THE NUTCRACKER ARABIAN

I love costuming.  I love the whole process from talking to the choreographer to drawing out the design to choosing the fabrics and trims and finally creating what was in our minds. So, recently, when I was asked to design and sew a costume for a young dancer who is to perform the Arabian dance from the Nutcracker Ballet, I jumped at it. I love this dance and the music.  It is mysterious and sensual, full of the scents and tastes of the middle east. I wanted to fully capture the flavors in a costume for a 12 year old girl.  Yikes!

The choreographer always has a vision of what she wants.  Trying to see her vision and translate that into a 3 dimensional product is the challenge. You have to take into consideration the age of the dancer, and her size.  You have to be aware of the types of movements as the dance flows.

(Unfortunately, my dress form is old and falling apart and doesn't really show the costume well.)






The choreographer, Amber, wanted rich burgundy and golds.   I found these fabrics that are more cranberry but beautifully embroidered with pink and white flowers and covered in sequins.  The skirt is a mesh knit and drapes and flows beautifully a quality I look for in a dancer's costume. Amber was sold.

She wanted the skirt to be longer in the back than the front so I cut a full 60 inch circle and put the waist hole off center so that the front was 23 inches and the back 37 inches.

Amber wanted the skirt drawn up in the front.  She also wanted lots of trim. I put beaded fringe below the yoke and gold fringe around the skirt.  Gold tassels hide where I used ribbon to pull the skirt up.  The ribbons allow the skirt to be adjusted to the height and drape that the dancer wants.

The top also has lots of trim.  We wanted a sweetheart neckline and little cap sleeves. This fabric is a lovely sheer which I overlayed on an iridescent silk.
Gold and berry trim at the neck and jangelly red and gold beads with sequin trim finish off the top.  Finally, a red gem in the center adds one more bit of sparkle.

The trouble with sleeves is that when a dancer lifts her arms the sleeve can't be too tight, nor should they lift the top up as she moves. These are not connected at the armpit.

All in all I think the costume turned out nicely.  It danced beautifully and allowed movement.  I was quite happy with it.