The Sleeping Beauty's Costumes | Pacific Northwest Ballet

I definitely got into ballet for the costumes. But yeah, dress up was always my favorite growing up and I think it's like, it's the magic of transformation. Like every part of PNB, the costume shop has all kinds of complexity to it that may not be readily seen. There's sewing of costumes, there's fitting of costumes, there's making of shoes and dyeing of shoes. There is hair, makeup, wardrobe, maintenance of these costumes, storage of these costumes. Imagine with a huge story ballet, where do they all go? They are a remarkable asset to this organization. I'm a little biased about PNB and I think there's so many levels of us being the epitome of what we expect from this profession and the costume shop is certainly a preeminent example of that. The wealth of experience that we see in the costume shop is tremendous. It straddles more than decades and people knowing the level of care that it takes to have a costume be exactly right. I think every time we get in these fittings, all the little tiny micro adjustments, you'll just be standing there with the costume on and they're like, I feel like we can do this and then whatever little adjustment they saw and decided to do makes it feel that much more comfortable and you didn't even fully realize until they just have such an eye. I'll be sad to miss dancing in the Sleeping Beauty production this time around. Since I'll be on maternity leave, I'll be doing some work in the costume shop. I'm really grateful to get to be a part of the production in a really different way and help the dancers who are on stage feel their best and continue on what the costume shop has always provided for me, which is that extra level of comfort and confidence and getting to help create something for generations to come. I'm the costume shop manager, which basically means I lead the team that is responsible for making and maintaining all of our costumes. The most fulfilling part of my job is getting to come in every day to a magical place and work with creative people. Working with the kids is one of my favorite things because this is often their first experiences with a costume or being on stage and their excitement about it makes you say, yeah, this is why we do this because it makes their worlds brighter. I think a huge reason why I love what I do so much and why I came into ballet in the first place was because of the costumes and because of the experience to dress up and become someone that you're not. I've been dressing up forever, you know. Halloween's my favorite holiday and so I just love every time I get to put on a costume that really puts me into that character. I have the best job in the whole building, so I just like to throw that out there. I am a dyer and craftsperson. What that means is that I'm creating color right when we've gotten the drawings. That's usually where I come in, so I will get tons of samples of will it go this color, will it go this color, and will it move in the way that the choreographer wants it to move while also telling this glorious story. It's got its own role in the storytelling. It's very exciting to see it go from concept to stage. Being up there with a costume shop with something that's so beautifully crafted and just so pretty and sparkly and it was created on you. You have your little name in the back, which is such a special feeling. You start imagining yourself as the character or that little kid feeling of just like putting on that tutu and being like, wow, I made it. It's been so special to really be able to customize the costumes to my skin tone. It makes a dancer feel welcome. It makes it safe for a dancer to perform to the best of their ability. At PMB, we take a particular interest in allowing our dancers to show up as they are, not just in the studio but on stage, and this definitely shows up in the costume shops where in terms of dyeing fabrics to match the dancer's skin tone, dyeing tights and shoes to match the dancer's skin tone. It takes a lot of time and effort to create the perfect color matches for every single dancer in the company, but our costume shop is committed to this IDEA work. They're committed to making our dancers feel and look the best they can every time they step on stage. This is one of the greatest costume shops in this country, if not the world. I say that knowing. I do have experience of from other companies and organizations, and I just find that the quality of the work and the quality of the people, the kindness, and I think that bleeds into the to the costumes. So the energy of what, you know, they create. The variety in what we showcase in costumes is tremendous. Think about the detail that goes into something like Jessica's The Calling that needs a 15-foot long skirt in every direction that is actually part of the artistry and the choreography. We talk about the need to look at a classic like A Midsummer Night's Dream and Swan Lake or Carmina Burana and refurbish those costumes from time to time, and then a new build like The Sleeping Beauty just transports us and inspires us and brings in new audiences and new excitement. All of that is what our costume shop does for us, and I can't even put words to how valuable that gift is to B&B.