Meet the Wabanaki artists behind the costumes for a Wolastoqey story ballet

Emma Hassencahl-Perley is working to revitalize Wolastoqey iconography and regalia and she's bringing that knowledge to her work as the lead costume designer for an upcoming ballet at the Fredericton Playhouse.

Hassencahl-Perley, who is from Neqotkuk, Tobique First Nation about 120 kilometres west of Fredericton, spent hundreds of hours researching archival images. She brings those traditional motifs, such as double curves and fiddleheads, into her designs. 

A double curve is a Wabanaki motif that features two curves meeting in the middle, often symbolizing relationships and balance. 

Hassencahl-Perley's costumes will take centre stage on May 12, when the ballet opens. Pisuwin, a collaboration between director and choreographer Igor Dobrovolskiy, multi-disciplinary artist Possesom Paul and composer Jeremy Dutcher, is a Wolastoqey story ballet put on by the Atlantic Ballet.

"Our stories are presented on stage in such a big way," she said.

"It's also exciting because it's not a small production. It's a big production with a lot of time and energy being put towards the final product."

Hassencahl-Perley started in an Indigenous mentorship program with the ballet company, and Pisuwin is her first production.

The ballet is based in traditional Wolastoqey stories and its costumes try to embody the four elements: earth, water, air and fire, and will also lean heavy on the Wabanaki double curve motif, Hassencahl-Perley said.

She said she was challenged to balance regalia looks with ballet costuming.

"We had a lot of conversations around that because regalia has such a specific intention for ceremonies and it's made specifically for that purpose, where this is for performance on stage," said Hassencahl-Perley.

The costuming will also feature beadwork and Hassencahl-Perley suggested they enlist the help of Mi'kmaw beader Oakley Gray.

100 hours of beading

Gray, who is from Listuguj Mi'gmaq Nation, was part of a team that made a recreation of the O'Halloran coat, an 1840s beaded coat housed in the Canadian Museum of History.

For the ballet, Gray spent over 100 hours beading the costumes.

"Beading for the ballet kind of changed my technique that I normally would use because we're also beading on a lot of stretch [material], so I've been kind of making it my goal to make the beadwork also stretch with the fabric, keeping it on just so it doesn't fall off because clearly you don't want it falling off as they're dancing. That would be terrifying," Gray said.

Gray worked alongside costuming expert Nancy Lachance to ensure the costumes are functional.

Susan Chalmers-Gauvin, CEO of the Atlantic Ballet, said co-director Possesom Paul challenged them to build capacity for Indigenous people in the ballet world and said the company will expand with other Indigenous mentorship programs. 

Pisuwin will tour in Atlantic Canada until May 27.