A while ago, I saw a post about the story of Beren and Luthien as classical ballet. I had kept the idea in the back of my head as some fun project I could do one day but never found the time to do more than a couple of drafts.
But this is my final year of art school and, for our exam, we have to create a entire project, from characters to environments, so I jumped on the occasion and dusted off my old stuff !
Here you have the very first drafts for Beren and Luthien, I was mostly looking to make functional ballet costumes while given them each their own identity. Beren has a style mixing viking shapes and byzantine empire patterns, while, for Luthien, I have taken a lot of inspiration from Alphonse Mucha and Art Nouveau.
I will post the rest bit by by, you'll get character designs, set designs, cool puppets and, maybe if I am motivated enough, a PMV !
I hope you guys will enjoy this crazy project as I do by making it !
I love the energy of the role and all the petite allegro
#4- The Firebird (Firebird)
So much drama in this role, I’m also dying to wear the costume
#3- Dark Angel (Serenade)
Even though this role is generally for taller dancers (I’m only 5’5), but I love adagio. Also, serenade for strings makes me cry
#2- Gamzatti (La Bayadère)
I just love a good diva, and that’s exactly what Gamzatti is. Her wedding variation is my absolute favorite classical variation
#1- Aurora (Sleeping Beauty)
This would be my dream lead role. The Rose Adagio is probably my favorite section from any classical ballet and I would kill to do it. She also doesn’t have to do the big 32, which makes me so happy because I hate fouettés with a burning passion
ooohhh i loveee this question but i have too many to count!! as for my highlights, my favorite composer is chopin, so that includes his ballades, his nocturnes, études, and concerti. i've also come to really love beethoven's metal-like classics like appassionata, tempest, and moonlight sonata. and i recently gained an obsession with ballet music like giselle or the nutcracker, to name a few... anything i've listed under #my day in music, my halloween playlist, or my posts on @studentbyday is also a favorite 🥰 generally i find stuff in minor keys more interesting than those in major, but i do tend to love stuff in wistful-sounding major keys like A or G flat major... most of these i can't play yet and it'll be years until i'm able to, but i lovelovelove listening to them 💗 what are your favorite pieces? 😀
The Zurich City Theater, today's Zurich Opera House, opened 132 years ago. With this new building, the glamor of the opera world came to the city and to this day the Zurich Opera House is one of the most innovative and internationally respected houses. Many famous singers, conductors and big names in directing appreciate the personal atmosphere. And the Ballett Zurich is one of the most prestigious Companies. For 41 years and after several hundred performances, I have been able to call this charming house my musical living room. Happy Birthday!
I wasn't very satisfied with the version I made for my finals. Mostly, it suffered from being the first thing I made for the project as well as having the imperative of the deadline. It was also my first time using Rebelle 5, wich was a fun experience overall, but very different from how I usually approach digital painting. The end result was really nice though ! I did most of the work of the original project on Clip Studio but I might redo some of this stuff on Rebelle instead.
But enough rambling ! This outfit is Luthien's Act I costume ! I took inspiration from Mucha's illustrations while trying to keep it as functional as possible. The hairstyle was probably the hardest to design, as I wanted to continue with Mucha. His painting have incredible hairstyles but most are unfortunately unpratical for a dancer... I think maybe a wig or some extensions could do the trick.
Next time will be Beren's character sheet or some posing for Luthien, depending on what I finish first !