Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1535749
THE ARTISAN SUMMER 2025 • 17 Taïs Vinolo as Mishi and Gideon Glick and end of dance. Hair for hair, sweat for sweat, curl for curl, hairlines, exact. Thankfully, my incredible wigmaker, Stacey Butterworth, wig master extraordinaire, has always made herself available to us even in the most challenging circumstances. Eternally grateful Stacey, they turned out beautiful. Honestly knowing little about the ballet, I learned so much as I dove in, viewed everything about ballets, and dancers themselves, a crash course of dance, as we were going to create and recreate many of these incredible ballets, on these incredible stages: e Palais Garnier, Lincoln Center Opera, and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. In researching these ballets, I was soon to discover that it's more than just a bun. Should the placement be a high bun, a low bun, a French twist? Should the ears be covered? Is there a part, is the weight distributed correctly, is there headpiece, and is it secure enough to withstand the piece? All of these entities have an effect on the dancer, as well the performance piece. Choreographers as well as the ballet institutions are adamant about how their ballets are presented. e choreography, the costumes, make- up and hair would need to be executed to their standards. Taking notes, there would be similarities and subtle differences between the dances, as well as the companies themselves. ere are the classics, a traditional formal style of ballet that exclusively employ classical ballet technique. Among them are: Swan Lake, e Nutcracker, Don Quixote, and Sleeping Beauty. e romantic ballet was a 19th-century ballet style that emerged as a reaction against the classical ballet era. It emphasized storytelling, shiing the focus from purely technical feats to dramatic narratives and storytelling, including Giselle and Coppelia. e neoclassical, a ballet style that blends classical ballet with modern abstract movements, with a plot form. George Balanchine was known for his neoclassical style, among these: Romeo and Juliet, Serenade, and Jewels. e contemporary combines elements of classical ballet with freer more expressive movements, incorporating modern dance techniques and improvisation. We were to have some new pieces created for the show, choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon and Marguerite Derricks. Alice in Wonderland and MJ are also examples of contemporary ballets. I developed such love and admiration for the ballet. e dedication of actors, our dancers and our incredible crews. It truly was an extraordinary journey. So grateful for having had the opportunity to have been a small part of this artistic world. I hope we did you justice. •