Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 2019 - 16

The "three ruffians" played
by Angelin Carrant, Joshua
Bodden, and Cameron
Thomas. These characters
pay homage to the Lollipop
Guild in Munchkinland.
Photo by Mitchell D. Wilson.

The Wicked Witch of the
West (Elysa Hotchkiss)
and members of the corps
portraying Winkies. Photo
by Mitchell D. Wilson.

B. Raiford joined the team after the
costume sketches were finished, and he
took his cues from the colors and shapes
Vandal developed. He echoed the graphic colors and patterns of her costumes
in the giant geometric flowers that fly
in for Munchkinland, and the dynamic,
angular sunbursts in the Witch's castle
complement the swirling strips of the
Winkies' Cossack-like coats.
Webre explains how "the DNA of
the costumes worked themselves into
not just the set design but also the steps."
He began choreographing the ballet
after the costumes were completely designed. He prefers to work in this way.
The costume illuminates the character
and helps him develop the way that they
move. The three "ruffians," Webre's homage to the Lollipop Guild in the movie,
are three athletic men in fluorescent colors with flanges protruding from hip and
shoulder. Their David Bowie-influenced

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THEATRE DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY

SUMMER 2019

shape helped him develop "cocky and
preening" choreography for them. At
times, the influence goes even further.
The "Yellow Brick Roadies make a lot of
graphic shapes in the air that mirror the
costumes themselves," Webre explains.

Relationship Advice
Interviews with choreographers and designers reveal that most agree on the key
components of successful dance costume
design. Designers must see the choreography in rehearsal as often as possible
and provide prototypes well ahead of
dress rehearsal to be able to truly evaluate the look and function of the costumes
as the dancers move. They must strive to
deeply connect to the piece, the music,
and to all of the individuals involved in
the collaboration. Successful designers
like Hynes not only plan for but embrace
the constant change that comes with

live performance. "Every time I watch [a
piece], I see something different I hadn't
seen before," says Hynes. "And that's just
thrilling. That's a living piece of art." And
although the choreographer is the one
who signs off on the designs, dancers
have to be comfortable and empowered
in their costumes. "Dancers are in their
bodies-if you make them beautiful and
honor their bodies, they glow," Vandal explains. "You made them happy."
While, of course, there is no right
way to collaborate or to make art, a key
aspect of the designer-choreographer
relationship is finding an effective mode
of communication in order to develop
ideas together. Some choreographers respond best to a lot of preparatory work
like exploring research and talking about
sketches, while others prefer to move
quickly into three dimensions, looking at
prototypes on the body. Trust and mutual
understanding take time to build. Most
artists like to develop a relationship with
collaborators, and gradually find a common language or shorthand. Especially
for a first collaboration, many designers
suggest responding to the piece being designed but also responding to the choreographer's overall body of work, as well
as to the aesthetic and style of the dance
company commissioning the work.
Costume design for dance is best
learned through experience, working with
the medium's unique demands. When
designs are due prior to the start of rehearsals, even seasoned designers must
be able to adjust and adapt later in the
process as choreography develops. While
designers hope that most choreographers
have respect for the timeline and don't ask
for changes on a whim, both designers
and choreographers need to be willing to
start fresh if a costume is no longer serving the piece well. Holly Hynes, who has
designed more than 250 ballets, explains
her strategy: "Better to have it all and then
take it away than to get on stage and think
'that's not enough.' Because then you're
[creating new garments] at the last minute and it's not your best work." For Appalachian Spring to be a success, Hynes
stayed tuned to the needs of the piece and
the ideas of her collaborators from the
initial meetings through the final dress rehearsals. She found plaids with the right
texture to add interest to the simplicity.
She looked at her work with fresh eyes
and saw that even a simple cap or shawl
seemed over-detailed.

Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 2019

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