How to Build a Ballet: A Peek Behind the Curtain at What it Takes to Make a Production Dance by John D. Hall

“House lights to half, Go. House lights out and conductor bow light up, Go. Main curtain out, Go!”

You might not have given this much thought, but the works that Miami City Ballet will perform this season all begin with Kelly Brown, our Production Stage Manager, giving those exact cues to the crew that operates the lighting, scenery, and sound equipment.

Before this moment arrives, however, many hours of budgeting, artistic discussions, sewing, scenery construction work, painting, and trial and error are completed to perfect all the elements you’ll see at a performance.

As many as two years in advance of opening night, Lourdes Lopez will enlist a choreographer to create a new work for the company. They’ll discuss things that Lourdes has in mind, such as numbers of dancers to be used, how long the piece should last, whether it should be an ‘opener’ or ‘closer’, and how it fits into an evening of ballet. From there, the choreographer will choose music that inspires them, and will assemble a creative team which consists of visual artists for scenery, costumes, lighting, and projections.

Costumes and scenery are usually the first visual aspects to be designed, as they’ll impact the dancers and define the performance space in a way that is necessary for everyone to understand from the beginning of studio rehearsals.

Costumes begin life as a sketch and, once approved, will be turned into a pattern, which is followed by a full-size mockup. Once everyone is happy with the look and fit of the mockup, the real costumes are constructed. Ballet costumes must allow the dancers freedom of movement, and the early stages of the process are crucial. Sometimes the costumes are made in our shop in Miami Beach, and other times they are contracted out to a full-time costume shop. It’s a process that can take as little as a month for something simple, to many months for a larger work.

For example, for our recent new production of Alexei Ratmansky’s Swan Lake, it took nearly a year to complete all of the costumes. There are over 150 costumes in the production, and each and every costume must possess the same level of intricate detail and attention to fit.

Scenery also begins as a simple drawing or sketch, and is then translated into more complex drafting that can accurately illustrate the performance space the dancers will use. Much like choosing the fabric for costumes, there will be many discussions about materials and paint treatments that backdrops and other pieces will receive. The best construction methods are determined to allow the scenery to travel in tractor trailers, and to allow stagehands to efficiently assemble the sections into the final product once they are loaded into the theatre. Our Swan Lake scenery was under construction for eight months prior to its arrival in Miami.

Lighting, Projection and Sound designs, due to their nature, are initially discussed as concepts as opposed to physical pieces like a prop or a costume. The designs become fully realized once production moves into the theatre, after gaining access to projectors, lighting fixtures and sound equipment.

At this point, all of the components will have arrived at the theatre (hopefully on time!) and the MCB production staff will begin the load in. We’ll unload trucks and set up the theatre, dressing rooms, and office spaces. The choreographer will work with the design team and prepare for the dancers to begin their stage rehearsals. The orchestra will have their own rehearsals next door, then join us for the last two stage rehearsals before opening night. Opening week’s process is intense and fast-paced, and is only possible due to the talent and professionalism of the artists and staff that work with us. As you are reading through this book, take a few extra moments to research the individuals involved in creating the works you’re seeing at this performance. You’ll see many impressive careers and interesting accomplishments.