DCT’s season opener FANCY NANCY: THE MUSICAL reminds us that we don’t always get to be the star, but that everyone still gets a chance to shine when they do their best. The Fancy Nancy Costume Contest celebrates young artists of all skill levels who put their creative ideas on paper. DCT received 90 entries for the Mermaid and the Shark from the Mermaid Ballet.
Mermaid Entry Winner by Alyssa Morales
Designing costumes is hard work, for artists of any level, especially whenhaving to think of such abstract ideas as a mermaid and a dancing shark. It might not be difficult for an imaginative kid to draw a mermaid or dancing shark, but a costume design requires that a human be able to wear the design and move around on stage with it, and in the case of the Shark, actually dance! It’s amazing what these young designers were able to put together, and I can’t wait to see what the finished product looks like on stage. As we learned from the Superbowl, a dancing shark always steals the show!
Shark Entry Winner by Claire Spigel
The Grand Prize winners will enjoy an exclusive workshop with DCT Costume Designer Lyle Huchton who was one of the judges that selected the winning designs! With 90 designs to choose from, this was not an easy task. Even more exciting is the fact that these designs will be used as the actual basis for the costume we will eventually see on stage. This is an amazing opportunity for young aspiring artists! Now let’s meet the winners!
Alyssa Morales (Mermaid) is a 7th grader at Irma Rangel Young Women’s Leadership School. Alyssa says she has always enjoyed art and design and also loves to be challenged.
Claire Spigel (Shark) is an 11th grader at Booker T. Washington High School for Performing and Visual Arts. Claire says in addition to practicing her rendering skills, she enjoyed the opportunity to design for one of her favorite books.
Of course with 90 designers, there are always going to be a few, aside from the grand prize winners, who catch the attention of the judges, so a few Honorable Mentions were selected in different age categories. We are celebrating them as well:
K-3 MERMAID: Cici Averitt
K-3 SHARK: Matthew Johnson
4-8 MERMAID: Laurel Mora
4-8 SHARK: Adam Roth
9-12 MERMAID: Anneke Davis
9-12 SHARK: Scout Villareal
Most Creative MERMAID: Gaetana Johnson
Most Creative SHARK: Rachel Browning
Fancy Nanciest: Marlowe Martensen
It’s always inspiring to look at the submissions from young designers, especially when they’ve been charged with a specific task. Young minds’ wheels turn with a unique variety of imagination. We can all learn from their free-spirited approach to such tasks. If we took this path, I dare say we would be less inclined to lose that spark when we become adults; all too often relying on logic and the confines of “reality.” I hope these designs inspire you to get your own set of colored pencils and markers and draw something…on paper. If you can’t think of what to draw, try a mermaid and a dancing shark and make it fancy!
Fancy Nancy – The Musical
FANCY NANCY: THE MUSICAL runs September 18 – October 25 and will be fanciful fun for boys and girls ages 5 and up. All the design entries will be on display throughout the run of FANCY NANCY: THE MUSICAL,September 18 – October 25, 2015.Season tickets are available now and single tickets for FANCY NANCY: THE MUSICAL are on sale now at www.dct.ortg .