Jérôme Kaplan at PNB
Costume and set designer Jérôme Kaplan is internationally renowned and a PNB favorite. The 2025/26 Season features his stunning designs in two ballets, Jewels and Giselle. Click to learn more about Kaplan and his work at PNB!
Q&A with Meleta Buckstaff, PNB Costume Shop Manager and Costume Designer for Cracks
PNB Costume Shop Manager Meleta Buckstaff is designing the costumes for Rena Butler’s new work Cracks. We sat down with Meleta in the costume shop to talk about her designs for this new work, what exactly a costume shop manager does, and more!
10 Fast Facts about The Sleeping Beauty Costumes
With 184 roles and 80 costume designs, The Sleeping Beauty is PNB’s largest production ever. Over 90 artisans, craftspeople, drapers, stitchers, first hands, dyers, and milliners have contributed to the costume build, including costume designer Paul Tazewell, who also designed costumes for Wicked, Hamilton, and PNB's Swan Lake. Click for more fast facts about this amazing production!
PNB’s Resident Mouse King, Erik Andor: The Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty, and Beyond
Erik Andor, and his eponymous Andor Studio, fabricated the mice costumes you see on stage during The Nutcracker. (And one giant, can’t-be-missed Mouse King costume.) The studio is also in the process of creating royal tiaras, mice puppets, and a large ogre body puppet (performed by two dancers) for PNB’s upcoming production of The Sleeping Beauty. Click here to learn more about building these dramatic elements.
Paul Tazewell at PNB
Costume designer Paul Tazewell is at the top of his field. He has designed for all types of productions, from the silver screen to the opera, and he has received multiple prestigious awards for his work. PNB is a special fan of Paul, as he is the costume designer for our production of Swan Lake and the new The Sleeping Beauty. Read on to learn more about Paul and see beautiful behind-the-scenes images of his costume designs for PNB!
Mark Zappone on Designing the Costumes for Bacchus
Costume designer Mark Zappone has created many costumes over the years for PNB, including for Matthew Neenan’s Bacchus. Peek behind the scenes with us today on the PNB Blog as Mark explains how he created these delightful costumes!
About Costume Designer Mark Zappone: “Follow Your Curiosity”
Mark Zappone has designed over 30 costumes for PNB, and he’s worked on many more productions for choreographers like Twyla Tharp, Christopher Wheeldon, and Yuri Possokhov. But Mark didn’t start his career designing costumes for dance. Mark became the accomplished ballet costume designer he is today by following his curiosity and saying “yes” to new opportunities.
Nutcracker Costumes Close-Up Game
Each Nutcracker costume is full of delicious details! Some ballet fans might feel they know this holiday classic like the back of their hand. Well, today on the blog, we're here to test that knowledge! Can you identify these seven Nutcracker costumes by their close-up photos?
Nutcracker by the Numbers: 12 Festive Facts about PNB’s Nutcracker Costumes
PNB’s production of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker® is an impressive feat of costume design. Ian Falconer and the rest of the creative team poured whimsy and cheer into every detail of the show, from the whiskers of the Mice to the jewels on Coffee’s crown. Dive into the details of PNB’s costumes for George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker® with these 12 fascinating facts!
Best of the PNB Blog
We cover a lot of different things here on the PNB Blog ranging from dancer announcements, behind the scenes peeks at our rehearsals, tours, and costume shop, fun facts about PNB repertoire, and our tips for visiting us with kids and making the most of PNB's Summer Course. That's a ton to scroll through! We've done the work for you and rounded up our Top 5 blogs posts to get you started.