![A narrow storage room filled with colorful, elaborate costumes](https://www.icaboston.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Boston-Ballet_Ernie-Galan_DSC00491-400x600.jpg)
Photo by Ernie Galan
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Photo by Ernie Galan
Howard Merlin in the Costume Shop. Photo by Brooke Trisolini
Photo by Ernie Galan
Howard Merlin in the Costume Shop. Photo by Brooke Trisolini
Photo by Ernie Galan
Howard Merlin in the Costume Shop. Photo by Brooke Trisolini
Have you ever wondered how costumes are made? Join Boston Ballet Director of Costumes Howard Merlin and Costume Shop and Children’s Wardrobe Manager Kelly Kerrigan Jacobus to hear about the people and processes behind the exquisite costumes worn by Boston Ballet dancers. This conversation is moderated by Eliza Mecklenburg, ICA Education Coordinator and organizer of the installation Costuming for the Stage and Screen.
Costuming for the Stage and Screen is an interactive installation created in collaboration with the Boston Ballet Costume Shop to provide a behind-the-scenes look into how costumes are constructed for Boston Ballet. This installation is open to visitors during Charles Atlas: About Time and connects to Atlas’s early experiences as a costume designer with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company.
Kelly Anona Kerrigan Jacobus
With a love for art, dance, and fashion, Kelly Kerrigan Jacobus received a BFA in painting from Boston University, before embarking on a career in the arts that began at Boston Ballet, where she first worked in the Costume Shop as a stitcher. She supplemented her fine arts education with classes at Boston’s School of Fashion design, gaining skills in fashion construction, illustration and pattern making.
After earning her MFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Kelly spent time working in arts administration before making her way back to Boston Ballet’s Costume shop, where she is currently the Costume Shop and Children’s Theater Manager.
Kelly’s painting practice is influenced by her work in costuming. Her painting focuses on portraits with an emphasis on pattern and texture, exploring what garments can tell us about the wearer. Her work has been shown in various venues throughout New England, and was featured in the 2006 New American Paintings MFA edition.
She has taught painting at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts. She currently lives and works in Boston’s Fort Point Arts Community.
Howard Merlin
Howard Merlin has been in the Dance world since he started dancing at age 6. After graduating High School, he got his first professional ballet contract with the Hartford Ballet in 1982. In 1987, Howard joined Boston Ballet and has been a part of the Boston Ballet family for the past 37 seasons. In 1995, Howard decided it was time to “look to the future” and start his transition from the professional dancer world to the professional wardrobe and costume industry. In 1997, Howard became Wardrobe Supervisor, promoted to Costume Shop & Footwear Coordinator in 2000 and then in the summer of 2019 became the Director of Costumes. He has a variety of job functions, each helping to maintain the Company’s world-class reputation. He has worked with various costume designers from all over the world. Robert Perdziola, Yuima Nakazato, and Stephen Galloway to name a few.
Being the Director of a Professional Ballet Companies’ Costume Department and having an extensive career as a professional ballet dancer is uncommon in the world of dance.
Having this attribute, Howard collaborates with designers, with their designs to make sure it relates to what the dancer needs to achieve one’s given choreography.