On her penultimate day at Texas Ballet Theater, it was hard for Masako Parshall to step away from her sewing machine or put down her seam ripper for even a few minutes.
Tending to the company鈥檚 wardrobe 鈥� whether that meant designing new costumes from scratch, reinforcing seams or replacing worn elastic 鈥� has long been a part of her life.
Parshall鈥檚 first stint with the company began in 1982 when it was known as Fort Worth Ballet. With the exception of a nine-year tenure at Casa Ma帽ana, Parshall has worked with the dance troupe, now known as Texas Ballet Theater, ever since.
鈥淚鈥檓 88!鈥� Parshall exclaimed. 鈥淚鈥檓 too old to be working,鈥� she said with a costume in hand and a laundry list of repairs she wanted to work through before calling it quits.
Her journey to the ballet company 鈥� and Fort Worth 鈥� is an unlikely one.
A native of Japan, Parshall survived the U.S. bombing of Hiroshima in 1945, which decimated the city and killed , most of whom were civilians.
Years later she met and married Maj. Fred Nathan Parshall Jr., who served in the U.S. Army during World War II and the Korean War.
Masako became a U.S. citizen and the couple had a daughter named Martha who was born at Tachikawa Air Force Base in Tokyo.
Before the family鈥檚 move to America, Fred passed away.
Friends and family tried to convince Masako to move to one of the coasts, where there was a higher concentration of Japanese Americans, but after doing some research she concluded that North Texas was the best fit.
Though she only knew one person in the metroplex at the time, Masako was drawn to the good schools in the area, low crime rate and proximity to Carswell Air Force Base.
Plus, she decided, it would help her daughter to fully integrate into the American way of life.
Masako doesn鈥檛 spend much time talking about the challenges of adjusting to life as a widow and raising a daughter in a new country nearly 7,000 miles away from her homeland.
鈥淪he鈥檚 been through so much,鈥� daughter Martha Parshall said.
But Masako is still smiling.
Several decades later, Masako was lively as she and her daughter reflected on her career.
鈥淪he can blame me for getting into costuming because I got into dance,鈥� Martha said of her mother.
Following in her father鈥檚 footsteps, Masako trained as a tailor and made clothes for herself and her daughter. Women at church would frequently compliment their clothing. When they learned that Masako had sewn it, several asked if she could make something for them, too.
One of Masako鈥檚 clients also happened to be a board member of the Fort Worth Ballet, who recommended her for a position with the company.
鈥淚 made clothes for them,鈥� Masako said. 鈥淭hen they asked me to take this job, so I ended up here.鈥�
鈥淪he recommended my mom,鈥� added Martha, who is also an instructor with the Texas Ballet Theater school, 鈥渂ecause at that time, my mom had already made a couple of tutus for me.鈥�
Before moving into its current location at 1540 Mall Circle, the ballet company had limited space. So, Masako said, she would hang costumes in the hallways at work or bring them home.
鈥淪he was making everything at our house,鈥� Martha said. 鈥淲e had tutus hanging all over the place.鈥�
鈥淵eah,鈥� Masako laughed. 鈥淭hread all over and costumes everywhere.鈥�
From time to time a big pot of dye would also be on the stove.
鈥淭he tights have to be dyed. And you need to try to get the shoes to match,鈥� Martha said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the goal, (to match) from the tip of the toes to the top of the head.鈥�
The ballet鈥檚 wardrobe collection is vast and varied, from dresses for Dracula鈥檚 brides to Mother Ginger鈥檚 tentlike skirt in 鈥淭he Nutcracker,鈥� every piece has multiple parts to help give dancers as much mobility as possible.
On top of that, the costumes are designed to be adjustable so that they fit multiple dancers.
To accomplish this, many costumes have a few rows of snaps, buttons or hook-and-eye closures that allow adjustments from one performance to the next.
Baby wipes work wonders for removing stage makeup from fabric, and vodka is key to keeping the costumes fresh and odor-free between performances.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 funny is I don鈥檛 drink,鈥� Masako said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 go to the liquor store (unless there鈥檚 a show).鈥�
When she walked into the liquor store, shopkeepers knew that it was ballet season.
鈥淥h, you have a performance today? Let me get your vodka,鈥� Masako laughed.
But when the ballet with 鈥淐inderella鈥� Sept. 13, it will be someone else鈥檚 turn to go to the liquor store.
Several people have already asked Masako if she might be interested in new sewing projects, but she鈥檚 trying to keep her schedule clear 鈥� for now.
鈥淚 gotta do my own thing,鈥� she said.
Marcheta Fornoff covers arts and culture for the Fort Worth Report. Reach her at marcheta.fornoff@fortworthreport.org. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board. Read more about our editorial independence policy.
This first appeared on and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.