The Armenian Weekly published a story on Marianna Totaro, a junior majoring in Fashion Design at Moore. Totaro was one of the 11 Fashion Design students who created costumes inspired by The Nutcracker® for the ongoing collaboration with the Philadelphia Ballet.
Writer and educator Talar Keoseyan spoke with Totaro about her goals, her love for dance and how Moore is preparing Totaro for a career in costume design.
"Moore’s relationship with the Philadelphia Ballet provides real-world opportunities for students to explore potential career paths and lay a foundation for their future success," Keoseyan wrote. "Totaro got to work on a costume at every stage of the process, including design, fabrication, fittings and finally seeing the costumes on dancers during the performance."
Totaro, who has a background in Armenian folk dance, ballet, and music, shared with Keoseyan that she wants to work in either the entertainment or ballet industries.
"I want to be a costume designer incorporating Armenian clothing styles. Armenia and Armenian culture is beautiful. It’s so important for others to see our culture, its uniqueness and strength," she said.
Main image: Zahra Chase '25, Eva Martinez '25 and Marianna Totaro '25 (far right) pose with a Philadelphia Ballet II dancer wearing the Candy Cane costume they designed.
