Chopiniana (Les Sylphides)

Photo by Rosalie O'connor

It was a big job!  I think there were 22 or so same costumes.  Simple white bodices and long romantic tutus.  Yet the dancers' body type varied.  After getting tired of working with white fabric, there were still wing making and shoulder piece making.  

The bodice was very simple 8 piece bodice.  But the romantic tutu is 5 layered.  Yet the artistic director didn't want too much fullness around the waist, but she wanted to have big volume, I decided to construct tutu with panels of tulle instead of gathering long rectangle of tulle.  I cut 8 panels for each layer.  Side that gets to be gathered is half of the hem to create more volume in the bottom.  I think it worked quite well.

The wings were made with wire and organza.  We settled with very small delicate design.

We thought about arm circles, or puff sleeves for the arms, but considering some dancers were not so slender, I suggested the shoulder piece.  It gives straight lines across the shoulders to the chest area, so it doesn't make them look wider like puff sleeves.  I made them with very thin silk chiffon and trimmed with satin ribbon on the edge.  It's so delicate, yet the weight of the ribbon hold them down when during the movement.

These tutus and bodices were used so much after the performance.  The bodices were used for Swan Lake, and after that, some were dyed in pink, some were dyed in green, some were still white but decorated with something different. 

So as tutus.  Some were cut short.  Some were dyed.  Some were covered with overlay.

Simple white bodices and tutus can be used so much.  Even it's big expense to make 20+ sets, considering how many times you can use them for different performance, I think it's worth it.