to be part of this incredible journey,” said the designer, who worked with the Royal Ballet in 2020 on Cathy Marston's 'In Our Wishes'.

"It was such a pleasure to be able to come together again for this very special project, creating a women-centric piece with an innovative design approach. Embracing this aspect from discussing sketches and draping in my design studio to rehearsing at the Royal Ballet, we worked to challenge ideas of what the one would expect classic ballet flats, incorporating modern cuts, fabrications and colors,” Ilinčić added.< /p>

Fumi Kaneko dances in "Prima". Courtesy of Roksanda

The costumes designed by Ilinčić stood out on stage even against the highly decorated crystallized ensemble of the "Diamonds “by George Balanchine.” Snail-shell spirals attached to above-the-knee dresses in lightweight turquoise, sun-yellow and teal fabrics twirl with the dancers, along with a burgundy, pink and orange dress with a skirt of soft drapes, and the signature piece, a long burgundy turtleneck dress with neon pink lining and trim, which in motion twirled like airy silk.

"How huge the room was...