When I was an MFA candidate at NYU Tisch Dance, I held the Graduate Assistantship for Production. The position reported to the Chair of the Department, Kay Cummings. I coordinated departmental production and studio scheduling and led costume loan in coordination with the faculty of Tisch Dept of Design for Stage and Film. I was in heaven. I had inherited a costume closet in total disarray and spent the year organizing and compiling the collection into a library for browsing and borrowing. Hats were hung, shoes were lined up, and choreographers could come in to “shop” and we would choose their cast’s ensembles together. To this day, my own choreography considers costumes at the outset of the process and follows them through the atmosphere, functional needs and narrative of the piece from rehearsal to stage. 

Though entirely self-taught, I found so much joy in costuming dance that I began doing it professionally for a number of years. I designed mostly for Darrah Carr Dance and Cherylyn Lavagnino Dance, also RedShift Dance and Umoja Dance.