Ballet companies answer call for replacements after Festival Ballet Nutcracker costume theft

DANCERS PERFORM "The Waltz of the Flowers" in the Festival Ballet's annual production of The Nutcracker. Costumes, including for this dance, are being contributed by ballet companies across the country after word spread about the theft of Festival Ballet's Nutcracker costumes from a Pawtucket storage facility last month. / COURTESY FESTIVAL BALLET
DANCERS PERFORM "The Waltz of the Flowers" in the Festival Ballet's annual production of The Nutcracker. Costumes, including for this dance, are being contributed by ballet companies across the country after word spread about the theft of Festival Ballet's Nutcracker costumes from a Pawtucket storage facility last month. / COURTESY FESTIVAL BALLET

PROVIDENCE – Ballet companies from as far away as Mobile, Ala., and Kansas City, Mo., and as nearby as Warwick are loaning costumes so the Festival Ballet’s annual production of The Nutcracker can go on after more than 50 costumes worth approximately $30,000 were stolen from the company’s storage facility in Pawtucket.
According to a spokeswoman for the ballet, nine ballet companies and schools contributed costumes. The theft was discovered last month, and more than 60 costumes are either being rented from large and small companies or are being remade. A theatrical scenic design company from Massachusetts also has volunteered to recreate a number of props that were stolen.
Spokeswoman Ruth Davis said rental costs to replace the costumes for the upcoming production are still being estimated. In addition, the company also had additional insurance and shipping expenses. She said Festival Ballet will launch a fundraising drive to pay for the costs.
Among the items received are two complete sets of tutus for the large corps de ballet numbers, the Snow and Flower waltzes, and costumes for soloist and principal characters, including The Nutcracker and Sugar Plum Fairy.
Some costumes could not be rented, and are going to be recreated by costumers who volunteered to make them after news of the theft broke, Artistic Director Mihailo Djuric said.
“The past two weeks have been a flurry of activity for us. We got so many messages and offers of support from ballet companies around the country,” Djuric said in a statement. “Because of their generosity, we have been able to find replacements for most of what was lost and are deeply grateful for the companies that stepped up and offered what they could.”

Here is a list of companies that contributed costumes for the Festival Ballet Providence’s 2016 production of The Nutcracker:

  • Ballet Met, Columbus, Ohio
  • Carolyn Dutra Dance Studio, Warwick
  • Connecticut Ballet, Stamford, Conn.
  • International Ballet Academy, Norwell, Mass.
  • Joffrey Ballet, Chicago
  • Kansas City Ballet, Kansas City, Mo.
  • Mobile Ballet, Mobile, Ala.
  • Mystic Scenic Studios, Norwood, Mass.
  • Rochester City Ballet, Rochester, N.Y.
  • Southern New Hampshire Dance Theatre, Bedford, N.H.

Pawtucket Police are continuing to investigate. The Nutcracker will be performed at PPAC at 220 Weybosset St. from Dec. 16-18.

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