Limelight: Janet Hine

Where were you born?

Brisbane.

Was your family a theatrical family?

My Gran was one of five girls and I was one of four so there was a lot of “creative activities” going on in our house. Our dress-up cupboard was the best!

How did you get into costume design?

I started as a make-up artist but from an early age was fascinated by all things theatrical and loved making my own outfits so was naturally drawn to costume design.

Where did you train?

On the job. I’ve always had a curiosity for design and hunger to learn. I’ve had so many incredible opportunities to observe and assist great designers and artists, some who became mentors throughout my career.

What was your first job?

My best friend and I sat up all night making ball dresses out of shower curtains once – gotta love the 80s!

What was your first big break professionally?

When I think of big breaks in my career I think of David Atkins – he has presented me with so many exciting opportunities working around Australia, Asia, UK and the Middle East. My first Broadway credit was designing costumes for Burn the Floor.

How have you come to focus on dance and musical theatre?

My connection with dancers began with Jason Coleman and Leonie Page at Expo 88 [in Brisbane] which led to costuming all forms of dance – which led me to musical theatre and started a love affair that continues to this day.

With David Atkins you have designed many large arena events, such as the Asian games in Qatar in 2006. What is the largest you have worked on?

The Asian Games involved over 3000 performers and I felt a great responsibility representing each Asian and Arab country in a respectful way. Coordinating fittings for a large cast group across many ethnicities was quite a challenge for all involved.

How do you adapt to such a large scale event?

Designing costumes for large scale events usually involves choosing simple design that fit all shapes and sizes with strong colours that make an impact at a distance. Asian games was more like a stage production as it required specialist costuming to allow performers to dance, perform acrobatics, harnesses to fly and, to add another degree of difficulty, most had to light up!

What has been a career highlight?

So many . . . I loved designing for the stage production of Hairspray. Being nominated for a Helpmann Award was icing on the cake.

What has been the most difficult production you have worked on?

So You Think You Can Dance was so much fun but the deadlines were crazy! Many all nighters on that gig. All of my jobs are difficult in some form as I’m always working with directors who like to push the boundaries.

What form do your original designs take?

I work organically, so once I get the director’s brief I research a lot and open myself to inspiration from everything around me. It can come in many forms – Hairspray concept started with a glomesh bag! I’m not an illustrator but sometimes I make doll versions of outfits or create mood boards to communicate my vision.

What do you like about designing for dancers?

Dancers communicate with their bodies so its important they feel comfortable and have complete freedom of movement to perform at their best. I love observing the choreography and looking at options to heighten their movment and create more drama for the audience. My goal is to provide the right support to allow the dancer to focus on their performance. Achieving this balance can create magical moments.