3:16 p.m., March 26, 2009----Seven fashion design majors in the University of Delaware's Department of Fashion and Apparel Studies will see their designs come to life on members of the Mid-Atlantic Ballet (MAB) this weekend as the dance company performs the premier of a new ballet, Persephone, at UD's Mitchell Hall Theatre.

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The students responded to an urgent need for new costumes at the nonprofit ballet conservatory based in Newark by volunteering many hours of their time since January to design and construct costumes for the performance, says Belinda Orzada, professor of fashion and apparel studies, who supervised the students' work.

“Individual students have from time to time lent their talents to theater productions on campus,” she said, “but to my knowledge this is the first time we've collaborated with a community group.”

According to MAB's artistic director and choreographer Patrick Korstange, Persephone is a departure from the typical classical ballet, so the traditional tutus already in the company's wardrobe would have been out of place. He was looking for a more flowing, Grecian style in keeping with the ballet's mythical subject.

“I was delighted with the students' designs and creativity,” he said. “They listened carefully to my vision for the ballet and the ideas I had for costumes and ran with them. They came up with designs that were elegant and beautiful but simple and functional at the same time.”

Costuming for dance presented some unique artistic and practical challenges for the students. Only one of the seven had previous experience in costume design.

“I'm interested in going into professional costume design,” said senior Erin am Ende, “so I've done some designs for the UD student theatre group E-52. But doing a ballet is a lot different than costuming regular dramatic characters.”

The students had to make sure that their costumes would enhance the dancers' movements rather than get in their way.

“We had to shorten some of our original design concepts when we realized that the dancers might trip on them. It was kind of an eye-opener and completely different from the type of projects we usually do,” said senior Mishqua Allie-Tate.

The sheer and slippery fabrics chosen for many of the costumes also presented challenges, according to senior Samantha Grandy.

“The fabrics were beautiful but not always that fun to work with,” she said. “It was difficult to marry them with the stretchy leotards that we were attaching them to.”

“And then there were the ups and downs of cast changes and refittings when one of the lead dancers was injured,” Orzada added.

The students were pleased with the opportunity to gain experience, however, and were looking forward to seeing their designs on stage as well as adding them to their portfolios.

“It was like an internship,” am Ende said. “It was a valuable experience learning to work within the parameters of someone else's vision and then adding your own touches to make the characters come to life.”

Persephone will be performed Friday, March 27, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, March 28, at 1 and 5 p.m. at Mitchell Hall. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster and UD box offices, and at the door.

Article by Beth Chajes
Photos by Kathy Atkinson and Ambre Alexander