6 January 2010
By
Vicki Car
filed under
Costume, Swan Lake
I have discovered that swans use a lot of glitter. And a very particular sort of glitter at that: very, very fine bright white glitter that sticks to everything and can be found in all sorts of interesting places at the end of the day.
We refurbished Swan Lake recently for the Perth season and although the show is in quite good condition, there’s no getting away from the fact that it has been on tour every year since it was made in 2002. The headdresses are very stylised, with two pieces of thermoplastic shaped to represent a wing and a tail. The girls pin them into their hair either side of their French rolls and originally they were painted with white opalescent paint and finished off with glitter at the base of each piece. It was only when we resprayed one did we realise how brown they were! I guess it’s down to the stage lighting that we had no idea; during the performances they looked beautiful. Close up however the poor swans were looking a little worse for wear, not quite as sparkly as they had been and rather like they had been swimming in a murky pond.
Kate my fearless and trusty assistant had no idea what l was letting her in for when we talked about bringing them up to scratch. For days we were lost in a haze of glitter, spray paint and PVA glue like drag queens at the Mardi Gras. But finally they were done, resprayed, reglittered and packed into their boxes for their journey to Perth.
Ready, as Betty Pounder used to say on opening nights, to “Sparkle, Darlings”.
Graeme Murphy’s Swan Lake is available to purchase on DVD from The Australian Ballet Shop
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11 August 2009
By
Vicki Car
filed under
Concord, Costume
The new designs for the Concord season are in, and Millinery is a very happy department. After the hard slog of refurbishing Nutcracker it is nice to be making a show, or rather two, from scratch. Both new ballets have visiting choreographers and designs have been signed off relatively late in the day, but what is making us really happy is the differences between them.
For Scuola di Ballo we are working with our trusted friend Hugh Colman, whose designs are always a joy to make. This time around we are blocking felt tricorns for policemen and making an exaggerated frilled bonnet for Lucrezia, as well as earrings for the girls and a few shoe buckles for the boys. Although not historically accurate, the designs have taken their inspiration from the 18th century, which is a maker’s delight with its wonderfully rich fabrics and fantastic shapes. As far as the making goes, we are using traditional materials and techniques that milliners have used for decades. So often we are pushing boundaries with the materials we use, and how we use them, that it’s always lovely to hand-block a tricorn brim or make a silk bow. Hugh has chosen wonderful warm colours and l have no doubt the piece will be beautiful on stage.
Dyad 1929, designed by Moritz Junge, is another thing entirely. It’s a very modern piece, with designs based in geometric shapes and strong angles. A single pair of wings has sent me running into the arms of prop maker Al Martinez. At his fantastic studio l have played with angle grinders, drills and linishers, and heated, hammered and shaped steel in the forge, all the while being lucky enough to have Al share his vast knowledge with me, quietly and gently become a mentor. The wings will look like amazing (I hope!), and what l have learned in the process will be invaluable to me in the future.
One of the things l love most about my job is being surrounded by such cleverness and skill. When that cleverness and skill is so willingly shared it makes me wonder how l could ever do anything else.
Photography by Teagan Glenane
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17 April 2009
By
Vicki Car
filed under
Costume
The Australian Ballet’s Head of Millinery, Vicki Car, investigates the curious case of the Nutcracker costumes
After weeks of sorting, cleaning, re-making, repairing, stretching up, padding down and what feels like endless, endless re-labelling, Graeme Murphy’s Nutcracker has gone. Packed into touring crates and headed for Sydney.
It’s been quite an undertaking. A lot of what made Kristian Fredrikson’s designs so beautifully rich and detailed were the little bits and pieces that he had collected over the years on his travels. He would bring in a piece of antique jet or lace and it would find its way onto a coat or a hat.
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