I noticed on the San Jose(Cleveland)Ballet site that costumes in some of productions were designed by BOB MACKIE(who as some may remember did Chers outfits). Do any of you guys find this distracting? Should costumes be strictly pale pastels or earth tones?

Um... yes.

Um. . .no.<P>Costumes should be whatever's appropriate to the choreography.<P>------------------<BR>Jeffrey E. Salzberg, Lighting Designer<BR>"Shang-a-lang, feel the <I>sturm und drang</I> in the air!"<BR>Online portfolio: <A HREF="http://www.suncoast.quik.com/salzberg" TARGET=_blank>http://www.suncoast.quik.com/salzberg</A> <P><BR>

Which might raise another question - were Cher's outfits appropriate to the choreography?<P><BR>ok- I'm going........>

LOLOLOL-BASHEVA!!! I guess the way Chers costumes were cut from UP TO HERE to DOWN TO THERE it was better that she didnt move!!!!

And Jeff I love your site!!!

Err... I meant to say I do find the costumes at Ballet San Jose painful to look at... Quick, help! Others who know what I'm talking about, please chime in here before they hang me out to dry!

Never, EVER, hang costumes out to dry - especially not under a tree with birds in the branches....<P>ok - this time I am REALLY going ....>

Azlan, would you <I>please</I> stop dripping on my floor? I just mopped it 4 months ago.<P>Seriously, if costumes are so flashy and tacky as to be distracting, then they probably are <I>not</I> appropriate to the choreography -- because they distract from it. I'm just loathe to impose arbitrary rules.<P>And, Angela, thanks for the kind words.

More:<P>All of the design forms: costumes, sets, lighting, makeup, sound, hair, lobby concessions, whatever. . . .exist to serve and to reinforce the choreography. The problem here is that when a company hires a superstar designer -- especially one who primarily works in another genre, like Bob Mackie -- they neither want nor expect him to fit in seamlessly with the overall concept; what they expect -- what they <I>hire</I> him for -- is flash 'n' splash.<P>Economically, this may or may not be a good move; artistically, it's just <B>wrong</B>.<BR><p>[This message has been edited by salzberg (edited July 06, 2001).]

Economically JEFF,not to be funny ,but maybe it was PART of the reason why Nahats company couldnt make it in Cleveland-maybe Calif is just right for him-FLASH N SPLASH! It was a dual company with seperate budgets.

Bob Mackie has done a couple of operas for San Francisco Opera and they are wonderful, but they are OPERA, and perfectly suited to Mr. Mackie.<P>I think the rule is whatever is appropriate. I don't remember these costumes being that bad.

LMCtech, you mean you didn't see Ballet San Jose's "Serenade" or Cleveland San Jose Ballet's "Midsummer Night's Dream"? <P>I keep digging a deeper hole for myself...

What kind of costumes did they wear for "Serenade"? Red tutus with fishnet stockings?<P>Seriously, what did they wear?

A thousand apologies... my mind was elsewhere! It wasn't "Serenade." I was thinking of "Theme and Variations" and here was what I wrote in another thread:<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>The tendency for bright costumes in the Cleveland San Jose Ballet seems to have been carried over into Ballet San Jose. The male soloists’ costumes, although plebeian in design, were a garish purple in color, taking away from the regality of this work that is supposed to evoke Russian Imperialism. The women’s costumes however, especially the rich brown tutus of the female corps dancers, provided contrast with the right sense of Imperial courtliness.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><a href=../../../ubb/Forum4/HTML/000431.html target=_blank><B>More</B></a>