Leotard & Costume Designer

Dance Spirit, November, 2007 by Freese, Julie

YUMIKO TAKESHIMA WEIGHS IN ON DANCING, DESIGNING COSTUMES AND CREATING HER FIRST LEOTARD. By Julie Freese

Yumiko Takeshima, a principal dancer with Dresden SemperOper Ballett in Germany, quit her first sewing clss because there were too many rules. When she rebelled against the restrictions, she got bad marks-so she just stopped going. Now, she's a costume designer for David Dawson and also designs her own dancewear line called Yumiko. "Designers need to experiment," she says. "There are no rules! Do what you want and what feels natural."

After landing her first professional ...