You can’t


talk about classical ballet without


mentioning the detailed bodices and voluminous tutus that are synonymous with ballets such as The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake and Cinderella. But unlike the dancers wearing them, the talented individuals behind the costumes don’t get enough recognition for their efforts. So, I reached out to some local costume designers who have been in the biz for a while to talk about the materials, man hours and sewing skills it takes to create a tutu that is stage ready.


The Deconstructor


COLORS TRUE


by Katie Dravenstott, Special Contributor ~ Theater Jones 16 • DANCE NORTH TEXAS • AUGUST – OCTOBER 2019


Patty Sayers, or Ms. Patty the Tutu Lady as she is commonly known throughout the Dallas dance community, says she started out making tutus for her daughter’s dance school Dallas Ballet, now Ballet Dallas, back in the 1980s. She has also made costumes for Dallas Repertoire Ballet and Texas Christian University. Sayers says she learned to build tutus by taking apart old ones. “I am a three dimensional thinker and you really need to think three dimensionally when doing this. I also had a huge file of dress patterns because I had sewn for myself for years. So, I just got real creative and would trace over the old patterns to create new patterns to make a ballet bodice.” Deconstructing tutus is also how Sayers developed her own tutu making style, which she says cut her labor time in half because it involved fewer pieces. Where most bodices had 12 pieces, she knew there had to be an easier way and came up with a five to six piece bodice. “The front is just three pieces and then the back could be one piece with darts or four pieces with a seam, which gets you more areas where you can alter it to fit different body types.”


Local costume designers take different paths to create costumes for some professional and pre-professional ballet companies in North Texas.


Ballet Ensemble of Texas’ Coppelia costumes by Patty Sayers. Photo by Cathy Vanover.


that the dancer was doing onstage and not at what the tutu was doing. So, I put a slider in the platter tutu and made bodice patterns that could be altered easily and it really made a huge difference onstage.”


The Renaissance Woman


Patty Sayers Tutu Seminar Book photo by David Harris Sayers’ style became so popular she wrote a book about it and even taught a related course at


the Regional Dance America/Southwest


festival for many years. And even though she is now retired, Sayers says her style of tutu is still being produced by some costume designers in the area, including Janet Harris (Tutus by Janet). Making tutus that dancers felt good wearing was Sayers’ sole reason for making them. “It was important to me that you looked at what


Like Sayers, Nancy Loch also learned to build tutus by studying them and watching others. “I kind of learned as I went,” says Loch who has been designing costumes for LakeCities Ballet Theatre for more than 25 years. “I would look through ballet books, but I would also go to the fabric store and talk to someone there about different types of fabric.” What began as a volunteer gig eventually turned into a full-time commitment for Loch who today mainly just does the designs so she can spend more time with her advanced ballet students and her dance photography. She gives credit to her other talents for enabling her to visualize her designs clearly. “Since I was a dancer myself I already had a sense of the aesthetic,” Loch says. “And being a photographer I also am aware of what would look good on stage. And I’m a dance teacher so the functionality of the costume is also very important to me.” Loch’s most recent design project was remaking the snow costumes for LBT’s Nutcracker, which she then made herself because she has a vested interest in that number. “These are my students so I am already familiar with their body types and it’s also my choreography that they are doing,” she says. With that


in mind Loch says she wanted to


change the cut of the bodice to make it a little more flattering and also wanted to shorten the length of the skirt to showcase more of the dancers’ legs.


LakeCities Ballet photo by Nancy Loch 17 • DANCE NORTH TEXAS


“In ballet we are always trying to lengthen the torso and showcase the legs and just make it all be one nice sweet package,” Loch explains. As for the decorations on the bodice Loch says, “My goal is to be elegant and classy. I’m not usually too fancy and I don’t use too many huge accessories. I like my Swarovski crystals that I get down on Harry Hines Blvd., where I can get them for a reasonable price.” To give you an idea of the time and materials it takes a make this type of costume Loch was able to provide some numbers. The bodice is made up of eight pieces, which Loch says makes it easier for alternations. She also hand- gathered all 17 skirts, which consist of four layers of white, pale pink, and pale blue tulle and each layer contains three-and-a-half yards of tulle. To produce 17 completed snow costumes Loch estimates that it took her 40 hours per costume. That’s about four months of 40 hour work weeks, if you’re keeping score at home!


• AUGUST – OCTOBER 2019


Photos by Nancy Loch


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13