Swing Catz
Swing Catz: Group Pose (Photo courtesy of CSBSJU Theater Department)
Swing Catz: snap (Photo courtesy of CSBSJU Theater Department)
Swing Catz: partners close (Photo courtesy of CSBSJU Theater Department)
Swing Catz: partners reach (Photo courtesy of CSBSJU Theater Department)
Swing Catz: hand dyed vests
Swing Catz: renderings-1
Swing Catz: renderings-2
Swing Catz- renderings-3
Swing Catz “A Cool Cat in Town”
Performed as a part of Kinespheric Encounters: A Dance Concert by Swing Catz Student Dance Club 2017
Directed by David DeBlieck
Choreography by Paige Merwin and River McNabb
Music by Tape Five
Kinespheric Encounters: A Dance Concert was made up of performances by a variety of student and professional groups. I was able to design costumes for a student-choreographed piece performed by the campus swing dancing club, Swing Catz. Collaborating with club co-presidents and choreographers, Paige Merwin and River McNabb, I designed costumes that were evocative of 1940s dance outfits without being restricted by the period and that would create a sense of belonging rather than of uniformity among the dancers.Working within the club’s signature color palette of teal, black, and white, I based the costumes on research from the early 1940s, with my own twist to better suit the wants and needs of the Swing Catz. For the men, this meant a simple outfit of black pants, white shirt, and dress shoes, with custom dyed sweater vests in varying shades of teal. For the women, it meant adapting the styles I saw in my research to provide a broader range of motion, suit a variety of body types, and give each dancer their own signature look.