Costumes of the Pavley-Oukrainsky Ballet

Abstract

This study explores selected costumes worn by founding members of the early twentieth-century Pavley-Oukrainsky Ballet based in Chicago and a variety of historical documents pertaining to the company from the collection of the Museum of Performance and Design, San Francisco, to explore how the company used exotic influences as inspiration, which helped to develop a new genre of ballet in the United States. These sources address how the analysis of costumes can shed light on the historical significance of the Pavley-Oukrainsky Ballet, an otherwise little-known American ballet troupe. Using a material culture methodology, two garments are explored as case studies: a loincloth and a torso ornament. The descriptions, deductions, and speculations of each artifact are combined with primary and secondary sources about the company to contextualize and understand the role of dress in the Pavley-Oukrainsky Ballet.