Behind the Scenes at the Cincinnati Ballet's Costume Shop

October 9, 2015

This underground studio has been the domain of Wardrobe Mistress Diana Vandergriff-Adams since the Cincinnati Ballet moved into a former brewery in the late 1990s (and she’s been sewing costumes for the likes of the Ballet and the Cincinnati Opera since the early 1970s).

We paid a visit to Vandergriff-Adams and her team (which is actually just comprised of one other staffer, Wardrobe Assistant Laura Hoffman, who also happens to be Vandergriff-Adams’s daughter). They fitted some dancers to costumes for their October 2015 show, Lady of the Camellias, and showed us around their workspace.

Take a look at their tiny tutu kingdom:

The ballet's costume storage space, housed in a former brewery barrel cellar — The ballet’s costume storage space, housed in a former brewery barrel cellar. The lack of natural light might make the place feel like a bunker, but it’s perfect for preserving textiles and squirreling away delicate costumes.

A rack of costumes for Lady of the Camellias, on loan from the Boston Ballet

Wardrobe assistant Laura Hoffman fits a costume to soloist Maizyalet Velázquez — Wardrobe assistant Laura Hoffman fits a costume to Soloist Maizyalet Velázquez

_MG_2871 — Velázquez models the nightgown costume from *Lady of the Camellias*

Photographs by Evan Sgouris — Vandergriff-Adams adjusts Velázquez’s hem

Vandergriff-Adams is committed to costume quality—and dancer safety. “We never use glue for gems,” she says. “They can come off and if a dancer slips on one, that can be the end of a career.” To make sure all costumes materials are safe and secure, she and her staff spend hundreds of hours hand-sewing them.

Behind the Scenes at the Cincinnati Ballet’s Costume Shop

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