Design students at Coleg Morgannwg have taken the lead role in creating costumes for a dance production to mark the centenary of Treorchy’s Park and Dare Theatre.
The BA hons costume design students have been given the responsibility to produce a series of costumes for “Flights of Fancy”, a co-production by RCT Theatres and the National Dance Company Wales.
Flights of Fancy tells the story of the local area over the past hundred years and the 2nd year costume design students have sole responsibility to create the costumes for the 1933- 53 period.
Commenting on her role in making the costumes, 2nd year student, Sophie Wynne-Owen, 21, from Cardiff, said:
“I moved to Wales specifically to join the BA hons Costume Design course at Coleg Morgannwg due to its great reputation. Few design courses allow you to work on professional productions of this scale and calibre; we are expected to work to the highest standards.
“In addition to gaining experience working alongside regarded industry professions, we are able to forge connections and gain a reputation within the industry we plan to enter. I don’t think any other course offers such fantastic opportunities.”
Throughout the Flight of Fancy project the 12 costume design students have been supported by their Coleg Morgannwg lecturer, Emma Highgate and costume designer Paul Shriek, a member of the production’s creative leadership team.
Speaking of her students efforts, Emma Highgate, lecturer at Coleg Morgannwg, said: “Providing students with opportunities to work on professional productions is at the heart of the costume design curriculum. Every second year student has worked incredibly hard to ensure their work is up to standard and accurate for that particular period. This experience is invaluable for anyone wanting to enter the industry.”
While the show’s organisers remain tight lipped regarding the exact details of the centenary production, a cast of more than one hundred dancers have provided the students with the real-life challenge of producing professional quality garments on an industrial scale.
Praising the hard work of all the students, Paul Shriek, the production’s designer, said: “The show’s aim is to recant the area’s local history. All the students have put painstaking effort into researching and dedication required of hands on designers. I have 35 years’ experience in the fashion design industry; and these students are learning highly marketable skills in both the fashion and costume industries.”
Coleg Morgannwg and The College Ystrad Mynach will merge to form Coleg Y Cymoedd, meaning College of the Valleys, by August 2013. All educational provision across the new college’s five campuses will remain available from September 2013, providing one of the widest ranges of subject choices in Wales for learners.
Flight of Fancy will be staged at the Park and Dare Theatre, Treorchy from May 14 -18. Tickets for all performances are priced £5.50. To book call the Box Office on 08000 147 111.
