Gabe Stone Shayer Combines Music, Fashion, And Classical Ballet As Part Of Today’s New Curation Of Pop Culture

For a choreographer, dancing is the only form of expression. Body movements convey messages to be interpreted. But similarly, for fashion, the body does the same thing, the only difference is that it is encased in someone else’s artwork and adapted to your style. Non-transferable, dancing and fashion are always trying to communicate through each other.

For dancers Gabe Stone Shayer, fashion and its sometimes fleeting trends have become his closest allies in promoting the art of fleeting dance. Representing a small number of black men in the ballet arena, Shayer was the creative director and soloist who came up with the must-see concept of black men in ballet from a great classical choreographer. Alvin Ailey, and those who come after – as well as before.

Taking the lens on a fashion journey amid dance culture in America, it seemed fitting for Shayer to be dressed up by Dapper Dan himself, who was known for dressing rappers, b-boys, and d-boys, in the early days of hip hop. For the American Ballet Theatre gala, Shayer wore an Indian-style housecoat of silk, in honey tones, named King Coat by Dapper Dan.

Breaking the trend and becoming popular culture, once again, ballet has been democratized by modern great dancers such as Misty Copeland, James B. Whiteside, and Isabella Boylston, all high-ranking members of the American Ballet Theatre, founded in 1939. Gabe Stone Shayer created a ballet track in the mainstream. Fashion and personal style are Shayers’ gifts, especially at a time when the world stage is shutting down amid the global pandemic.

While 2016 US Date the numbers for ballerinas support white women at nearly 65.9%, white male ballers making up 13.6% of the overall participation. This may make fans anxious, but only 4.45% of dancers are African-American men and only 2.27% are African-American women, showing a lot of lack of representation.

Challenging enough, what is, or was, a ballet trend is the perception of whites as the proverbial Prince Charming or the stereotyped Black Swan ideal for the traditional role. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1993, Shayer grew up learning to dance early. At the age of 14 she will travel to Russia to join the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow to practice ballet at the 250-year-old institution. Despite his rigorous training, he will realize his ethnicity under the gaze of Russian society. In 2011 he will join ABT and in 2020, he has been considered a soloist with non-profit organizations and institutions.

Fashion has increased the visibility of Shayers’ craft and has brought it on a journey down the runway. As an ambassador for Lululemon, the active clothing brand, Shayer was recently creative director of the film project PAS DE DEUX which was dedicated in collaboration with legendary French fashion house CHANEL, to the rescue of the arts during the 2020s lockdown. It was noted that Gabrielle [Coco] Chanel is big ballet support. An impromptu lunch meeting with Russian creative impresario Sergei Diaghilev of the acclaimed Ballet Russes essentially turned into a pitch for Coco Chanel of her ballet The Rite of Spring for which she was happy to fund.

PAS DE DEUX exemplifies the interdisciplinary talent that can unite and collaborate with the American Ballet Theater and ballet arts. A four-episode series of platform video chats between ABT dancers and 4 talented creatives from other industries and disciplines. This includes lead dancer Isabella Boylston with chef Marcus Samuelsson, lead dancer Cassandra Trenary talking to artist AR Kat Sullivan, soloist Luciana Paris with artist Chloe is Wise.

Shayer sat opposite Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Alicia Keys in a video chat, wearing CHANEL pearls and cardigan. He would explain to her his feelings for the ballet industry and how he would limit his personal style and trajectory as a black dancer. His time in quarantine helped him find the courage to reveal who he was no matter what.

At the climax of discussions between the two, Shayer will perform Alicia Keys’ song Love Looks Better at the empty Apollo theater, known for its cultural roots in the Black stage show. Shayer’s journey will include discovering his own hair. She was wearing a cornrow braid for the first time, a style she had never seen before and had not been widely accepted, perhaps until now.

Style is an individual expression and that is what fashion does for Shayer as well as others in the ballet, and craft communities. Collaborating with conscious brands like PANGAIA on their casual wear collection and have worked with Bloomingdales for their ‘Shop for Good’ campaign. This is what fashion has done to the world and how Shayer sees the future in ballet. A future that values ​​cultural relevance and appreciates artistic diversity.