Every year I feel like
I spend my entire holiday season creating costumes for one Christmas
performance or another. That’s right from
October until usually around the middle of December I am hard at work creating
dance costumes. Don’t misconstrue, I
work all year long on costumes, but the holidays and from April until the
middle of June are my busiest seasons.
This year I got the
joy of working with Charm City Ballet to bring a new look to their Spirits as
they took the stage with Scrooge in A Christmas Carol. This was CCBs 5th year putting on
the production. Every year they bring a
little bit more to this holiday classic and I was excited to take this year to
give the Spirits a new look to really compliment the beauty of the dancers and
the choreography.
Over the course the
course of 3 months, the Spirits went from this……
To this….
We brought a fresh new
look with a more fitted bodice, new romantic tutus, and sparkling new
headpieces. Do you know it takes a lot
to make a corps of Spirits ready for the stage? For this corps of 10 it took
120 yards of tulle, 40 yards of material, 700 yards of thread, 30 yards of seam
binding, 50 sets of hooks and eyes, 5 yards of elastic, 20 decorative buttons,
20 yards of pearls, 20 yards of silver beads, 6 yards of trim, 6 yards of horse
hair webbing, and hundreds of hours of time.
Between
all of that there are fittings, and my actual job, keeping up with my blog
schedule, and of course taking care of my daughters and pets. But
before we know it, the costumes are loaded in my van, okay yes, I call my van
Costume 1, but I feel like I run around costumes way more than I do people
anymore.
We also added a few
new Party Gowns.
Including a morning of
the first performance addition. Good
thing my living room has been turned into my sewing room and I have tons of
material on hand.
It’s so wonderful that
CCB manages to get a lot of volunteers to help out or we might still be sewing
on hooks and eyes onto costumes, yes, I know that means the show would be a
little late. Luckily, we had a few rock
stars helping out with the last-minute hand sewing. We really couldn’t have done it without all
of their help. This is such a tremendous
amount of work to put on a full-length production and takes so many levels of
participation. But once the curtain goes
up and the lights come on you can see why it’s so worth it. To learn about the jobs and people required
to put on a performance, check out the CCB sneak peek page
Here is my little part
of the page:
COSTUMES
[SYDNEY]
Tell us your role in the production of ACC and
what that means.
I am a costumer. I collaborate with the artistic director to
discuss and execute costume design details by altering and repairing current
costumes, and creating and constructing new ones when needed. I usually start
my work when the cast is set and continue until the last curtain falls for the
season.
What are some of the most important aspects of
your job and why are they important to the show?
I think the most important aspect of being a costumer is
helping the directors share their vision of the show with the audience.
Sometimes this might mean
late nights and multiple trips back to the drawing board
until we are seeing the same thing, but it’s all worth it in the end.
What are your favorite parts of the work?
I love when the show finally comes together, and everyone is
back stage doing hair, putting on headpieces and costumes, when the music
starts and the dancers take the stage, the excitement of the quick changes and
the last minute repairs and just knowing that I helped the audience enjoy the
show.
Anything else you’d like to add?
I have worked on many productions throughout the years, some
requiring more of my creativity than others, but I think my favorite
productions are the ones I get to work on with Becca and Pete. I love how they
really put their hearts into the creation of the Christmas Carol both in the
way they work with the dancers and the way they are always ready to bring a
fresh look to the show. I think if you are looking for a new tradition to
celebrate the holidays watching CCBs performance of A Christmas Carol is a great
idea. Every year it’s just that little bit different and will never get old.
Be sure to go show
some love to CCB by taking in a performance if you are in the area, donating to
their performance goals, or just following their pages. You are sure to enjoy watching as this company
continues to grow.
Happy Reading
Sydney
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