The Ballet Bodice Beautiful

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Why Should Tutu Skirts Get All The Attention?

If you are one of the lucky few who has been to see a ballet performance live, which part of the ballerina’s costume do you tend to focus on the most? For me, I notice the way the dancer’s tutu skirt bounces up and down during her movements.  The frilly, fluffy tutu skirt wants to be the star of the show.

Because of this, I decided to dedicate this post to the beauty of another part of the costume; the bodice.The bodice of a ballet costume is where fascinating design techniques can be seen.

The Bodice Is A Blank Canvas

Here is where a costume designer can really use her skills and imagination. The choices and possibilities are endless. Silver and gold on white.  Blue on blue. Transparent crystals on pink.  Metallic trims making the bodice shimmer and shine on stage beneath the theater lights.

A bodice is really a blank canvas waiting to be painted with magic and touched with beauty. The bodices here are the perfect example of artistry, imagination and skill. The trims and embellishments swirl, twirl, and create shapes of their own. They dazzle with light and dimension. Each one is unique like a snowflake.

The trims, beading, embroidery and thread add opulent beauty by appearing like  flowers, vines, trellises, gilded leaves,climbing roses, sparkling gemstones, and all things regal and royal.

These unique and beautiful bodices made by Costume Creations UK began as blank canvases and ended up as individual works of art. Tres Magnifique!

The Classical Tutu Bodice-Choosing The Right Straps

Bodice strap placement and design is important

One of the most important design elements on a classical ballet costume is the straps.

When I watch any ballet performance, I always pay more attention to the dancers movement, her pointe shoes, or the beauty of her classically designed  costume in general. I never pay close attention to the straps of her costume.   In thinking about all the various parts of a ballet costume, I realize just how important the straps really are to the overall fit and functionality of that costume.

What Are Straps Made Of?

In general, classical ballet costumes have straps made of elastic materials. Flesh-toned elastic is the least obtrusive color and gives the impression of a tutu bodice without straps during a performance. Because flesh-toned elastics  blend in so well, audience members wont be distracted by the appearance of the straps.

Some classical tutus have embellishments sewn onto the straps for extra sparkle. Other types of bodice straps can include an extended bodice to create pretty sleeves for special costumes such as the  peasant-style dance dress used in the Coppelia ballet.

Do Straps Have To Be Sewn On A Special Way?

The pretty blue ballet costume in the photo above has straps that branch out close to the top of the bodice. These two “branches” are constructed that way because the bodice top is curved. If only one strap was sewn on at the tip of the highest point, there would gaping in the material.

How Are Straps Supposed To Be Measured?

Sometimes a costume designer has to guess and leave enough extra length just in case the straps need to be adjusted  later. If the straps are too tight they will pull the tutu up into the wrong place so it doesn’t sit right.  Some general guidelines to keep in mind when measuring bodice straps:

• The elastic  has to be carefully angled so that it doesn’t fall off the dancer’s shoulders.   Too loose and basically the dancer can find herself “exposed” in the most embarrassing way.
• Depending on the individual,  sometimes a little extra elastic has to be added at the front side for extra security.
• If the dancer is quite dark-skinned you may have to dye the elastic to match the skin tone.

Secure, no-slip straps for comfort and functionality

 

As you can see, even the straps on a classically- designed  bodice come with their own specifications. The details of costume design are so intricate, don’t you think? I would still love to know the secret of sewing elastic that “branches out” then comes back together again like the pale blue tutu in the first photo.

Whatever the secret is, I am sure that the lucky ballerina who danced in that costume felt safe, secure, and comfortable with the bodice straps  made to measure  just for her by Costume Creations.

Bodice Trim Design-Applying The Magical Touches

Applying trims to dance costumes can take a bit of pre-planning if you want the trim to lay flat, follow curves correctly, and confirm to the right shape on either side of the dancer’s body. More importantly, the chosen design has to have visual impact.

If you look closely at the trim design on this classical ballet costume bodice, you will notice that the silver floral trim stops, starts, and curves at certain places along the bodice. Placing the trim this way gives it the illusion of a wild vine of silvery flowers growing along just like they do in nature. How lovely! It is these tiny designer details that can add up to one fabulous ballet costume.

All costume designers are artists first and foremost. It takes an artist to create, re-create, and mimic the looks of nature and inject that special magic onto the costumes that they design. There seems to be quite a lot of magic happening in the design studio of Costume Creations!

Tutu’s With All The Trimmings

The Razzle-Dazzle Of Ballet Costume Trims

One of the most dramatic parts of a fully completed dance costume is the application of different kinds of trims on the costume. Nothing says magic more than theater lighting reflecting rainbows of light from the dancer’s costume as she moves.

Trims can take many different forms, and some of them are easier to apply than others. The easiest trims to apply are those that are already fully decorated and all you have to do is apply the trim in the right places using the right measurements.

Other trims start out as plain binding and have hand-worked decorations placed on them for a one of a kind look.

The most tedious and time-consuming types of trim are the individual beads and light-reflecting crystals that must be sewn on one at a time. Of course, these are the prettiest of all!

The different types of trims that can be used for dance costumes are quite extensive.

Dance costume trims can be made out of swarovski crystals, glass beading, rhinestones, velvet, lace, hand embroidered cotton, silk flowers, ribbons, fringes, sequins, and many more. The only kind of trimming that may not go well with a classical ballet costume would be the trimming from Thanksgiving Dinner which could cause the costume to become  too tight. Sorry, I couldn’t help myself with that one…..

Fitting Costumes-Getting The Bodice To Fit The Dancer

One of the most beautiful and noticeable parts of a Classical Tutu is the upper portion of the costume above the tutu skirt that hugs the dancers torso and is the repository for many an embellishment.

This portion of the costume is called the bodice. For a costume designer, the bodice section of a classical ballet costume is where painstaking work needs to be done with measuring and sewing the panels together to produce a body-hugging fit.

Because the female form has curves and fabric yardage does not, the costume designer has to be skilled in creating a three-dimensional shape from a flat piece of fabric. If you have ever worn a 4 gore skirt you will notice that the joining pieces are seamed together in varying widths.

I have tried to do sewing like this in the past with dresses and I can certainly say that it takes an enormous amount of patience!

A professional ballet costume designer will measure the client’s torso in these areas:

The circumference of the upper chest under the arms and around the back

The circumference of the chest at its largest point

The complete waist measurement

The complete hip measurement

Even describing this process makes me tired! Can you imagine doing this for each and every client? After the measuring, cutting, pinning and sewing comes the zipper insertion. As you can see in the below photo, both sides of the bodice back are evenly matched.

Because I am not privy to some of the designer secrets involved in bodice making, I can’t be certain when the straps and trims are sewn to the costume.

The only thing I can say for certain is that the dancer who had this classical tutu made for her must have been very, very happy!

Information Update: After contacting Monica about the correct procedure for measuring a bodice, I realize I left out a large portion of what she actually measures on the client. Here is what she said:

“I measure around the chest at armpit height, around bust, around ribcage, waist, high hip (on hip bone), armpit to waist, nape back to waist, nape front to naval, shoulder to nipple to under bust to waist. Then I often refer to the girth measurements I have taken to. That is from shoulder between legs and up to shoulder again. Also nape neck front round to nape neck back. I also refer to their other measurements to check proportions and look at the photos. It is also important to take distance from nipple to nipple so bodice seams in right place.”.