MORTLAKE'S Barbara Sanders has made 500 tutus for dancers on almost all of the continents of the world.
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She's also cut, sewn and styled a further 200 dance costumes.
It all started 15 years ago when Ms Sanders was tasked with making a tutu for her daughter to wear during her dance solo performance.
Ms Sanders had never seen a tutu up close, but after that first one, she was hooked.
"I really wanted to have a go at it because of the engineering component, because it was a challenge and if you think about it, it is the epitome of costumes," she said.
Her intricate costumes have been on show on stages in New Zealand, Southeast Asia, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Africa, Europe and Canada.
They have also featured in international scholarship and ballet competitions.
They've also been worn more locally in dance performances and rock eisteddfod's, in Victoria and interstate.
Ms Sanders said it takes about two days (between 15 and 20 hours) to put together each tutu.
She has given community members the opportunity to watch her tutu making process.
"People are interested because no-one gets to see tutus being made," she told The Standard.
"The tutus are an iconic form and ballet is an iconic dance form."
Ms Sanders, who moved to Mortlake from Sydney in September of 2019, previously worked in the science field.
She has a degree in botany, has worked in the New South Wales government's ministerial and policy making department and worked on the (Sydney 2000) (Summer) Olympic(s) site.
She's also worked in forestry and agriculture.
