The Albany Berkshire Ballet has unveiled beautiful new first-act party dresses for The Nutcracker by designer Sam Meredith.
Excerpts from an interview with Sam Meredith about his design process
"I think we're unusual in that we do the design and all of the execution, the cut, the sew, everything, from start to finish," says Meredith, of ProTutu's studio operations based in Plattekill, New York. Meredith, who grew up from a young age with his mother's Singer sewing machine — followed by a tremendous three decade career in dance — has been designing costumes there for about a decade.
"We design from the beginning with the execution in mind," he adds, a pragmatism based in part on his years on the stage. "Rather than just designing something and handing it over to a shop and having to have a pattern maker or draper figure out how to execute."
"We're really geared up and outfitted for just about anything," says Meredith, as he takes a break from new designs for The Nutcracker's beloved Act 1 party scene.
"Our costumes work in a way like a professional union house would build, but we're doing it in a way that we give access to smaller regional companies to that kind of process, without it being impossible for them due to the cost and the timing," Meredith explains.