Of Bards, Dancers and…Costumes

Quite a few events in the last few months and weeks celebrated the 400th year since William Shakespeare's death. Most events were actually new performances of Shakespeare's plays. Yet there are other ways to rediscover the bard and maybe keep on celebrating him also today (he was born, or rather baptised, on 26th April 1564 and died on 23rd April 1616), for example via ballet costumes, like this one on display in the Theatre and Performance Galleries at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

Designed in 1977 by Ezio Frigerio and Franca Squarciapino and made by Mathilde Sandberg, this waist-length doublet was worn by Romeo in Rudolf Nureyev' Romeo and Juliet for the London Festival Ballet. The production won at the time the inaugural Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement of the Year in the "Ballet" category.

Inspired by paintings from the 14th and 15th century, the light-green silk velvet doublet was decorated with silver braids, painted motifs and appliquéd fabrics and sequins and matched with an apparent undershirt (the white silk sleeves and gathered collar are indeed attached to the main garment giving the illusion the dancer was wearing a slashed brocade doublet).

As with many ballet productions of Romeo and Juliet the costumes for the opposing factions were colour-coded with the Montegues appearing in green and white and the Capulets in shades of red and pink with white. The doublet looks as if it were abruptly cut around the waist but there's a reason for that: Nureyev always liked to keep costumes as brief as possible to allow complete freedom of movement.