NYC (again)

Shortly after returning to Syracuse I had to make a trip to New York City one more time to buy fabric for the final costumes. I had done a lot of work while in Florida and had a pretty solid idea of what I needed, so this should be my last trip.

While there I had the opportunity to see Fuerza Bruta (photo above). It was an incredibly inspirational performance and was the perfect thing to jump start my return to Syracuse and working on the project.

White: The Way to Go

November 26-29, 2009

As soon as I was back in Syracuse I began separating my fabrics and preparing my dye baths. In total there were 18 baths, dying my new fabrics a variety of reds, purples, yellows, and teals. With my video shoot quickly approaching I didn’t have much time to have my dancers’ costumes ready. The dying process ended up taking four full days, and much to my dismay, I had to reevaluate my plan for the shoot.

While I was frustrated that I didn’t have more time, I knew that changing my construction plans was the best decision to make. I decided to make white body suits for each of the dancers and a series of colored fabric circles and leather belts to accompany their suits. White was definitely the way to go.

Back to NYC

On November 20, I left Syracuse for New York City for a full day of fabric shopping. This time I was much better prepared, after my overwhelming day back in September. After combing through endless racks of knits, I settled on 53 yards of white jersey knit fabrics. My plan was to take my new fabric back to Syracuse, dye it, and use it for appliqué on the white body suits I was constructing.