Their names are Hannah O’Neill, Bleuenn Battistoni, Camille Bon and Isaac Lopes Gomes. All are part of a generation of dancers determined to push the boundaries of the prestigious French institution: the Opéra de Paris. We met with them a few days before the Gala opening the new 2023-2024 season. A grand highlight of the Palais Garnier calendar, the long awaited soirée is the epitome of the unique relationship between Maison CHANEL and the Opéra de Paris Ballet. In 2023, we also celebrate CHANEL’s new title as Grand Mécène of the Opéra de Paris. Their creative relation found its roots in the 1920s, when Coco Chanel helped her friend Sergei Diaghilev with a production of The Rite of Spring. What followed was a beautiful as well as a productive collaboration with what modern dance had to offer, notably the Ballets Russes, whose history is undeniably linked to the Maison we all know is located on rue Cambon. This legacy was later preserved by Karl Lagerfeld and now by Virginie Viard, who both continued to dress the virtuoso dancers of the Opéra de Paris. i-D meets with four talents who think modernity rhymes with creation and solidarity, even sometimes with disruption.
Hannah O’Neill, Danseuse Étoile at the Opéra de Paris
Has dancing always been your calling?
Yes, but more than being a dancer, I wanted to join the Opéra de Paris, whose repertoire and Étoiles I’d always admired. At the age of 18, I finally entered the Maison, and it was truly a dream come true.
This year, you were named Danseuse Étoile, the Opéra de Paris’s highest distinction.
Yes, I’ll remember this moment for the rest of my life. I was lucky enough to share it with Marc Moreau. Above all, it was a deeply physical sensation, I have no words to describe the joy I felt.
As a dancer, what is your relationship with fashion?
Our costumes have an essential role in any ballet. Dancing has also allowed me to develop my own style, as well as getting to know my body, knowing what suits me and what doesn’t, or which pieces I’m comfortable wearing.
Dance is essential to CHANEL’s heritage, what would you say are the values the two Maisons share?
A shared history, but also finesse, savoir-faire and a passion for good taste. We understand each other in a very organic way.
How would you describe your generation as dancers?
We are curious and motivated. We wish to preserve the heritage and the tradition of dance, while moving towards a more contemporary approach. We have to evolve somehow if we want to communicate with our public and continue to please them. I try to be connected with the era we live in.
Do you still remember a CHANEL costume you wore during one opening gala?
Of course! For Serge Lifar’s Variations, I wore a Lys costume. It was my first CHANEL, and it was truly a beautiful moment.
What is the best thing about being a Danseuse Étoile?
Be confident about one’s uniqueness.
Isaac Lopes Gomes, Coryphée at the Opéra de Paris
How did you become a dancer?
I started dancing because my older sisters were taking classes. Initially, I was involved in soccer, playing for Olympique de Marseille Junior. At the age of 11, I had to choose between these two passions and eventually came to the Opéra de Paris.
What is your relationship to fashion?
Fashion enhances everyday life. I need to feel well-dressed in order to have a good day. My style is simple, comfortable yet elegant.
Why does costume play a fundamental role in ballet?
It gives you self-confidence, makes you feel beautiful. Eventually, it even motivates you to be better.
Does dance offer you freedom?
Yes, I’m very introverted as a person, and dance has helped me to express myself freely as well as gaining self-confidence.
What do you think about when you think of CHANEL?
It’s THE reference. A symbol of timeless elegance and maybe what simplicity means in Paris.
Do you remember a CHANEL ballet costume that made a deep impression on you?
What Danseur Étoile Hugo Marchand wore in the ballet Grand Pas Classique, truly magnificent.
Three words to describe your generation?
Ambitious, bold and united.
Bleuenn Battistoni, Première danseuse at the Opéra de Paris
What’s your take on fashion?
When I was little, I loved dresses that twirled and shoes that clicked. I was already subconsciously drawn to the connection between fashion and dance.
Which ballets have nourished your imagination as a dancer?
I would always look forward to summers at my grandmother’s house where we would watch ballets: Giselle, Coppélia, or La Dame aux Camélias…
How do you feel when you put on your costume before going on stage?
So confident! Clothes magnify our bodies and our movements. It also has a narrative function, setting a ballet in a specific era. But off stage, I prefer to be comfortable and just wear sneakers. As Ballet dancers, we have a dual image: we’re seen as artists, but we think of ourselves as athletes.
What are the core values uniting CHANEL and the Opéra de Paris?
A perpetual aim towards excellence through attention to detail, which contributes to the exceptional expertise that unites these two institutions.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
To hold on is to win. That phrase has always stayed with me.
Three words to define CHANEL?
Chic, feminine and timeless.
Camille Bon, Sujet at the Opéra de Paris
When did you start dancing?
Dancing was the first way I had of expressing myself. As time went by, I blossomed more and more and decided to make it my métier. I’ve been making a living out of my passion for eight years now.
What is your relationship with fashion?
Above all, I have a strong relationship with the costumes I wear on stage. I’ve always been fascinated by costumes I’ve seen in ballets, musicals and plays. For a dancer, our costume is our second skin.
What does CHANEL mean to you?
French savoir-faire and a constant search for quality and beauty.
How do you feel when you wear your costume on stage?
It allows me to concentrate in order to simply BE the role. It’s also like wearing armor on stage, it’s a protection.
What’s your favorite CHANEL piece?
Without a doubt two-tone slingbacks!
How do you see your generation of dancers?
We’re aware of the richness of our heritage and the value of the classical repertory we perform, but we also want to move the lines. Open up to questions of gender, inclusion and diversity, this is the only way of transcending social issues. Just like in fashion, we need to preserve the classics while bringing them up to date.
Credits
Photography Pablo Saez
Fashion Dan Sablon
Hair Tie Tomoya
Make Up Damien Chauvin and Nicolas Amedeo; Maquillage CHANEL with la ligne N°1 DE CHANEL and le rouge à lèvres 31 LE ROUGE.
Nails Saloua Derbali
Fashion Assistant Clara Viano
Hair Assistant Yui Hirohata
Make Up Assistant Nicola Amedeo
Nails Assistant Mia Radford
Production Alex le Rose, Tanya Ahmed, Laurene Mpia, Zoe Arich, Julia Marroni and Germain Cesena
Talent Hannah O’Neil, Bleuenn Battistoni, Camille Bon and Isaac Lopes Gomes
All clothing throughout CHANEL