Ballerinas have been playing some version of beautiful, often tragic figures for centuries in classic productions like “Giselle,” “Sleeping Beauty,” “Romeo and Juliet” and “Swan Lake.”
How refreshing, then, for Atlanta Ballet dancers Emily Carrico and Brooke Gilliam to play a far more complex breed of real-life woman in “Coco Chanel: The Life of a Fashion Icon.” The ballet makes its U.S. premiere at the Cobb Energy Centre Feb. 9 after a stint in Hong Kong where all five performances sold out. “Coco Chanel” will then travel to Queensland, Australia, in the fall.
The full-length narrative ballet chronicles the rise and fall of one of the 20th century’s most influential — and controversial — woman entrepreneurs and fashion designers who would usher fashion into the modern era with her wearable, unrestrained vision for women’s attire.
Known for innovating the little black dress; ropes of pearls; a clean, simple silhouette; and one of history’s most iconic perfumes, Chanel No. 5, Chanel freed women from the tyranny of corsets and petticoats and the restrictive styles of the past. Taking her cue from menswear, Chanel brought ease and comfort to fashion and introduced pants, as well as her classic collarless jacket and skirt as a spin on a man’s suit, to womenswear.
Depicting a figure so synonymous with idiosyncratic style, French costume and set designer Jérôme Kaplan was intent on channeling the Chanel look without drawing too much attention away from the dancers.
Credit: Shoccara Marcus
Credit: Shoccara Marcus
Kaplan incorporated into his design some of the most important elements of the Chanel look, distinguished by her “simplicity of lines, fluidity and very few colors — lots of blacks, navy blues, grays, beiges and ivories.”
Kaplan shared mood boards of his designs early on with the production’s Belgian-Colombian choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa. During their conceptualization of the ballet, the pair were inspired by a visit to the exhibition “Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto” at Paris’s Palais Galliera in 2020.
“I would wear those now,” said Ochoa of the garments on display.
Based on the signature white-and-black design of the Chanel No. 5 perfume box, Kaplan and Ochoa decided to divide the ballet into two parts: a white and a black section.
Atlanta Ballet’s Brooke Gilliam appears in “Coco Chanel” as “Shadow.” Performing in a mostly black costume as a kind of guiding force for the more flawed and human Chanel played by Emily Carrico, that split identity allows many facets of the designer to be treated onstage.
“She’s the voice in the head,” said Gilliam of her role.
Neither Carrico nor Gilliam has danced a role based on an actual woman before.
“Classical ballet is filled with roles that aren’t very flawed,” said Carrico. “I find it lots of fun. I enjoy it thoroughly.”
“I think in more modern terms, we can look at her as a girl boss,” said Gilliam. “She ran this business, and she didn’t come from anything. And I think she was extremely proud.”
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Gabrielle “Coco” Bonheur Chanel was born into poverty. Upon her mother’s death, her itinerant father abandoned his daughter at an orphanage where she learned to sew. She eventually found work as a cabaret singer and prostitute before embarking on her design career. With time, Chanel was able to gain access to high society and capital through a variety of well-positioned men. Her fashion house was bankrolled by her lover, British aristocrat Arthur Edward “Boy” Capel, who Chanel considered her great love.
“She knew how to seduce men,” observed Ochoa of both Chanel and her clothing designs. “The front is very square and simple. Then you turn around and the back, that’s a whole other story. And, I thought, she knew that men will not look directly at you, but when you pass, then they’ll see all the story that you have to tell,” laughed Ochoa.
Chanel would go on to use relationships with men, including Nazi spy Hans Günther von Dincklage, to further her career.
Playing a woman with such a troubling relationship to history’s villains was a new reality for Carrico. “I never pictured myself in my ballet career doing a pas de deux with a man dressed like a Nazi. It’s a little alarming.”
“We are telling her story and not all of it is great,” added Gilliam.
Ochoa emphasized that her ballet is not a documentary but a poetic interpretation of Chanel, whom she describes as a survivor.
“I never judge my heroine, my main character. I tried to research where their drive comes from,” said Ochoa. “I do a lot of backstory research: how she grew up, because usually the traumas of childhood form you and shape who you are and the choices you make in life. I tried to understand where it comes from. I do not agree with it.”
By intertwining the beauty of ballet with Chanel’s timeless designs, Ochoa came to realize that “sometimes you just need beauty in life. It can really fill you with a certain satisfaction and escapism of what’s happening in the world.
“Of course, some chapters of her life are a little bit more difficult to put on stage. But I did think we needed to address them, because I’m not idolizing her at all,” said Ochoa. “I thought I’d like to inform people because a lot of people don’t know.”
It’s not surprising a ballet centered on a famous, complicated woman was created by one of the few female choreographers working in a field dominated by men. A prolific choreographer, she has created 13 narrative ballets since 2012 and previously worked with the Atlanta Ballet on her 2012 production “Requiem for a Rose.”
“Coco Chanel: The Life of a Fashion Icon” is not her first ballet centered on a real-life woman. She has also depicted the lives of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo and Argentine politician Eva Peron in dance.
“I’m interested in telling stories about women,” she says. “I’m a woman myself, and we have hardships. And how did these women do it? They paved the way for us in some ways. So, I’m honoring them.”
Delving deeper into the designer’s antisemitism and espionage for the Germans, SCAD FASH hosts a discussion Jan. 31 about Chanel’s fashion legacy and her Nazi collaborations during WWII featuring SCAD professor and fashion scholar Sarah Collins, World War II historian Tyler Crafton-Karnes and the Atlanta Ballet’s costume director Colleen McGonegle.
In addition, the Breman Jewish History Museum presents a discussion titled “The Complicated Legacy of Coco Chanel,” on YouTube in early February. It will feature Ochoa, Atlanta Ballet’s artistic director Gennadi Nedvigin and Rabbi Joseph Prass. Details to come.
EVENT PREVIEW
“Coco Chanel: The Life of a Fashion Icon.” Performed by the Atlanta Ballet. Feb. 9-17. $26-$163. Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, 2800 Cobb Galleria Parkway, Atlanta. 404-892-3303, atlantaballet.com
“Coco Chanel and WWII: The Cost of Couture.” Discussion. 6:30 p.m. Jan. 31. Free, members only. RSVP required at scadfash@scad.edu. SCAD FASH, 1600 Peachtree St. NW, Atlanta. 404-253-3132, scadfash.org
