Jan Doran knows her way around a sewing machine.
She had been sewing most of her life when, about nine years ago, someone at Ballet Wichita approached her about helping with some costumes for “The Nutcracker.”
“I was asked if I could come down one evening in November and maybe help out, and I left five hours later, in charge,” Doran said. “I had never touched a tutu before in my life.”
Ballet is an art form. And costuming a ballet is a specialized craft that involves shopping, pattern making, cutting, sewing, structural engineering, and lots of math. Each costume must fit the dancer perfectly, and also withstand intense athletic movement.
When it came to costuming “Alice in Wonderland,” company director Katie Andrusak envisioned The Royal Ballet’s production, which is her personal favorite.
“I watched their version about 500 times, it feels like, and then I started poking around on Pinterest and other ballet companies' websites, as well as thinking about all of our costumes,” Andrusak said. “Ballet Wichita has been around for over 50 years, and so we do have some very vintage costumes that have been a part of our history.”
Andrusak considered the costumes she had in-house, and then thought about what the company might build from scratch.
And then she called Doran.
“I don’t have ballet experience, but I can sew,” Doran said. “So she's the one who has to go out and find those inspirations, and then I can say, ‘Yeah, I think I can do that,’ or ‘No, I don’t know how to do that.’”
Doran’s workshop fills a loft area in Ballet Wichita’s building on East Douglas. There are racks of costumes in various stages of progress, filing cabinets full of patterns, and an iron that gets plenty of use. There’s also a crockpot and a turkey roaster, but not for meals.
“When you're dyeing synthetics, you need the fabric to stay at a certain temperature,” Doran said. “And you can do that better with a crockpot.”
For the past three summers, Doran has traveled to Charlotte, North Carolina, for a national costuming seminar known as “Tutu School.” There, she learns advanced techniques for crafting not just tutus, but bodices, basques, skirts and headpieces.
“It is 10 days of intensive sewing, and I love it,” Doran said. “I found my people that speak my language, and I've learned so much from them.”
For “Alice in Wonderland,” Doran has built more than 70 costumes, from flowy, blue-and-white Alice to the elegant red Queen of Hearts. Andrusak, the company director, said her costume vision started with the Mad Hatter’s chartreuse pants and a bright pink jacket.
“And then it's the Card Court, the way to be creative making cards,” Andrusak said. “We had talked about actual card tutus or different shaped tutus, and it has slowly morphed into a really fun new kind of short miniskirt tutu, which the girls are loving.”
Doran teaches sewing classes in Wichita and chronicles her costuming process on her personal Instagram account.
“Today is the day before the show, and I am down to my Queen of Hearts tutu, which I have been wrangling for the last couple of days,” she said in a recent post, then motioned to the slogan on her shirt: “‘Never underestimate the power of a woman with a sewing machine.’ I think I’m living it.”
Amy Baumgartner, whose children are dancing in “Alice in Wonderland,” said Doran’s hard work brings the show to life.
“We affectionately call her the Fairy Godmother,” Baumgartner said. “She makes those dancers pretty, and she makes sure that they feel comfortable in their costumes.”
Doran said the ultimate reward is seeing her costumes on stage.
“The best thing for me is the first time I put a brand new costume on a dancer, and they just light up… I love that the first time they get in that costume and really feel it.”
Ballet Wichita’s “Alice in Wonderland” summer tour continues Saturday in Emporia.
