Tag Archives: unitard

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Spider

Emily is not only a talented ballerina (Apricot and Ivory Traditional tutu 8th April 2014) but a very strong and accomplished contemporary dancer. I was asked to make a Cirque de Soleil style unitard for her Spider contemporary piece. I foolishly didn’t take any photos during construction but I’ve recently received photos from backstage at the eisteddfod.

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Spider unitard

The back is deep wide and open. I used a glittery black lycra for the contrast trim and a heavily sequinned motif on the front. There are long stripes on the front of the legs and underneath the arms. I designed the black shape on the back to make her look like a B&W version of the Australian red back spider.

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unitard back

And what does a dancer do backstage waiting for her call? Method acting!

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spider on the wall

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School of Fish

HDC Annual Dance Concert 003

Stretch fabrics like lycra or spandex offer plenty of opportunity for imaginative dance costumes. Here we have a school of fish modelled on the patterns of clown fish, angel fish and other tropical species. The research for this project was great fun. The fish danced under black light taking advantage of the fluorescent colours to glow and flit across the stage. I added old fashioned swimming caps to make an allusion to “human fish”.