#bitches brew
Did you see these awesome costumes in Karole Armitage’s world premiere Bitches Brew? They were designed by costume designer Peter Speliopoulos, but brought to life by our very own Costume Shop Dyer/Painter Shane Maxwell who hand-dyed and painted 64 customized tights for this ferocious new work. Take a look at his creation process!
“First, we met with the designers to figure out the best way to make their vision a reality. We looked over illustrations, fabric swatches, and color samples. From there, I ran extensive dye and painting tests, resulting in over 25 painted fabric samples. 15 of these samples were approved, one for each dancer on stage.”
From left to right: Boston Ballet Company dancer Patrick Yocum, choreographer Karole Armitage, Costume Shop Head Draper Kenneth Busbin, and Boston Ballet Company dancer Ji-Young Chae.
“We ordered white tights, which were custom made to each dancers specific measurements. The designer wanted to create an ombre effect – grey fading into psychedelic color below the knee. I had to fit the tights on each dancer, marking just below the knee as a reference point for the dye and paint process.”
“Once the tights were marked, I hung them up on a dye rack that I made. The first step was to dye the tights grey above the mark below the knee.”
“Once the grey ombre was dyed, the next step was to stretch all of the tights over mannequins so I could paint the bottom of the tights. After accurately mixing all the colors, I began the long painting process. After each pair of tights was painted, it had to dry for a minumum of 24 hours on the mannequin.”
“Any water based paint for textiles must be heat set to ensure the color will be permanent. Each pair of tights is carefully ironed for about 10 minutes. They are then put in the dryer for an additional 2 hours. Lastly, they go through a final wash and then they are ready to grace the stage!”
“Each dancer has 2 pairs of tights and we have 2 casts totaling 64 pairs of tights. This process took me 3 months to complete.”
Come see Shane’s artistry come to life on stage in Mirrors, now through May 28, at the Boston Opera House. http://bit.ly/1KbERGy
