Dance Australia – June-July 2017

owlonghaveyoubeenat

theQueenslandBallet?

Seven years in November.

Doyouneedadancebackgroundtodothe

work you do?

No,howeveraloveoftheartswithaleaning

towardsdance,musicandtheatrecertainly

doesgiveyouabettersenseofconnectionto

the needs of the company.

What does your job involve?

InonedayImightbeprocessinginvoices,

ordering or taking delivery of the dancers regular

shoeneedsandworkingthroughtheshoe

requirements for a forthcoming production while

thinking about shoe colouring. I sometimes also

dye fabrics for costumes.

Some ballets often require shoes other than

the regular pointes and ballet flats. Is this

whatyoulookafter?

Yes,Ifitthedancersfortheseshoes,either

drawingfromavailablestockorarrangingfor

them to be made by specialist shoe/boot

makers.Mostlyweworkwithsmallerlocal

companies – the shoemakers will visit,

measureanddiscusswhatisneededto

complement the overall costume.

Onthemostpartladiesdanceintheirpointes

andthementheirballetflats.Ifapairofflats

needstobecolourmatchedtothecostumes,

that’s when I put on my painter’s apron and head

to the shed.

Tell us about your technique for colouring

ballet pointes and flats.

IfIneedtocolourpointesthenIprepareabatch

ofdyeasIwouldforfabriccolouring.

Theultimategoalwiththecolouringofthe

flatsistomatchtheshoestothetightssoclosely

thatthelineofthelegandthefootflowwithout

obstruction. This is the most challenging part of

theprocessasthecolourmustlookrightunder

stagelightingandnotjustinnaturallight.Itcan

takeagreatdealoftimegettingthecolourright

• a drop too much of the wrong colour or not

enoughdropsofacolourcanmakeallthe

difference to having found the perfect match.

Thisprocesscanbenervewrackingbutoncethe

colourisamatchIcanbreatheasighofrelief!

Whathasbeenthemostdifficultordertofill?

Creatingaskintonecolourtodyetheballet

pointes forMidsummers Night’s Dream.The

dancerswerenotwearingtightssotheshoes

couldn’tremaintheirusualpinknorbematted

down as they needed to have a sheen. There are

manyshadesandtonesofcolourandskintoneis

nodifferent.ItdidtakemanyattemptsbeforeI

createdtheperfectshade!Thentherewasthe

dyingofnotonepairofpointesperdancersbutof

atleast10-20pairseach.BythetimeIfinished

theprocessIhaddyedover160pairsofpointes!

Seeingallthosebeautifulpointeslinedupready

towearwasfabulousbutthemostrewardingwas

to have the dancers and others express their

delightinthecolour.

How many pointe shoes does the company

gothrougheachyear?

With over 21 full time ballerinas in our company,

wewillgothroughmorethan2,500pairsof

pointesin2017!Thisdoesn’teveninclude

charactershoesoranyofourguestartists’

requirements.Tokeepourdancersontheirtoes,

Queensland Ballet runs an annual Pointe Shoe

Appeal to raise funds to offset these running costs.

Thecompanyhasrecentlyperformedthe

full length ‘Swan Lake’. How many pointe

shoesdoesaleadingclassicaldancergo

through when performing this role?

AsSwan Lakeissuchaphysicallydemanding

andtechnicalballet,ourprincipalartistsmay

gothroughover15pairsofpointesthisseason.

Theymayevengothroughtwoorthreepairs

each performance, to make sure they have the

perfectpointestomatcheachmoment and

give the support they need.

Whatdoyouenjoymostaboutyourjob?

Ifeelimmenselyfortunate.Ilovethe

environment,workinginahistoricalbuildingand

ofcourseworkingwithallthewonderfulQB

dancersandotherstaff.Buttogotothepainting

shedandtakeapaintbrushtoashoewhile

listeningtothebeautifulmusicdriftingoutofthe

studiosisbyfarthemostsatisfyingpartofmywork

andofcoursetoseetheshoesonstage.Itallkeeps

mefocusedonwhatQBisallabout,producing

beautifulandmemorableballetthatbringjoyto

everyone who has the pleasure of experiencing it.

Least?

Wasting paint!

What word(s) would you use to describe

dancers' feet?

Strong!

JUNE / JULY 2017 | WWW.DANCEAUSTRALIA.COM.AU

PHOTO: VICTORIA WINTER

82 /LIMELIGHT

is the assistant to the wardrobe

production manager at the

Queensland Ballet.

Amanda

Newman

H

...that’swhenIputonmypainter’s apron

and head out to the shed.”