The Artistry of Costumes and Ballet West's Sugar Plum Fairy

Before the start of each season, Ballet West’s Costume and Wardrobe Departments spend months preparing more than 1,000 costumes that will be worn by Company dancers.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of America’s First Nutcracker, which includes approximately 350 costumes, including the famous Sugar Plum Fairy and its intricate tutu. Ballet West is home to eight of those costumes, which required nearly 600 hours of build time and $56,000 in fabric and labor. Each Sugar Plum Fairy tutu has 10 layers of netting, all individually hand-dyed in three different shades of pink, not to mention over 8,000 crystals and rhinestones added to their bodices and skirts.

Costume Shop Manager Cindy Farrimond learned early on in her career with Ballet West how important the tiniest details can be for costumes when a designer kept adding more sequins to the Snow Queen costume in The Nutcracker. “Sure enough, when the curtain went up and Snow was there, it was just amazing. All of those sequins were needed to bring in the effect of the beautiful shimmer of the snow costumes. I didn’t quite understand before then that everything you add on has an effect.”

Beyond the costumes are all the shoes required by dancers through the season. This season, dancers will go through 1,800 pairs of pointe and ballet shoes, with many of the shoes and ribbon dyed specifically to match their skin tones.

Costuming is an art form in itself – from draping fabric on body forms, to crafting detailed patterns, and meticulously stitching every seam. Then comes the challenge of fitting individual dancers with their varied sizes, shapes, and heights, making sure each piece is both functional and beautiful. For the delicate silk material required in one of the Utah premieres this season, Pictures at an Exhibition, the fabric is so fragile that it requires painstaking handling and precise dyeing to achieve the exact shade envisioned by the designer. It is a laborious process. Yet, when the curtains rise and the stage lights pop on, the costumes will gleam, bringing the music and choreography to life. Recreating costumes is often trial and error, says Ballet West Director of Costumes Jason Hadley. “I create mockups from the fashion designs, then start from scratch, literally draping fabric on a body form to see what it looks like, then cutting away, or adding more fabric,” said Hadley. “It’s all about taking a two-dimensional design on paper into a three-dimensional design. ” Whether lavish or simple, each costume tells a story of dedication and passion.

Anatomy of the Sugar Plum Fairy Costume:
- 120 Hours of build time
- Wings hand painted on silk
- 1,000 crystals and rhinestones added to the bodice and skirt
- 10 layers of netting for the tutu, hand-dyed in three different shades of pink
- Cape is 114 inches of lace netting attached to wings!