Costume Supervisor, Dance Program

Posting Details

Position Information

Job Title Costume Supervisor, Dance Program Job Description

Guest Faculty Appointment to teach Costume Design for Dance: $6,000

The Costume Design for Dance course meets once per week for 1 hour 40 min class sessions across the Fall and Spring (15-week) semesters. The Guest Faculty role is paid on a 10-month contract (August 1-May 31), paid monthly over 12 months.

Supervision of Dance Program costumes, including student advising and supervision of one student worker employed as the Student Costume Shop Manager: paid weekly on an hourly basis: $28-35/hr., commensurate with experience.

Appointment: 10-month contract

Position Overview

Sarah Lawrence College seeks a part-time Costume Supervisor to serve the Dance Program. The Dance Program is located in the Performing Arts Center. It provides curriculum and support to graduate and undergraduate students, producing seven productions each academic year (3 in the fall semester and 4 in the spring semester). The Dance and Theatre Programs are closely connected through an interdisciplinary curriculum that encourages students to make work and study across both disciplines.

As the instructor of the Costume Design for Dance course, the Costume Supervisor will be responsible for teaching students an introductory overview of costume design for dance. Students enrolled in this course are individually assigned to student choreographers in the Live Time-Based Art course; student costume designers collaborate with and assist the student choreographer in the design, creation, and acquisition of costumes for their works with the support of a modest production budget for each student work.

The Costume Supervisor also works in conjunction with the Costume Shop Manager student worker to support the visiting guest artist each semester in Performance Project in the acquisition and realization of costumes for their guest artist project with the support of a modest production budget.

The Dance Program is a community of generous and engaged artists who value diverse, intentional, and rigorous research, process, and creation. Through a curriculum that prioritizes collaboration, care, experimentation, and equity, the Dance Program strives to create an environment that supports artistic risk-taking while preparing students for professional practice.

The Costume Supervisor oversees all aspects of costume production, wardrobe operations, and costume facilities for the Dance Program's activities. The position manages modest costume inventories and budgets, oversees costume acquisitions and purchases, maintains costume facilities and equipment, supervises wardrobe operations and student costume crews in conjunction with the Production Supervisor, and collaborates closely with directors, choreographers, faculty, guest artists, and production staff throughout the production process.

Safety, organization, and student learning are central to this position. Supported by a student Costume Shop worker, the Costume Supervisor mentors student costume designers and wardrobe crews, helping students develop both artistic vision and professional production practices while ensuring safe working conditions and effective shop operations.

The Costume Supervisor collaborates closely with the Dance Program Production Manager, Media Supervisor in Theatre and Dance, Dance Program Lighting Design Guest Faculty professor, Dance Program Coordinator, and Dance Program Director to support productions throughout the academic year.

In addition to a guest faculty appointment for teaching Costume Design for Dance, this position averages approximately 4-5 hours per week across the full duration of the semester in a production staff role, supporting Dance Program productions across the entire year. The staff role hours are not necessarily evenly distributed and tend to be concentrated around the lead-up to production periods. Please consult the production schedule for the upcoming academic year below for further detail.

Essential Duties Summary

Responsibilities Include:

• Teach Costume Design for Dance.
• Mentor student costume designers throughout the design process.
• Supervise the costume shop student employee and wardrobe crews.
• Work with the student employee in the costume shop to maintain costume shop, costume storage, wardrobe facilities, and dressing rooms.
• Manage costume production budgets in conjunction with the Dance Program Coordinator.
• Work with the Dance Program Coordinator to purchase and track costumes, fabrics, and materials.
• Maintain costume inventory and equipment.
• Attend production meetings, pre-technical rehearsal final showings, and technical rehearsals as required. Attend select dress rehearsals and performances as needed.
• Supervise costume load-ins, wardrobe calls, and strike.
• Coordinate fittings, alterations, and costume maintenance.
• Manage student employment schedules and payroll.
• Develop and enforce costume shop safety procedures.
• Recommend equipment and facility improvements.
• Collaborate with Dance faculty and staff on productions.
• Promote an inclusive, collaborative, process-oriented learning environment.

Physical and Cognitive Requirements

• Ability to stand for extended periods and work in costume shop environments.
• Ability to lift and move costume materials and equipment up to approximately 40 pounds.
• Manual dexterity required for sewing, fitting, and costume construction.
• Ability to organize complex production schedules and manage multiple priorities.

Production Schedule in 2026-2027

Production schedules vary from year to year but are distributed throughout each academic year in the same manner. Below please find the Dance Program's current planned production schedule for 2026-2027. Attendance at Fall Student Works final showing, MFA Final Showing, and Spring Student Works Final Showing is a requirement of the position. Typically, all costumes are fully or nearly completed by each of these final showings and are worn during the showings which occur just prior to final cue-to-cue rehearsals leading into the production period. All showings of student work occurring earlier in each semester are archived and accessible on a Google Drive; the Costume Supervisor will consult this drive as a resource to help them understand how the individual student choreographic works are developing and will use this resource to assist in mentoring and advising the costume design students. Attendance at other technical rehearsals, showings, and performances is on an as-needed basis, coordinated with the Production Manager, to support all costumes being prepared for all performances.

Fall 2026

Fall Co-curricular Open Performance

• Tech - Monday, November 9, 2026 evening
• Dress - Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at 7:30pm
• PERFORMANCE DATES - Thursday & Friday, November 12 & 13, 2026 at 7:30pm

Fall Student Works Performance

• Final Student showing - Tuesday, December 1, 2026 5:30 p.m.-9 p.m.

• Techs cue-to-cue rehearsals

• Program A - Saturday, December 5, 2026

• Program B - Sunday, December 6, 2026

• Tech Runs

• Program A - Monday, December 7, 2026

• Program B - Tuesday, December 8, 2026

• Dress Rehearsals

• Program A - Wednesday, December 9, 2026 at 7:30pm

• Program B - Thursday, December 10, 2026 at 7:30pm

• PERFORMANCE DATES - Friday & Saturday, December 10 & 11, 2026

• December 11 - Program A at 6:00pm; Program B at 8:30pm

• December 12 - Program B at 6:00pm; Program A at 8:30pm

Fall Visiting Artist Performance Project

• Tech and Dress - Monday, December 14, 2026

• Dress at 7:30 pm

• PERFORMANCE DATES - Tuesday & Wednesday, December 15 & 16, 2026 at 7:30pm

Spring 2027

Spring Co-Curricular Open Performance

• Tech - Monday, February 22, 2027 evening exact time TBD
• Dress - Wednesday, February 24, 2027 at 7:30pm
• PERFORMANCE DATES - Thursday & Friday, February 25 & 26 at 7:30pm

MFA Thesis Performance (tentatively two programs)

• MFA Final showings - March 30, 2027, 5:30 p.m.-9 p.m.

• MFA Techs

• Program A - Saturday, April 3, 2027

• Program B - Sunday, April 4, 2027

• MFA Tech Runs

• Program A - Monday, April 5, 2027

• Program B - Wednesday, April 7, 2027

• MFA Dress (Combined A & B) - Thursday, April 8, 2027

• PERFORMANCE DATES - Friday & Saturday, April 9 & 10, 2027

• April 10 - Program A at 6:00pm; Program B at 8:30pm

• April 11 - Program B at 6:00pm; Program A at 8:30pm

Spring Student Works Performance (tentatively two programs)

• Final Student Showing - Tuesday, April 13, 2027 5:30 p.m.- 9 p.m.

• Cue to Cue Techs

• Program A - Saturday, April 24, 2027

• Program B - Sunday, April 25, 2027

• Tech Runs

• Program A - Monday, April 26, 2027

• Program B - Tuesday, April 27 2027

• Dress

• Program A - Wednesday, April 28 2027

• Program B - Thursday, April 29 2027

• PERFORMANCE DATES - Friday & Saturday, at 7:30pm

Spring Visiting Artist Performance Project

• Tech and Dress - Monday, May 3, 2027

• Dress at 7:30pm

• PERFORMANCE DATES - Tuesday & Wednesday, May 4 & 5, 2027 at 7:30pm

Required Qualifications

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; MFA or equivalent professional experience preferred.
• Professional experience in costume design, costume technology, wardrobe supervision, or costume shop management.
• College-level teaching experience preferred.
• Strong knowledge of costume construction, wardrobe maintenance, and costume crafts.
• Experience supervising student employees or production crews.
• Ability to manage multiple productions while maintaining budgets and schedules.
• Excellent communication, organizational, and collaborative skills.
• Experience with Google Workspace and/or Microsoft Office.
• Self-directed with strong leadership and creative problem-solving abilities.

Preferred Qualifications EEO Statement

Sarah Lawrence seeks to recruit and retain a diverse administration, staff, and faculty. Every job opening is seen as an opportunity to increase diversity, and every effort will be made to expand the applicant pool in accordance with these goals. (Please see our Nondiscrimination Policy.) For information on Sarah Lawrence College, our curriculum, teaching methods, and philosophy of education, please see our website at: https://www.sarahlawrence.edu/.

Salary Guest Faculty Appointment: $6,000 and Supervision of Dance Program Costumes: $28-$35/hr Position Type Part Time

Posting Detail Information

Posting Number S00461P Open Date Close Date Open Until Filled Yes Special Instructions to Applicants

Supplemental Questions

Required fields are indicated with an asterisk (*).

• What is the highest level of education attained?
• GED
• High School Diploma
• Associates Degree
• Bachelors Degree
• Masters Degree
• PHD

Documents Needed To Apply

Required Documents

• CV/Resume
• Cover Letter

Optional Documents