‘Le Bal De Paris De Blanca Li’: Waltz Into This Award-winning VR Show, Dressed In Chanel

Ever wondered what it’s like to be in an immersive virtual reality (VR) show? You can now step into the fantastical world of Le Bal de Paris de Blanca Li—a sensory spectacle making its Southeast Asia debut in Singapore.

The brainchild of Spanish choreographer, filmmaker, dancer and actress Blanca Li, this unique experience is an immersive 50-minute live theatrical performance merging music, dance and narrative. The award-winning live show follows the whirlwind love story of Adèle and Pierre, who meet at a grand Parisian ball.

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More than just a performance, Le Bal de Paris de Blanca Li transports audiences to Paris and invites them to interact with the space and people as they wish, complete with a choice of virtual costumes designed exclusively by Chanel. Once suited up with the equipment, your journey begins in a boudoir filled with stunning ballgowns and sleek tuxedos. Then, waltz in a grand ballroom, wander through a garden maze and take in the sights on an enchanting sunset cruise—the immersive experience promises an adventure like no other.

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Thanks to cutting-edge technology like room-scale VR and full-body tracking, Li takes virtual reality to the next level, allowing participants to move or walk around a physical space in reality with their movements translated in the virtual space. Audience immersion is also elevated by two dancers on set, who intensify sensory engagement and touch throughout the experience.

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Le Bal de Paris de Blanca Li first premiered in Chaillot, Théâtre National de la Danse in 2021 and has toured numerous cities across the globe including Paris, London, Geneva and most recently, Taipei. The show will take the stage at Infinite Studios from 2 to 17 March 2024 in Singapore.

Here, Li tells us all about Le Bal de Paris de Blanca Li, her interest in VR, her partnership with Chanel and more.

You’re known for your wide range of artistic projects spanning across film, opera, art and fashion. How did you find your voice?

I can’t choose; one feeds the other and vice versa. They are intimately linked. But I know who I am, and this diversity is part of my identity. To me, there are no limits to what I can discover and draw inspiration from, and no limits on art forms that I want to explore—as long as they use movement and dance as language. I especially love all these art forms because I believe they are universal. They do not need much translation to be experienced by an audience.

Take us through your creative process.

I’ve never wanted to stay within boundaries, and since the beginning of my career, I [have] created shows at the crossroads of different disciplines. I like to create without compartmentalisation of art forms. I draw inspiration from my encounters, whether with everyday people—they can be young and old persons from all countries, cultures and traditions—and of course, encounters with other artists through their work. I like to study and immerse myself in other people’s work when I start dreaming about a new show. Writings, sculptures, drawings and paintings, photos, short video sequences, and impressions from memories come together in my personal collection of inspirations. But I always have ideas for something that has never been made; I have a rich imagination and I love to have fun.

What inspired you to dream up Le Bal de Paris?

I like to accumulate knowledge and experiences to try to understand a universe and make a show out of it. It’s in the creation that I’m the most involved and fulfilled. That would be the main reflection of this journey. I live through dance, but for me, it’s not a whole. Dance is a way of life. It takes me to other worlds, on incredible journeys, and I let myself be carried along. If dance leads me to VR, I go there; if it leads me to the circus, I go there; if it’s towards fashion or cinema, I go there. My thread is dance, but why would I lock myself into a single discipline? Le Bal de Paris was a way to venture into a new mode of expression. I learned a lot from VR technology.

Where does your interest in virtual reality come from, and what excites you about incorporating new technology into your practice?

I’ve choreographed music videos, starting with Around the World by Daft Punk, directed by Michel Gondry. Then I discovered the world of fashion with Jean Paul Gaultier and Azzedine Alaïa. I learned about cinema with Jean-Jacques Annaud, Michel Gondry and Pedro Almodovar, who became friends of mine. I’ve created a world of collaborations with wonderful artists that also feed my creations. That’s how I came across VR, a technology that interests me enormously for its innovative power. Le Bal de Paris was my idea of creating a live immersive show in VR, using many ideas I had developed through my collaborations in music, cinema, fashion or performance.

I’ve always loved working with new technologies. VR seduced years ago, when I discovered a film where you became passengers on a roller coaster. I found the experience incredible and soon created Blanca Li 360 (2015), a virtual reality dance short film where the viewer is at the centre, in very close proximity to dancers who evolve in an open work space. Live performance is something so powerful that has held tremendous importance across all civilisations. It’ll always be there. VR will not replace theatre; it just brings new forms of creation that we can use today. What can we do today that we couldn’t do before? It’s also our role as artists to invent the future.

Tell us about your partnership with Chanel. What was the maison’s involvement in this project, and how do art and fashion come together or complement each other?

From the beginning, I wanted the costumes to be amazing. Fashion has much fewer limits in VR than in the real world. Chanel agreed to follow me on the project—they created several wonderful dresses and costumes inspired from their haute couture collection, and each guest gets to choose their look for the evening. And since you only have to touch the outfit of your choice to wear it, you end up with men in women’s dresses and vice versa. That’s the fun part—everyone can be transformed in a second! Working to make the pieces look and move like real fabric was a very interesting challenge. I’m proud of the work my team has done; the costumes are a big breakthrough and contribute to the uniqueness of the experience.

What were the biggest challenges you faced and how has working on this project enriched you?

I had to understand how new technologies and animation work to be able to adapt all the ideas I had in mind. One of the biggest challenges was to have 10 participants and two dancers in the same environment, in real-time. We didn’t want to get into a complex motion capture setup—not only for budget considerations, but also to make it easier to install and run in different venues. The technology limits a certain number of things, of course. Choreographing in VR meant I had to create movements that were able to be done within the space and with the trackers worn by the dancers. The technology not only brings limits, but it also brings a lot of freedom as I could create movements that would not be possible in real life, like flying. Finding out everything I could and could not do for this show was my biggest challenge. For example, there’s a scene where we enter a small cabaret and I would’ve loved for the audience to be able to drink at that moment but it was not possible.

What do you hope showgoers will take away from the performance?

I want the audience to have a lot of fun—to forget that they’re in a virtual world, to feel that they’re taking part in a real-time party, and to have fun dancing for real! The idea of a huge ball to dance together was a perfect fit. I hope they’ll come out of the virtual experience with memories and feelings of aesthetic pleasure and discovery, having spent a very high moment in company of friends, relatives or strangers.

Blanca Li Dance Company celebrates its thirtieth anniversary next year. What has your career path been like, and what’s next for you?

I’m very happy to be celebrating 30 years of creation, work and fiestas! I’ve always followed my instincts, and my audience has followed me around the world. I hardly have moments to reflect on my past, because I’m always looking forward to future projects. I can’t wait to present to you my next stagings: The choreographic opera Dido and Aeneas written by Henry Purcell and performed by Les Arts Florissants orchestra, as well as an adaptation of Russian composer Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring. And soon, more projects involving new technologies.

What advice would you give to budding multidisciplinary artists?

Follow your inspiration and don’t hesitate to use your creativity with tools that allow you to go further in the experience you give to the audience. If you’re passionate about your art, you will find your own way and your own tools. Always be humble and curious, always be open to new encounters and interests. Sometimes, putting yourself at the service of another artist or creative spirit will reveal resources inside you that you wouldn’t have discovered yourself. Don’t isolate yourself from the work of others.

Le Bal de Paris de Blanca Li will take the stage at Infinite Studios from 2 to 17 March 2024 in Singapore. Tickets, priced at $73 for weekdays (Sunday through Thursday) and $87 for weekends (Friday and Saturday) are now available on SISTIC.