Chanel — a longtime patron of dance — is helping New York’s top dance companies get back onstage.

Lincoln Center today unveiled the first BAAND Together Dance Festival, part of its “Restart Stages” outdoor performance program. Kicking off in August, the festival will feature dancers from Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theatre, Ballet Hispánico, Dance Theatre of Harlem, and New York City Ballet — the first time the five companies will be sharing the same stage. Repertoire, different for each performance, will include choreography by Rennie Harris, Jessica Lang, Alvin Ailey, Jerome Robbins and Alexei Ratmansky, among others.

Five nightly performances will be staged in Damrosch Park from Aug. 17 to 21, and tickets for each free performance will be distributed through the TodayTix Lottery. The festival is made possible by Chanel and the Arnhold Dance Innovation Fund.

In a collective statement about the project, artistic directors from the five dance companies described the BAAND Together Dance Festival as “a celebration of the glory of our art and the power of unity.”

Chanel’s support marks a continuation of the house’s commitment to dance and the arts. A friendship with Serge Diaghilev led Gabrielle Chanel to become a lifelong dance patron and creative collaborator. In 1920, the designer funded the revival of the (very scandalous at the time) ballet “e Sacre du Printemps” (“The Rite of Spring”). In 1924, she designed the costumes for “Le Train Bleu,” performed by Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes. Chanel outfitted the dancers in designs inspired by sporting life; her vision of leisurewear was revolutionary for the ballet stage.

Today, Chanel continues its dance patronage as official partner of the Nijinsky Awards, patron of the Opera de Paris’s Opening Gala, and a Living Heritage partner of the Australian Ballet.

Gabrielle Chanel’s costume design for the 1924 ballet “Le Train Bleu.” Courtesy of Chanel

Gabrielle Chanel Courtesy

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