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Not currently on display at the V&A

Theatre Costume

1965
Artist/Maker

Dress for one of Juliet's Friends worn by Jennifer Penney in Romeo and Juliet, Royal Ballet, Covent Garden, 1965. Renaissance-inspired calf length ballet dress with high waistline and long sleeves. The tiny low cut corsage and upper sleeves are of gold metallic-woven brocade on a bois de rose ground; the close fitting lower sleeves and very full gathered skirt which is slightly raised in front, are of bois de rose fine China silk. The corsage and upper sleeves have two bands of old-gold woven metallic braid, outlined with narrow, flat bright gold braid. The front of the skirt has an appliqued scrolled inverted V of the same metallic braid, the inverted point touching centre front of the corsage. Amber and iridescent toned jewels are scattered over the corsage and upper sleeves.
The sleeves are attached to the corsage at the shoulder only, the lower armhole being set separately into a matching brocade panel, secured with elastic inside the corsage; this allows the dancer maximum freedom of movement. The dress is mounted on a net leotard, to hold the dress in position on the dancer.


Object details

Category
Object type
Materials and techniques
Brief description
Dress for one of Juliet's Friends worn by Jennifer Penney in Romeo and Juliet, Royal Ballet, Covent Garden, 1965
Physical description
Dress for one of Juliet's Friends worn by Jennifer Penney in Romeo and Juliet, Royal Ballet, Covent Garden, 1965. Renaissance-inspired calf length ballet dress with high waistline and long sleeves. The tiny low cut corsage and upper sleeves are of gold metallic-woven brocade on a bois de rose ground; the close fitting lower sleeves and very full gathered skirt which is slightly raised in front, are of bois de rose fine China silk. The corsage and upper sleeves have two bands of old-gold woven metallic braid, outlined with narrow, flat bright gold braid. The front of the skirt has an appliqued scrolled inverted V of the same metallic braid, the inverted point touching centre front of the corsage. Amber and iridescent toned jewels are scattered over the corsage and upper sleeves.
The sleeves are attached to the corsage at the shoulder only, the lower armhole being set separately into a matching brocade panel, secured with elastic inside the corsage; this allows the dancer maximum freedom of movement. The dress is mounted on a net leotard, to hold the dress in position on the dancer.
Dimensions
  • Length: 113cm (Note: Shoulder to hem, left shoulder to right.)
  • Width: 43cm
  • Weight: 0.6kg
Production typeUnique
Marks and inscriptions
' ?Friend / Penney ' (Royal Opera House Wardrobe Label:)
Object history
Costume for one of Juliet's Friends worn by Jennifer Penney in Kenneth MacMillan's ballet Romeo and Juliet, The Royal Ballet, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, 9 February 1965. The music for the ballet was composed by Sergey Prokofiev, and the scenery and costumes were designed by Nicholas Georgiadis. MacMillan created the leading roles on Lynn Seymour and Christopher Gable, although the first performance was led by Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev.

The ballet was an immensely popular addition to The Royal Ballet repertoire, and Georgiadis redesigned the production for The Royal Ballet on two separate occasions (1978 & 2000). The costumes in the Theatre Museum collection date from the 1965 production.

The ballet has also entered the repertoires of several other ballet companies including the Royal Swedish Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, the Ballet of La Scala, Milan, and the New National Ballet of Tokyo.

A version of the ballet was performed on October 9th 1975 at the Spa Pavilion, Felixstowe by Ballet For All.
Production
Reason For Production: Commission
Associations
Literary referenceRomeo and Juliet
Bibliographic reference
Strong, Roy, Ivor Guest, Richard Buckle, Sarah C. Woodcock and Philip Dyer, Spotlight: four centuries of ballet costume, a tribute to the Royal Ballet, London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1981.
Collection
Accession number
S.649-1981

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Record createdMarch 3, 2005
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