Elena Comendador

Elena Comendador

Elena Comendador began her costume design career more than 15 years ago. She has designed for Ailey II, Colorado Ballet, Complexions Contemporary Ballet. Connecticut Ballet, Montgomery Ballet, ABT II, Philadanco, Morphoses, Kazuko Hirabayashi Dance Theater, among others. She has collaborated with various choreographers such as Jessica Lang, Troy Powell, Francesca Harper, Kevin Wynn, Sean Curran, Elie Lazar, and Darrell Moultrie. She is also known for her whimsical designs for children's ballets, in collaboration with choreographer Kanji Segawa, such as Hansel and Gretel and Peter Pan for Metropolitan Ballet Academy and Babar by Jessica Lang for Connecticut Ballet. Comendador founded Treehouse Productions, a costume design company available for production of commissioned works by other designers. Since it's inception in 2007, Treehouse Productions has constructed costumes for major dance companies such as The Martha Graham Dance Company, The Jose Limon Dance Company and Complexions Contemporary Ballet. Treehouse also receives annual design commissions from Marymount Manhattan College, The Ailey School and American Ballet Theater's Make A Ballet Program. As an interdisciplinary artist, Comendador frequently uses the stage as her 'canvas,' exploring the fine line between sculpture, installation and costume. One of her large costumed pieces, Splendid Isolation III, choreographed by Jessica Lang, continues to be performed in galas all over the world by American Ballet Theater dancers, Irina Dvorovenko and Maxim Beloserovsky. 

Comendador began her professional dance career at the age of 16, performing with Dayton Ballet, Hartford Ballet, The Feld Ballet, Joyce Trisler Danscompany, and Connecticut Ballet, Alabama Ballet/Ballet South. Comendador received her BA degree in Women's Studies at Columbia University and completed her MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts at Goddard College. She is on the faculty of The Ailey School and also an Assistant Professor of Dance at Marymount Manhattan College's Dance Department.