Where Control Becomes Desire: Time To Dance by Wim Vanlessen

Excess is easy. Mastery is rare.
That’s why ballet is captivating a new generation, not as nostalgia, but as a statement of control, discipline, and sensual authority in a world addicted to chaos.

Luxury has shifted. It’s no longer about accumulation or spectacle, but about precision. The confidence to refine rather than overload. Ballet understands this instinctively. Every movement is intentional, every pause charged with meaning. What once felt distant or ceremonial now reads as radical: a cultivated resistance to noise.

This cultural realignment explains ballet’s growing influence far beyond the opera house. Its language has found new relevance in fashion, wellness, and contemporary design. Industries rediscovering the power of the body as intelligence, not ornament. Ballet is no longer about perfection for perfection’s sake; it’s about presence.

Few figures embody this evolution as convincingly as Wim Vanlessen. Former principal dancer of the Royal Ballet of Flanders and one of Belgium’s most celebrated artists, Vanlessen moves effortlessly between high culture and modern lifestyle. His career on stage was shaped by the greats: Béjart, Balanchine, Forsythe, Akram Khan. Choreographers who demanded both emotional depth and technical command. Off stage, his sensibility caught the attention of fashion and luxury’s inner circle.

As a creative movement director, Vanlessen has collaborated with houses and visionaries such as Dries Van Noten, Carolina Herrera, Delvaux, and Vogue World, translating the discipline of dance into a physical grammar for contemporary elegance. Here, movement becomes attitude: controlled, confident, and quietly provocative.

This same philosophy drives Time To Dance, the international ballet gala Vanlessen founded and curates. Less traditional performance, more immersive experience, the event brings together world-class dancers for an evening that celebrates classical mastery through a contemporary lens. Clean lines, emotional clarity, and an intensity that speaks to today’s cosmopolitan audience.

When the curtain falls, the night continues. Artists, patrons, and cultural leaders gather without hierarchy. Not to be seen, but to connect. It’s a rare moment where excellence feels accessible, and where culture is lived rather than consumed.

There is also intention behind the elegance. Proceeds from Time To Dance support emerging talent through the Dansersfonds foundation, reinforcing the idea that real luxury lies in transmission: knowledge, opportunity, and continuity. Supporting the next generation is not charity; it’s responsibility with style.

Ballet doesn’t rush. It asks for time, patience, and attention. In return, it offers moments of clarity in a culture often overwhelmed by images. Its appeal lies in that balance.

Ballet’s quiet resurgence isn’t a trend. It’s a recalibration. A reminder that restraint can be seductive, that discipline can be liberating, and that true power often moves without noise.

Mastery, after all, doesn’t need to shout. It simply holds your gaze.

Time To Dance by Wim Vanlessen – 9 February 2026 – 8PM
International Ballet Gala

Koningin Elisabethzaal
Koningin Astridplein 20-26
2018 Antwerpen