The space is brimming with a craftsmanship that is both hard to come by and finely tuned, applied with passion by the team’s missionary artisans, who devote near vocational levels of attention to their work. This is almost a “political” role, given that it requires a perfect reflection of the artist’s vision, on show to the spectator. A sense of unity, of a coherent “whole” – even though the dancers’ bodies are, of course, all different. When the costume designer outlines their idea, we can react straight away by doing fittings or bringing out something from the stockroom solutions can be found very quickly,” explains Xavier Ronze. The dressmaking workshop is also responsible for ensuring harmony across the entire stage. That’s one of the main advantages of having everything in-house. We work in close collaboration with the designer, constantly making suggestions while still being extremely reactive. The quality of what is made here is rather incredible, so it’s important that I acknowledge the great deal of creativity and inventiveness of every workshop manager.
Genuine collaboration takes place between the designer and the dressmaking workshop, whose team is frequently called upon to share its ideas. We work just as well with major fashion designers like Christian Lacroix as we do with great theatre costume designers such as Luisa Spinatelli or Franca Squarciapino,” adds Xavier Ronze.Īlthough it’s the role of the designer to dream up the costumes, bringing them to life involves teamwork. “The repertoire is very varied in terms of choreographs and choreographies, as well as in terms of the universe that it lets us inhabit. It’s this permanent fusion that instils passion in us and makes our job unique. ” It also gives us an opportunity to collaborate with a group of renowned artists, fashion designers and theatre costume designers in particular. Dance is a world of creation, it’s live entertainment… and it’s very much alive! says Xavier Ronze, with a smile. At the time of our visit, couturiers were working on the reruns of “Don Quixote” and on costumes for the creation “Play”. The workshop is entrusted with making the costumes for all of the Palais Garnier’s dance performances, both the classics and the contemporary creations. The dressmaking workshop comprises five different sections where the dance costumes are made (there is another workshop at the Opéra Bastille for operatic performance costumes): soft construction, known as “flou” (women’s costumes) tailoring (men’s costumes), millinery (the creation of wigs and hats), knitwear (for stretch fabric – a rare feature given that very few organisations have a dedicated workshop for this material, despite it being essential for dance) and, lastly, decoration (for costume accessories, such as jewellery or masks). There is a calm atmosphere, with the smell of wax and a crisp parquet floor… Xavier Ronze, the atelier manager, welcomes us. It’s the back of the opera house where we go in search of the dressmaking workshop. Every corner of the table is filled with sequins, froufrou, tulle, tarlatan and chiffon, as well as some more surprising materials used for less likely costumes, such as an assembly of coloured paper balls and an astronaut’s space-suit. No less than thirty small pairs of hands busy themselves every day, creating costumes for the dancers to wear in their performances.
They contribute, albeit in a more anonymous way, to the splendour of the shows and the superb reputation of this institution. Because alongside the little rats scurrying around backstage, there are also lots of examples of craftsmanship behind the scenes in the dressmaking workshop. At the Paris Opera, it’s not just the main auditorium’s sprawling stage where talent and hard work combine to play a leading role.
0 kommentar(er)
