Working on Swan Lake tutus :

Time Traveler

Wore my Mama's 1972 Laura Ashley dress to work yesterday and got LOTS of compliments!



Somewhere there is a picture of her standing in this same spot wearing that dress but the difference is, SHE'S on the poster!

Miss Misty

Assisted the amazing Misty Copeland at a photo shoot this morning.

Ballet and Blouses

Phew, have I been busy! Today is my first day off in 2 weeks. The Opera ended May 14th and load- in for ABT was May 15th. I LOVE working with ABT. The Company and Crew are great people and for the most part I cant believe I get paid to dress Ballerinas and watch from the wings every night.

Also, in my spare minutes I made a shirt for my dear friend Katie G. We went to college together and worked at American Girl Theatre together too. She is going to be a bridesmaid in a friends wedding this weekend, but Katie prefers to wear mens clothing and asked if I would make her a shirt in the same color as the bridesmaids dresses. I love to help a sista' out so I said Yes! and we went to work. First we ordered a swatch of "Matisse Blue" fabric from J. Crew and I did some hunting to find a matching fabric. It turned out to be a bit of a challenge to match the color but we decided on a beautiful silk dupioni for only $10 a yard! Sweet.



We used McCall's Pattern 4079. First I made a muslin and we had a fitting. Good thing, too, because it needed a lot of adjustment. The main problem I think was that the shirt pattern was meant to be worn a bit slouchy and oversized, but we wanted a more tailored fit. Sooooo, I adjusted the armcye, made an FBA dart and shortened the arm length, too.



I think it turned out really nicely. Oh, also I had the button holes done at Johnathan's Embroidery. It took 5 mins and cost $5 to have 10 small holes done. It is sooo worth it to save you time and end up with beautiful, professional button holes.



I handed it off to Katie today and it looked great on her! I'll update with pictures from the wedding next week!

***UPDATE***
There she is on the far right! The color was perfect!

Totally Nutzo...

Im sad The Nutcracker is over. It is always such a pleasure dressing these lovely soloist ladies...




(L-R) Maria Riccetto (Mila Kunis's ballet double in The Black Swan), Misty Copeland (of Prince's Crimson and Clover video) and Sarah Lane (Natalie Portman's ballet double in The Black Swan)



(A snapshot from backstage during second act)

Nutcracker Sweets

Check out this treasure trove of information on ABT's new production of The Nutcracker! There are lots of behind the scenes peeks and interviews. We start tech. rehearsals next week and now I'm even more excited than I already was! I think the last Nutcracker I worked on was at NCSA in 1996 dancing as a party child. Come to think of it, a few of the ABT company members were with me there, too. Small world.

Looking Forward...

November is slow for me as far as the Opera goes. This job is unique in the fact that you are hired for specific Operas, and the performances of those specific Operas are spread out over weeks, even months. Neither Boris nor La Boheme have performances right now. La Bo has four shows in December, then I pick up Tosca in January, Nixon in February as well as La Bo again, and then Boris resumes in March with my final show being Tosca April 16th- then ABT's season begins one month later.

In the mean time Im selling away at Esprit and looking forward to a short run of ABT's new production of The Nutcracker at B.A.M. This means I will be spending my first Christmas in New York! My parents and sister will be joining me up here for the Holiday and I think it will be a really fun and unique experience to celebrate in the City! Now I have a real excuse to buy and decorate a tree!

Opera daze...

Im loving working on Godunov but Im getting used to some of the major differences between Opera at the Met and Ballet at the Met:

1. Singing rather than dancing. Obviously. The power of all those voices and the orchestra is unbelievable. Although, the Opera does have their own ballet chorus but Im not dressing them. (Im with the kids!)

2. The sheer number of people. This opera has an enormous cast and therefor an enormous crew. I was standing in the stage right wings waiting for a change today- and literally almost 100 people were back there at once.

3. Age. The average age at ABT was probably 30. The Opera is more like 40.

4. Set. The sets are massive and the stage is raked.

5. Costume. They are bigger and heavier. Since most of the singers do little more than walk to position, stand, and gesture, the costumes can be very cumbersome.



Image by Rachel Papo

I was also asked to dress La Boheme (the original Rent). Glad I get to stick around!

ABT Met Season Ends...

Well words cant even describe how much I loved working as a Dresser for American Ballet Theatre's 2010 Met Season. Every time I would walk up those steps to Lincoln Center I thought about how lucky I was to be there. Every night that I got a chance to watch from the wings I would get chills.



I made it a point to take in and appreciate that I loved being at work. Sure there were grumpy days full of sweaty and stinky costumes. There were rare moments of Ballerina Divas claiming they didn't have a hat or someone stole their tights.. Sometimes it was really hot and sometimes it was really cold. Burly Local One guys would yell at you if you were standing in the wrong spot. Maybe you'd have to smash a cockroach or two, but hey, it was worth it.



Because for all the sweat and stink and grumpiness there was everything else. Unbelievably talented and dedicated artists. Amazing supportive friends who watch each other from the wings. Some of the goofiest people I have ever met. The magic of being moved by movement and music 8 shows a week.



Thanks ABT! I cant wait till the next one!

Sneak Peak

Shoo, our computer caught a nasty virus that it just couldn't kick! It took a few days of some intense treatment from Dr. E.W. Peck, but now its up and running just fine.

Here's a sneak peak at a little something I've been working on this week. You'll get the final view in a few days.



Also, tomorrow is the last day of the Met season with ABT. I've had so much fun there and I cant wait to write a whole post on that subject. Now, I must dash and take a cold shower to beat the heat!

A dream is a wish your heart makes...

Great news, my Mom is being released from the hospital tomorrow! Dreams do come true!


(The Castle from Sleeping Beauty)

A View from Stage Left

(click to enlarge)

Chandeliers

Chandeliers waiting to be hung for Lady of the Camellias.

Opera House

I love walking out of the Opera House after an evening show. Its a magical place!

Fountain Faerie

A father and daughter discus the ballet in front of the Lincoln Center fountain.

Dressing Room...

Week one down, seven more to go!

Bayadere Tutus

Met Season Begins!

So yesterday was my first day at the Met. and we opened today! Im still getting used to the vastness that is backstage. One gets easily lost. The ladies are lovely and tomorrow we open La Bayadere. These costumes are amazing! Beautiful silks and sparkley beading!


source

Also, I couldnt resist being a huge dork and walking out onto center stage just to stare out into the house. I got goosebumps.

ABT

Hooray! I started working at American Ballet Theater this week! So far Im just doing some tedious labeling, but I dont care! I'm just happy to be there!



Right now were prepping John Neumeier's Lady of the Camellias. The dresses are so beautiful!





I love costumes!