Tutu School

As students head back to school, one Aiken mom is leaving the classroom for her sewing room. Costume designer Emily Raynor recently completed a week-long seminar to learn how to create one-of-a-kind tutus and improve her costuming skills at Tutu School.

“It was great to be with so many people who love to sew,” said Raynor. The author of the sewing pattern was there to answer questions and give her insights from years of sewing. “The ruffling technique I learned will make a world of difference,” said Raynor.

Every little girl in dance class dreams of wearing a tutu, but when did it first appear? Marie Taglioni, the Swedish Ballerina, took to the stage at the Paris Opera in 1832, wearing a skirt scandalously cut to show her ankles. Designed by Eugene Lami and made from 30 yards of tulle, net and tarlatan, the bell-shaped design was dubbed “the Romantic” for its elegant sway. From the late 19th century onward, tutus steadily shortened, for ease of movement and to show off dancers’ legs. Today, tutus are no longer restricted to the stage, as millions watched Serena Williams play in the 2018 U.S. Open Tennis Tournament in an asymmetrical, tutu-style dress.

Mystical and the epitome of grace, not to mention the icon of ballet, modern tutus transform ballerinas into black swans and sleeping beauties. Tutus are detailed to the extreme and customized to every sequin because they tell the audience what role or character the dancer is playing.

The anatomy of a tutu includes the bodice, the Basque (undergarment), and the frills, which are typically 12 layers of netting – 16 for extra fullness – to retain stiffness throughout movement. The process of making one is painstaking. The basic tutu, which is just the skirt, takes about 20 hours; with embellishments, it can take 40 to 60 hours. They’re expensive – $1,000-$2,000 for a teenager, or pre-professional entering competition.

“Getting netting through the machine is a wrestling match,” said Raynor. “You have to have patience, even when you must rip out and re-sew the same layer many times before you get it right. After the netting settles down for a couple of days, you go back and finish the remaining layers,” said Raynor. The finished Russian-style tutu took 50 hours to complete, with 16 layers of netting, some doubled, and a hand-pleated top.

Raynor is currently working on costumes for the Aiken Civic Ballet’s upcoming performance, Dracula. “I’m sewing Romantic-style tutus for the waltz scene. Not as complicated, but these must flow. I’m not a performer, but always wanted to be a dancer. When I make costumes, I feel like I get to be part of the spotlight, too,” said Raynor.

The Aiken Civic Ballet will perform Dracula on October 18 and 19 at 7 p.m.; and The Nutcracker, December 20
at 7 p.m.; December 21, 2 p.m.; and December 22, 2 p.m., at the USCA Etherredge Center. For tickets, call
(803) 641-3305. Visit www.aikenballet.org for patron and business sponsorship information.

Tutu School | Aiken Bella Magazine


Did You Know?

Here’s some tutu trivia to know before you go to the ballet.

There are five types of tutus:

  1. The Bell – Short, stiff, no hoop, falls in a bell shape; one of the classical tutus, represented by Degas paintings.
  2. The Russian Pancake – The second classical tutu, it stands straight out from the hips, supported by embedded wire hoop.
  3. The Platter – Akin to the Pancake, this tutu’s top layer is flat and decorated, with no pleats.
  4. The Powder – puff or Balanchine tutu Short tutu, soft and full, no hoop.
  5. The Romantic – Long, flowing tulle skirt, midcalf length.

Tutu School | Aiken Bella Magazine


Susie Ferrara

by Susie Ferrara

A native of Aiken, Susie studied under the direction of Carl Crosby and is a former member of the Aiken Civic Ballet Company. She also danced with the University of South Carolina Dance Company, under the direction Susan Anderson, and the Robert Ivey Ballet Company in Charleston, SC. She has 30 years of experience in Communications and Journalism, and currently works in the Site Training Department at the Savannah River Site.

Picture of Susie Ferrara

Susie Ferrara

A native of Aiken, Susie Ferrara studied under the direction of Carl Crosby and is a former member of the Aiken Civic Ballet Company. She also danced with the University of South Carolina Dance Company, under the direction Susan Anderson, and the Robert Ivey Ballet Company in Charleston, SC. She has 30 years of experience in Communications and Journalism, and currently works in the Site Training Department at the Savannah River Site.
Picture of Susie Ferrara

Susie Ferrara

A native of Aiken, Susie Ferrara studied under the direction of Carl Crosby and is a former member of the Aiken Civic Ballet Company. She also danced with the University of South Carolina Dance Company, under the direction Susan Anderson, and the Robert Ivey Ballet Company in Charleston, SC. She has 30 years of experience in Communications and Journalism, and currently works in the Site Training Department at the Savannah River Site.

In the know

Related Stories

The Nutcracker | An Iconic Christmas Tradition | Palmetto Bella

The Nutcracker | An Iconic Christmas Tradition

For many, Peter Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker is a holiday tradition that kicks off the holiday season. When the music starts, you can close your eyes and allow visions of sugarplums, snowflakes, flowers, and an enchanted place enter your imagination. The Nutcracker is based on E.T.A. Hoffmann’s popular 1816 story “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King.” The idea to use the story as the basis for a ballet came from the impresario and director of the Russian Imperial Theaters, Ivan Vsevolozhsky, who had conceived of The Sleeping Beauty. Vsevolozhsky and the ballet master Marius Petipa, who had choreographed The Sleeping Beauty, wrote the libretto, or story line, for The Nutcracker and

Read More »
The August Bella Book Club Review | The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo | Aiken Bella Magazine

The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires – by Grady Hendrix

Bella Book Club Monthly Selection by Nichole Miller The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires, by Grady Hendrix, provides an unusual combination of classic horror and old Southern charm. Patricia Campbell is a stay-at-home mom who is trying her best to raise her teenage children and care for her senile mother-in-law. Her husband, a psychiatrist, is never home and is little help, and Patricia’s sanity is starting to run thin. After embarrassing herself at the snooty local ladies’ book club, she walks out to find some of the other members forming a new book group where she is introduced to true crime stories and a group of amazing women

Read More »
I Create Beautiful Things | Palmetto Bella

I Create Beautiful Things

If there was a job called Professional Creator, I could be THAT. I love to create stuff, all kinds of stuff. I like to find forgotten yarn and watch it become something new and beautiful. I glean from thrift stores or estate sales or garages or attics and find old balls of tangled messes and watch them unfurl, and then I create anew. I enjoy taking pieces of fabric, once serving their past-life purposes, and then cut and craft them into a new blanket or quilt. I am entertained by taking wood and screws and building stuff. Sometimes it’s bird atriums for my farm animals. Or functional things like a

Read More »
Artist Spotlight | An Artist In Any Medium: From Fashion To Water Color | Palmetto Bella

Artist Spotlight | An Artist In Any Medium: From Fashion To Water Color

In 2006, a determined Barbara Beach walked into a Charleston boutique with children’s dresses that she had designed and sewn together. The owner quickly added them to the inventory, and eventually shops from West Ashley to King Street were carrying Barbara Beach Designs for the poshest tots. Women would stare at the carefully crafted dresses and secretly wish the apparel were in adult sizes (this writer is guilty as charged). The demand for these classic with a modern twist creations was gaining traction across Charleston when Beach was named a Charleston Fashion Week (CFW) Emerging Designer in 2010. This accolade included a fashion show where her small models took the

Read More »