In Arielle Smith's retelling of the classic, Carmen is not a lusty tragic figure; she is the badass boss of her domestic sphere -- a survivor -- clad in Gabriela Hearst.
Onstage during Arielle Smith's new, female-first vision of the classic "Carmen," which had its world premiere at the San Francisco Ballet Thursday night, the titular character wields a fiery red apron like a tool of manipulation -- using it to tug at, toy with, and take control of her lovers.
At 27, the Cuban-born Smith is a rising star, one of the youngest ever to receive the Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance. Her reframing of the familiar Bizet opera-turned-ballet is set in Cuba, not Spain, and told through the eys of Carmen herself, with costumes by the Uruguayan-American fashion designer Gabriela Hearst, whose collections are often inspired by artistic female heroines.
The dancers wear ribbed merino wool pieces in vibrant red, sunflower yellow and black, sensual and sustainable, showcasing every toned muscle, tendon and curve.
"It's always been a dream of mine to do ballet costumes..and it's a Latin production," Hearst said during a dress rehearsal Wednesday, adding that she studied dance as a child, "until my mom didn't want to drive me anymore.