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The classic tales in One Thousand and One Nights are filled with horror, crime, sex and fantasy. The storyline begins with a Persian king who every day takes a new bride, and every night kills her. It is not until one bride begins telling him nightly stories that are so intriguing that he is too distracted to murder her. These are the stories that makeup One Thousand and One Nights. These are the stories of the Ballet Preljocaj’s newest show, “Les Nuits (The Nights).”

A mysteriously wondrous and sensual world is created for “Les Nuits.” Eighteen dancers perform to the music by Natacha Atlas, Samy Bishai and 79D while on a stage designed by Constance Guisset and wearing costumes by Azzedine Alaïa.

In conjunction with the ballet, the Music Center has teamed with Los Angeles-based fashion designers Bri Seeley and Michelle Hébert to create garments inspired by the characters and stories in One Thousand and One Nights. Although each designer has her own unique style, their pieces both have a wonderfully dark element to them, just as the stories they are using as inspiration do.

Seeley uses femininity to fuel her designs.

“I’m looking at the iconic imagery of One Thousand and One Nights. I didn’t use a specific story I just went with what that [iconic imagery] looks like. How do I take the classic One Thousand and One Nights and be able to tell a feminine story with it?”

Hébert focuses on the theme of pursuing wealth, along with the constant coveting by the characters in One Thousand and One Nights.

“I decided I would have one of my pieces representing the king and one design representing genie, yet that also represents the pursuit of wealth. In the Arabian tales there is also something they are after, something they are coveting.”

All of the pieces are on display in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion lobby for the entirety of the ballet’s run.

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What: Ballet Preljocaj’s “Les Nuits”

Where: Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., Los Angeles 90012

When: Friday, June 20 at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, June 21 at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, June 22 at 2 p.m.

Tickets: $34-$125

Contact: (213) 972-0711 or MusicCenter.org

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