Fashioning the art of ballet wear

Feb 2 2010 by Liz Lamb, The Journal

THE Scottish Ballet takes over the Theatre Royal in Newcastle tomorrow with an eye-catching production of The Nutcracker. LIZ LAMB goes backstage to delve into the wardrobe of a show that has a staggering 165 costumes.

THERE are tutus with twirls of shocking pink, mouse masks, boleros, an electric blue velvet suit, Twenties-style beaded evening gowns, Chinese fabrics and a striking red outfit emblazoned with gigantic mice.

The costumes for the Scottish Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker range from the sublime to the strange with some breathtakingly beautiful garments also making an show-stopping appearance.

There are a staggering 165 outfits in the two-and-a-half-hour production which is part of the award-winning ballet company’s 40th anniversary celebrations and one of its most successful shows ever.

The re-telling of the magical tale requires mesmerising outfits and the company has taken a break from the usual traditional ballet wear to offer audiences a feast of fantasy as well as a taste of the Twenties with the odd tutu and tiara thrown in too.

Scottish Ballet’s The Nutcracker is set during the Weimar Republic in Germany. Designs are inspired by the vibrant colours and dream-like creations of the German Expressionist painters of the era.

Yet despite striking out with bold new designs and quirky characters, artistic director Ashley Page and designer Antony McDonald still manage to deliver a cracker for all ages.

"That was the challenge," says Ashley. "Could we create something that was bold and different, but which still gave the traditional ballet audience its ‘fix’?

"So we have tutus and glitter and pointe shoes, but sometimes they’re black pointe shoes and the costumes are exotic, fashionable and chic – which gives the production a different kind of kick."

Antony adds: "There had to be magic and there is a magical quality in what isn’t now.

"While we were inspired by the origins of the story set in the forests of Saxony and Bavaria, our world is one draped in 1920s glamour but merged with a magical backdrop of sparkling but bad snowflakes, an army of suffragette-styled mice and the eccentric children’s godfather Drosselmeyer dressed in elegant blue feathers by way of the surreal cartoons of expressionist artist Max Ernst."