Costuming Swan Lake

Apr 21, 2025

4 min read

Updated: Aug 21

Ballet dancers in white tutus pose with raised arms on a dark stage.

Swan Lake is almost here! As rehearsals of the ballet shifted into full run-throughs of the production, our wardrobe team has been hard at work pulling Swan Lake's costumes together.

Costumes are vital in many ways: for creating a mood, demonstrating character, and building a visually appealing aesthetic. With the help of our costume team and dancer volunteers, Wardrobe Coordinators Karissa Kralik and Clara Molina have risen to this challenge. Like ballet itself, costuming a production is a team effort that requires handling a lot of moving parts! Read on for a few important parts of the process.

Ballerina in a white tutu performs a graceful split pose in a gray studio, arms outstretched and head tilted back.

White Swan / Black Swan

Building a tutu is labor-intensive, representing a significant use of time and resources. Karen Kralik, who lives out of state, constructed the individual pieces for these tutus and shipped them to BTM.

Backstage in a dance studio, one woman adjusts another’s black corset over a blue leotard in front of mirrors. — Karissa pins the straps for the bodice of Lindsey's Odile tutu

Each of these pieces--bodice, basque, and tutu--were then fit onto their corresponding dancer. Karissa, balancing the dual role of Odette/Odile and Wardrobe Coordinator, added a fabric overlay to the tutus and began sewing the pieces together.

Young dancer in a studio carefully arranges gold appliqués on black and white costumes, looking focused. — Clara uses the White Swan tutu as a reference as she places embellishments on the Black Swan tutu.

At this point, the tutus were ready for Clara and Karissa to decorate them. As you can see above, the two costumes are photo negatives of each other. Although Odette wears white with silver trim and Odile wears black with gold, the two costumes otherwise match down to the individual embellishments. This helps create the onstage illusion for Siegfried that Odile is Odette.

Ballet dancers in colorful practice outfits raise their arms in a mirrored dance studio, posing in synchronized rehearsal. — Photo by Lauren Martinez

An Army of Swans

In addition to the four platter tutus for Odette and Odile (both of our lead dancers have their own tutus for both roles), there's also an entire corps de ballet of swans to dress in romantic tutus. There are 24 swans onstage in a given performance, but the costume team has prepared 32 brand-new swan costumes.

Some of the roles are played by different dancers between shows, so having this many costumes allows each dancer to have a costume that is a perfect fit. When we have back-to-back performances, the dancers also appreciate getting to put on a costume that wasn't just worn!

Ballet dancers in a studio, one helping another into a yellow-and-blue costume while others prepare nearby. — Clara fits Hannah Hanson into her Act I court costume

Court Fashions

There's a big emphasis on swans, but not all of the characters in Swan Lake are birds. Also important are the costumes worn in the court scenes of the ballet.

Embroidered satin bodices laid on a dark floor, one yellow and one silver, with blue floral designs and metal grommets. — Adding blue floral appliques to the Act I Courtier costumes adds visual cohesion for the dancers who partner together

Central among them, Prince Siegfried's costumes are a good example of how costuming helps to tell the story. The deep blue he wears when the show opens helps him fit in with the stronger blues and golds of his court, but it is far better suited to the muted color palette of the lakeside ballet blanc scene that follows. In this way, we see that Siegfried belongs with Odette.

Ballet duo in black and gold costumes pose in a studio, man supporting a woman in arabesque against a gray backdrop.

In the ballroom scene, Siegfried wears black accented with gold. The obvious reason for this is to match Odile's tutu, but the viewer can also infer something about Siegfried's state of mind. His mother has foisted this pageantry on him for his birthday, and Siegfried seems entirely disinterested. Is his dressing in black a form of silent protest?

Ballet duo pose in a studio, the ballerina in a white tutu held by her partner in black against a gray background.

Once Siegfried realizes he has made a vow to the wrong swan, he rushes back to the lake to beg for Odette's forgiveness. His black tunic amid the white swans is the only costuming change from the earlier white act, and this detail communicates how the story's mood has changed from hope to fear.

Ballet dancers in a mirrored studio rehearse graceful poses, wearing tutus and practice clothes, with focused, upbeat expressions. — Three of the princesses wear their costumes during an in-studio run-through. From left to right: Polish, Russian, Spanish, Neapolitan, and Hungarian

Eligible Princesses

Another example of how costumes can help tell the story is in the dresses worn by the princesses at the royal ball. Each princess represents a different nation, so they each require a distinctive look. At the same time, the costume team needed to create a cohesive visual for when the princesses dance together with Prince Siegfried.

Six ornate princess dresses on hangers, in white, gold, blue, green, pink and silver, lined up in a shop or dressing room. — From left to right: Hungarian, Russian, Spanish, Neapolitan, and Polish

Although Siegfried is occupied with the imposter Odile, the princesses perform their prepared dances for the court anyway. We begin with the Hungarian princess, who dances a Czárdás with two gentlemen. This Hungarian folk dance starts slowly, matching the elegance of her red and cream costume, but gradually builds tension until it bursts into a fast pace.

Next, the Russian princess shares the stage with her four female attendants. Karissa describes her costume as having "Guinevere sleeves," due to the medieval inspiration of the long, drapey tippets.

Two ornate gold tiaras covered in crystals and pearls on a black surface, sparkling under soft light. — The tiaras for the Hungarian and Russian princesses

The Spanish princess dances with a fan and is backed up by two male dancers. The purple fringe and other Spanish touches in her costume may remind you of Don Quixote or the Spanish divertissements in The Nutcracker.

The Neapolitan princess, with short, puffy sleeves and a yellow overlay on her skirt, harkens back to our performances of Napoli earlier this season. She and her two attendants keep the rhythm as they dance with tambourines.

Ballet dancers pose in a studio with mirrors; a lead dancer in blue and white stands, calm and focused. — Caroline Anderson as the Polish Princess, backed up by Christina Williams. Photo by Lauren Martinez

Lastly, the Polish princess performs a mazurka with a male partner and four ladies. This stylized dance form is based on Polish folk dances and is a common feature in other ballets such as Coppelia and Sleeping Beauty.

These costumes represent a small fraction of the ones you'll see onstage at Swan Lake this weekend! Keep your eyes peeled on Instagram and Facebook for more costumes, and visit our ticket page to reserve your seats for our performances on Friday, April 25, and Saturday, April 26.

Two ballerinas pose in black and white tutus on a dark blue background; text reads Swan Lake, April 25-26, 2025.

Promotional photo by Joanne Salyer

Costume photos by Cindy Case