Carlos Acosta Surprises with a New Wardrobe Designed for the Epidemic

October 25, 2020

Carlos Acosta's ballet in Birmingham has adopted a renewed wardrobe suited to current times on the planet, these are tutus designed in the nineteenth century in times of smallpox and cholera

The acclaimed Cuban dancer and choreographer Carlos Acosta returns to live stages with a ballet program ingeniously designed to comply with the restrictions imposed by the coronavirus pandemic.

With his new show Lazuli Sky at the Birmingham Royal Ballet, the company directed by the Cuban who was once the principal star of the Royal Ballet of London, will not only perform before a reduced audience, but the dancers will wear costumes that will allow them to comply with social distancing norms.

These are tutus—the traditional multi-layered skirt with lots of volume worn by classical ballerinas—that have a much wider circumference to keep the dancers separated.

"When we started (designing the choreography), we wanted to have a piece where nobody touched each other, so the dancers will wear these elongated structures, which are not static but are in constant movement, creating different shapes and evoking imagination," Acosta explained about the spiral-shaped wardrobe.

As the production evolved, the company found ways to work in "bubble" groups to protect themselves from contagion.

But although the dancers that make up each of these can now touch each other, they decided to keep the giant tutus to reflect one of the consequences of the pandemic.

"They are fantastic in aesthetic terms and they register the time we are living in," the artist added.

They drew inspiration for the design from the fashion of another era devastated by plagues.

Specifically, from crinolines or hoop skirts, very wide skirts that well-to-do women wore in the nineteenth century as a barrier against infection from smallpox and cholera, as well as to protect themselves from men who might want to touch them without their consent.

Now, in the new show of the company directed by Acosta, which can be seen at the Sadler's Wells theatre between October 29 and 31 and streaming worldwide between November 1 and 7 (brb.org.uk), the movement of the dancers will be subject to what the two-meter diameter tutus allow them to do.