IN THIS ISSUE:
Step Behind the Seams: A Q&A with The Hard Nut Wardrobe Supervisor
You’re Invited to The Hard Nut Opening Night After Party
The Hard Nut Silent Auction
Our 2024-25 Tour Season continues in Fayettevile, AR and Dallas, TX
Looking for a great holiday gift for the dance lover in your life?
Mark Morris: Music I Want You To Hear
From the Membership Dashboard: Fall Virtual Rehearsal of Going Away Party
At the Mark Morris Dance Center: Capturing Grace — the award-winning film about Dance for PD® — turns 10!
Step Behind the Seams:
A Q&A with The Hard Nut Costume Supervisor
Martin Pakledinaz’s costumes for The Hard Nut are pure magic—bursting with vibrant colors, intricate patterns, and a whimsy that makes this modern holiday classic come alive on stage. They are essential to the festive, fun-loving world of The Hard Nut. The Insider sat down with Costume Supervisor, Stephanie Sleeper, to get, well, an insider’s look at the art of fitting, maintaining, and preserving these iconic costumes. Dive in to discover the stories and secrets stitched into every piece!
Insider: How do you manage multiple costume changes during the show?
Stephanie Sleeper: There are dressing tracks made for each of the 12 dressers involved in the costume changes backstage, and I have a plot that organizes what everyone’s tasks are. This plot is basically a cheat sheet that reminds me what changes are happening when and where, and which dressers should be making them happen.
Insider: Do you reuse the same costumes year after year?
SS: Yes, the majority of the costumes are original. It would be a huge expense to re-create everything each time the show is booked. Each character in the party scene has fabric that was created just for them. While digital printing techniques that have developed since the piece was originally choreographed would bring down the cost of remaking those costumes, I estimate the budget to recreate the fabric for just the party scene would be close to the annual budget the company spends on costume for new work.
Insider: Do you occasionally have to make new costumes?
SS: Yes, due to wear and tear. We rebuilt the Flower costumes in 2016. For the rebuild, we digitally created the ombré on the dress to avoid the dye transfer that happened on the original hand-dyed dresses and used new fabrics that had stretch to accommodate different body shapes. The rat ears and fingernails were also reconstructed as the latex that was originally used disintegrated. Before my time, there had been recreations of costumes for Marie, Mrs.Stauhlbaum/Queen, Drosselmeier and one of the party guests.
Insider: When you refit costumes, how do you make sure to preserve them?
SS: There are several costume bibles put together by the designer Martin Pakledinaz when the piece was created in Brussels in 1991. These include photos, drawings, fabric samples, and notes. I do my best to match the original intent from this information and from the memories that Mark and Nancy (Umanoff) have.
Insider: What if a dancer with a bigger size needs to fit into a costume previously fitted for a smaller-sized dancer?
SS: This “what if” happens all the time! While casting to size is a reality with many dance companies, for the Mark Morris Dance Group it’s not. There are tricks we can use, like inserted panels of fabric in areas that will be unnoticeable. Costumes that are built for dance and theater are generally created with generous seam allowance (extra fabric that is hiding at the seams inside the garment) for this very purpose.
Insider: Thank you for all this information!
SS: Thank you. I can’t wait to see The Hard Nut on stage at BAM.
Thinking of attending with the family? Get The Hard Nut Family Four Pack. You can buy four tickets for the price of two for these performances: Thu, Dec 12 at 7:30PM and Fri, Dec 20 at 2:00PM.
Buyers can enter the code HARDNUTFAMILY at checkout to redeem. The offer’s available through Nov 27.
You’re Invited to the Opening Night After Party!
Don’t miss out on extraordinary On-stage and Backstage Experiences!
Take part in The Hard Nut Silent Auction!
Step into the magic of The Hard Nut like never before! This is your chance to go behind the scenes of Mark Morris’ playful and vibrant twist on The Nutcracker. As the winning bidder, you might dine with Mark Morris at his favorite restaurant or step backstage to witness the dazzling snowstorm up close, catch the crew in action, and listen in on live cues. Or get an unforgettable photo op on stage with the cast in full costume (imagine that as your holiday card!) or even an on-stage cameo appearance that will place you right in the heart of the action.
Create the ultimate holiday memories! Bid now for this once-in-a-lifetime experience and help support the creative excellence and community outreach programs of the Mark Morris Dance Group.
Our 2024-25 Tour Season continues in Fayetteville, AR and Dallas, TX
Our next two stops are at the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville, AR and at TITAS in Dallas, TX, where we’ll bring Mark’s The Look of Love, a rich blend of elegance, playfulness, and nostalgia set to the unforgettable songs of Burt Bacharach.
This evening-length work is a visual love letter to Bacharach’s timeless melodies, capturing the raw emotion, humor, and spontaneity of falling in—and out of—love. Join us for a dance journey that transforms familiar tunes into a new, captivating experience.
Looking for a great holiday gift for the dance lover in your life?
Show your love for the Mark Morris Dance Group in our stylish line of apparel and accessories, featuring an all-new design and new color options. We’ve got hoodies, tees, joggers, totes, water bottles and more in our online shop. You’ll also find The Hard Nut t-shirts, The Hard Nut-inspired tree ornaments and gift cards for classes at the Dance Center.
Mark Morris: Music I Want You To Hear
This playlist features the extraordinary sounds of artists who’ve collaborated with or inspired Mark over the years, including Yo-Yo Ma, Lou Harrison, Ethan Iverson, and more. Tune in and experience the music that has inspired unforgettable performances and deep artistic connections.
From the Membership Dashboard: Fall Virtual Rehearsal of Going Away Party
On October 16, we hosted our Fall Virtual Rehearsal and live Q&A with the Mark Morris Dance Group. The company rehearsed excerpts from Mark’s 1990 dance, Going Away Party, and then answered viewers’ questions. Guests enjoyed an insightful glimpse into the process of remounting this wonderful repertory work in preparation for the company’s October 19 performances in Fairfax, VA. Get a sneak peek by clicking on the video.
Log into your membership dashboard to see more. If you’re not yet a member, contact Lauren Grant at lauren.grant@mmdg.org or join below.
At the Dance Center:
Capturing Grace — the award-winning film about Dance for PD® — turns 10!
It seems like two separate worlds. One is occupied by Mark Morris Dance Group dancers, the other by people with Parkinson’s disease. Capturing Grace is about what happens when those two worlds intersect. Filmed over the course of a year, Dave Iverson’s remarkable documentary reveals the hopes, fears, and triumphs of this newly forged community as they work together to create a unique, life-changing performance.
It’s a story filled with compelling moments and enduring characters who demonstrate the transformative power of art and the strength of the human spirit…and in so doing rediscover the meaning of grace.
Capturing Grace premiered at the Mill Valley Film Festival in 2014, and went on to receive numerous awards at film festivals in Sedona, San Francisco, Denver, Sarasota, New York, and Madison. It was broadcast on PBS in 2015.