Blanca Li

©Angela SUÁREZ

Blanca Li: Andalusia, mi amor

The Andalusian choreographer, film director, dancer and actress infused her radical and contemporary vision of flamenco into the Dior cruise 2023 show, which was itself a tribute to la Capitana, the sobriquet for Carmen Amaya, a legend of the art. Interview by Marie Lefleuriel.

MARIE LEFLEURIEL: As a native of Granada, near Seville, what emotions did you experience while collaborating on the Dior Cruise 2023 show?

BLANCA LI: I am deeply Spanish, and Andalusian above all. Growing up in Granada gave me a powerful identity, a sensitivity to aesthetics rooted in a mixed culture, drawn from various periods of a region that blends Arab-Andalusian, Jewish, Spanish and Romani cultures. Flamenco nourished my childhood and adolescence, and every day it continues to inspire my sense of beauty, passion and perfection. Seville, the capital of Andalusia, is a magical place where all these elements are magnified with particular power, and where I have always been swept up in intense artistic adventures. Choreographing a fashion show inspired by the Andalusian culture on the Plaza de España, one of the city’s most grandiose monuments, with musicians and dancers who are at the peak of their talent, stirred me immediately. The emotions I felt during the show to which I contributed are the same ones that inflame a flamenco that’s integrated with modernity, that thrill that gets under your skin and stays forever, but in an XXL version.

©ALESSANDRO GAROFALO

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©Video produced by Alba Sotorra Cinema Productions - Dior would like to thank the FIDAS Foundation and the Finnish Pavillion for welcoming our music rehearsals

ML: How did you conceive the choreography?

BL: Maria Grazia Chiuri and I discussed her artistic intentions, the concept behind her collection and what she desired for the show; I visited the location with her and imagined a staging around the fashion show. Two soloists, two groups of dancers on either side, on the bridges. The rest is my language, which has always borrowed from flamenco and contemporary dance movements, which very naturally let me create a choreographic composition for the group and for the soloists. The music, played by the Seville Orchestra and conducted by Alberto Iglesias, carried the choreography, which took off very quickly, very powerfully, and soared very high.

©Angela SUÁREZ

ML: Maria Grazia Chiuri says she admires Spanish women’s character: “They’re strong, while still wanting to be beautiful and independent.” Do you recognize yourself in that description?

BL: Of course! I also recognize my mother, and the heritage of values that she passed down to me. She knew she was very beautiful and very seductive, but the strength she gave us is the courage to make things happen, to find the material means to give a future and freedom to her seven children, notably her daughters, by setting no limits at a time when that was not a given. That she trusted me to go to New York alone at seventeen, to build my career as a dancer and choreographer, shows how much she cared about her daughters’ independence! So, yes, I am proud to represent that freedom, that power, and to embody Spanish women’s reputation for beauty and independence through my work.

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