Rush to snap up ballet history

More than 2000 WA Ballet costumes dating back 30 years are for sale in a one-off clearance after the company's recent move from His Majesty's Theatre to Maylands.

WA Ballet manager Steven Roth said the costumes made up about 25 per cent of the company's stocks accumulated over its 60 years.

"Over the past 10 years, our costumes from the past 30 years or so have been stored at the King's Hotel but the property was recently sold and the new management wanted to clear everything out so we had to think, 'What are we going to do with it'," Mr Roth said.

"It was a great opportunity for us to go through and see what was actually there and what will be useful for us or not."

Entire sets of clothes, millinery and accessories from two productions of Romeo and Juliet, by Ted Branson and Barry Moreland, and selected items from Lady of the Camellias, Cinderella and A Midsummer Night's Dream were available.

Priced from $5 to $500, half of the costumes sold within two days of the sale starting at the WA Ballet Centre in Whatley Crescent, Maylands.

Mr Roth said the company would prefer to see people buy and use the costumes rather than them being stowed away.