New takes on classic costumes.What you wear plays an integral part in creating a performance. Costumes not only complement choreography, they help bring a role to life, and can even calm pre-performance jitters. New York City Ballet's Jennie Somogyi explains, "I often get nervous before going onstage. The Serenade serenade [Ital. sera=evening], term used to designate several types of musical composition. Opera and song literature yield numerous examples of the serenade sung or played by a lover at night beneath his beloved's window; outstanding is Deh, vieni alla finestra from Mozart's Don Giovanni. In the late 18th cent. the serenade became a light instrumental suite, whose movements were numerous and short and usually included a march and a minuet. costume helps ease my nerves because I know it enhances the movement." DM took signature costumes from favorite ballets and found contemporary interpretations made by top manufacturers. Then we got a handful of talented students from the Joffrey Ballet School in New York City to model our finds. We also talked to seven professionals who dance the roles Frequently about how the costumes affect their performance onstage. BETH PARKES Orlando Ballet Giselle Myrta's costume really epitomizes romantic style. I love it. When I bouree across the floor it looks like I'm gliding on water. You can't get that from a traditional tutu. And this one is more comfortable! Curtain Call Spring Fresh #172A of CO-R6833 www.tighe.com 888.808.0801 Wolff Fording Poet's Shirt #80215 www.dancecostume.com 800.888.8496 Costume Gallery Because We Can Can #558 www.costumegallery.net 800.222.8125 YUAN YUAN TAN San Francisco Ballet Giselle Sometimes costumes are shared between dancers, so they have to be adjusted to fit. The puffy shoulders on the Giselle costume can be too big on me, so we have to pin them down before I go onstage. JEFF STANTON Pacific Northwest Ballet Romeo and Juliet The poet's shirt has a billowy flow to it, and it falls on the body nicely. I try to have my hair longer and looser in the ballet, too, for dramatic effect. ADRIENNE SCHULTE American Ballet Theatre Offenbach in the Underworld The can-can costume is so much fun to dance in. Any opportunity to perform in something other than a tutu and pointe shoes is always fun. Baum's Basic Satin Leotard #L7220A-P Long Ballet Skirt #A3025-P Art Stone Sugar Plum Fairy #812 www.artstonecostumes.com Star Styled Flex-i-weight Lycra Pant Tight #8491 www.starstyled.com 800.5.DANCER JENNIE SOMOGYI New York City Ballet New York City Ballet, one of the foremost American dance companies of the 20th cent. It was founded by Lincoln Kirstein and George Balanchine as the Ballet Society in 1946. In 1948 the company took its present name and began regular performances at the New York City Center. It moved to the New York State Theater at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in 1964. Serenade The movement in Serenade is so free, open, and expansive. It really covers space, and the costume mimics that. It's as if the costume hovers around the movement, like a cloud that follows me onstage. LAUREN ANDERSON Houston Ballet Cinderella Each time I put it on, I feel like n little girl putting on her very first tutu. It's magical. I feel like I'm really Cinderella--like I'm 'black ballerina Barbie.' Put that in quotes so nobody gets in trouble. ARCH HIGGINS New York City Ballet Agon Agon is a ballet that I have the utmost respect for. The costume shows the movement perfectly. Like a beautiful black and white photograph, it is clean, lucid, and uncomplicated. |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion