Backstage Pioneer of American Ballet
May Asaki Ishimoto, the daughter of Japanese immigrants, was an established wardrobe mistress from the 1960s to 1990. Her illustrious career spanned three major ballet companies: the National Ballet in Washington, DC; the New York City Ballet at Lincoln Center in New York City; and the American Ballet Theatre, also at Lincoln Center in New York City.
This tutu was made for Marianna Tcherkassky, one of the first Asian Pacific American prima ballerinas, for her title role in Giselle. Ms. Tcherkassky continues her career with the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre.
Gift of the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and Ms. Marianna Tcherkassky. Photo by Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.
[…] We found it in the collection of the National Museum of American History, in the form of a tutu made for prima ballerina Marianna Tcherkassky in the production of Giselle; a gentle, flowing costume whose precise stitch work gave the fabric enough structure to endure countless hours and performances. […]