My Space Alexis George, Costumier
The Age
Saturday March 3, 2007
Inside the costume department of the Australian Ballet Centre, Alexis George sits amid a clutter of fabrics, threads, buttons and ribbons, lovingly stitching a bodice that will help to create what she calls the "fairytale" of Don Quixote during its Melbourne season. As a young girl growing up in the small rural town of Marong, near Bendigo, she developed a love of fashion and theatre, which found the ideal voice when she began working in what is recognised as one of the world's finest wardrobe departments.
Describe the work space. It's never the same space. Every time I walk in here, there's something new to look at, something catches my eye, something beautiful, and it's a very stimulating environment to be in. It is always busy, there's always new costumes coming in and out. I learn so much about design just by looking at the costumes and making them. It's a really nice place to be in.So it has a different feel according to what production is being worked on? It does. Each production has its own feel. Don Q is full of rich colours and lots and lots of trims, so you walk in and there is an explosion of colours and sparkles. You can spend half an hour looking at a garment and still not see all there is to see. Each year we have new productions, where we make the costumes from scratch and then we have others where we are refurbishing the costumes. If you do something from scratch, you feel that you're a part of something that is much bigger than what you are creating in the space. That's a nice feeling, to see something begin as a flat piece of fabric and watch it grow into a garment that fits beautifully on a dancer as they're moving around the stage. But to refurbish something like Don Q is really interesting, to see how someone made something 20 or 30 years ago. Some of the costumes are from the original production (in the 1970s), some we've had to remake.Is it challenging to have to recreate that same feel? It's quite hard. Obviously some things aren't around any more. That's been quite fun on this project because we've had to be quite creative in what we use to replicate the original garment. I've had a lot of fun choosing trims. I can have a bit of a play. The pressure is there for quality, so everyone really takes their time and makes sure everything is really beautiful. And of course the costumes do have to last for 30 years, so everything is double-sewn and reinforced. Tell me more about how you feel when you enter the space. From that second you enter, there are things to look at. There are always new fabrics coming in, it really inspires me to keep going, pursuing my design career. There is a feeling of going in there and working as a team, I can see everyone working, putting so much care into it, and at the end there are these beautiful garments. There is a sense of collaborating in creating an imaginary world. That's the beauty of ballet. You're making a fairytale. You get lost in it sometimes. I feel like I come to work and get lost in the fairytale. It's beautiful. Do you visualise the costumes in movement in the performance space when you're creating them? Probably not until the very end stage. Actually the movement for me comes from the fabric, when you look at a piece of fabric and it moves and you see if it has two tones to it, or if it floats nicely, so the movement comes with the fabric. The dancers always love their costumes, you go in (the first time they try them on) and they have a big grin on their face, and you think, "Wow I made that, I'm a part of that." And the dancer appreciates my work.As set design becomes more minimalist, do the costumes take on a greater role in telling the story? I think that's why I love costume so much, because it does tell a story and creates character. What do you hope the audience sees when they come to this production? I want them to realise the amazing things the ballet can achieve - to enjoy the visual feast. Of course, the dancing will be stunning as always, but I know when the curtain rises, the feeling will be "wow". They can forget about the rest of the world for a couple of hours.If the streets of Melbourne were a stage, how would you dress its residents? I would dress it in every period. I would make it as eclectic as possible because I think that's what Melbourne is. There's so much character in Melbourne. And I'd love to see rococo clothes next to the Victorian period, or medieval. And I'd give it a colour theme, rich colours - strong red, blues, green, purples. It would definitely be theatrical (and) very exciting. Don Quixote is at the State Theatre, Victorian Arts Centre, from March 17-27. Tickets through Ticketmaster. -- INTERVIEW: LINDY PERCIVAL
© 2007 The Age