Troupe Costuming
1/18/2022
No matter if its once a year, or once a month, every troupe director or teacher will have to regularly make decisions about troupe costumes. In this blog we are going to work through a check list of considerations, look at costuming strategies, working with troupies, and achieving the best look for your dancers. The right costume can make a dancer feel like a million dollars. The wrong costume means they approach the stage with a bad attitude. In this blog, we are going to talk about the major issues that each troupe director needs to consider when planning a costume that makes all of your troupe members feel secure, prepared and like a fabulous belly dancer. My CA troupe Neshee Dolu - we used the key fabric, mix and match, personality and other techniques to come up with this look. About Critique I would like to send out a huge thank you to all the dancers who kindly offered to share their photos with you. They all confirmed that they had permission to share the photos and that we could critique their costume choices. I applaud their bravery! You are welcome to add your comments, thoughts and critique in the comments section. HOWEVER, this is a lesson about costumes, and not about dancers or body image. We can talk about costumes suiting larger dancers, or those with a full bust, we can talk about a top lengthening the torso for short dancers, or trousers being too short for the taller dancers. We cannot use derogatory terms like “fat”, “skinny”, “lanky”…. If you wish to pick a dancer out of the group, please refer to them as “forth from the left” or similar. I use the “critique sandwich” method, and I would encourage you to do the same. The critique sandwich method means you need to find a positive, a negative and another positive. So for example: “The fabric is very rich looking and lux. The overall look still manages to be bland, perhaps they need more jewelry or flowers. The costumes do fit well and compliment the wide range of sizes and ages of the dancers” If you wish to agree with a previous comment that is negative, try to also balance it within the critique sandwich: “I love the arm coverage – that is so important to my troupe. I agree about the overall blandness. Mermaid skirts make everyone’s curves look amazing.” The old adage of “If you have nothing good to say, say nothing” should also come into play here. However, if you only have positive things to comment, feel free to go for it! This group has stuck with a very simple mix of one fabric for their top and skirt, plus a contrasting belt. They did well to find something that looked stunning on a wide range of heights and sizes. Sometimes we can try to over complicate our costuming. Budget. Talk to your dancers early in the process and get a good idea of what they are prepared to spend on a new costume. Remember to include all the little extras, like hair flowers, jewelry and belts. Does their budget need to be split between multiple costumes or just one per year? Be realistic about the costs involved in putting a look together. Include shipping and tailoring if you feel adjustments may be needed. Sometimes home sewing can seem like a cheap option, but find out who has the equipment and resources needed. Your dancers may be money rich, but time poor (or the other way around). If one dancer hand sews her costume, another machine sews it, and a third asks a professional to make their costume, you can end up with three very different levels of tailoring. Buying in bulk can save pennies. If you are looking at untested web sites, start by ordering one costume to better judge the quality and shipping speed. Check how you are protected as a consumer if you order goods from another country. I find it easier to discuss money outside class time. I set up a questionnaire and welcome private message responses. For example, this year I have asked if the troupe want a new costume of around $150, or a re-vamp of around $100 or to simply re-use an existing costume. By giving your dancers a few options, they can look at their own personal budgeting and be prepared for the expense. If you set the budget too high, you may find your troupe slowly drops in numbers as members might rather drop out than talk about financial difficulties. As the troupe director you will need to hear everyone's thoughts and then set an achievable budget. For many FCBD dancers their bra is a big investment. Purchasing a bra with a black base means these dancers can update the other elements of their costume each year, but keep the bra. I love the use of metalic fabric with black in the their skirts. Venues. The new costume will need to be suitable to wear for the performances you have in mind, but is it also needed for different venues and for different styles of dance? Costumes for community events in front of the general public need to be more conservative than those for belly dance events. I use the “How Shocking” test. There are a few areas of the body that the public find more shocking that belly dancers do – Arms, boobs (boob overflow/muffin top…. Fully topless is always shocking), tummy and legs. If you wore a costume to a belly dance event that showed bare arms, boob tops, tummy and legs, no one would notice. At a public event you need more coverage depending on the type of event. Here is a fun quiz to help you set your “How Shocking” costuming level:
As you can see, I am suggesting you go for full coverage for your synagogue’s annual children’s lunch where you plan to dance to “New York, New York”. If you are dancing at your workplace’s New Year’s Eve party, you can decide – Do you want full coverage over your chest, to wear a tummy cover, sleeves or wear leggings under your split skirt? Of course you can always dress more modestly than my “How Shocking” test. By keeping your range of venues in mind, you can select a costume that suits every occasion. If you only dance at belly dance events, a two piece costume may be your best option. If you regularly dance at public events, perhaps you want to invest in a tummy cover and wrap top to co-ordinate. It looks like this troupe is dancing at an outdoor, carnival event. Their costumes are simple, yet they are obviously the dancers. I imagine both the tops and skirts are easy to wash, so they can enjoy their afternoon, sit on the grass, eat a hot dog, and not worry too much about their costumes. Styles Does your troupe have a clearly defined style of belly dance or do you move between two or three styles depending on the performance? My troupe tends to switch between American Cabaret and Egyptian dance. When thinking about the dance styles that your group perform, do you need to invest in two or more different costumes or can you make some adaptations so that your key pieces can be used in more than one way? Can the costume you choose be re-styled with "off the rack" pieces at budget prices, or a homemade skirt, different hair styling or jewelry? Your costume conveys important messages to your audience about the style of dance you are performing, particularly at belly dance events, where your audience is knowledgeable about the history of the different styles. For these situations you might find mix and match pieces, skirts, tops, wraps, trousers to be a better option than a full dress. If your troupe will be dancing three or four numbers in a set, and you won’t have time for costume changes, it is acceptable for the costumes to only fit with one of the dances. However, remember that pictures and videos can be edited and live on the internet forever. If you try to present modern fusion in Saiidi dresses, that video may be uploaded and be the only performance others see of your group. Consider how you can change the “story” quickly and easily. Can your dancers change their hip belts or drop their hair? Can they take off a wrap top, or un-hitch a skirt to make a look more suited to the music? Fit for purpose. It may sound silly, but can your dancers dance in their costume? Does the costume allow the dancer enough flexibility to complete all the moves in the choreography? Can your troupe travel, move and dance without the costume causing drama? Does the costume show off the movements or hide the subtly from the audience? Will the costume work on the stage? Will your dancers coin belts catch on the long sleeves? A full dress rehearsal is always essential, but before you get to that part of the process, test out your sample costume and look for problems. Dance your number in the costume as early in the process as possible, and make adaptations to the dance or costume as appropriate. (Check out Chapter Two of Becoming a Belly Dancer for more info on getting the most out of your rehearsal time) Finally, is the costume fit for the setting? If you are dancing outside, does the costume match your shoes? Will the skirts blow beautifully in the breeze, or blow up and cover the dancers faces? Be particularly wary of “black box” stages (where three walls and the floor are painted black. Black costumes will disappear into the background, leaving the audience with a view of floating heads and tummies which can be most confusing. You may get a similar effect with a white costume on a white background. White costumes also pick up stage lighting, so ask for a full technical rehearsal at the venue. The bright colors of the tops on this troupe stand out under the stage lights. Sadly their leggings have disappeared into the background, which will bring more focus onto their feet. A simple overskirt in white, cream or a bright color would have solved this issue. Size range. Unless you select your dancers based on size, your troupe is going to reflect the range of sizes in your local community. Take a look at your group and do an honest assessment. Make a note of the dress sizes of your smallest and largest dancers, but also consider your tall, short, busty, hippy and bootied troupemates. Talk to everyone about their costuming woes. Perhaps one of your dancers has long legs and can’t wear off the peg yoga pants. Another may struggle to get a bra that supports her unless the straps are wide, or she prefers a cross over back. Everybody (and every body) has quirks, so look for a costume that can easily be adapted, fixed or swapped out so that everyone gets a fit for their body. I try to get a sample of the proposed costume in x small and x large ahead of our main order, so that everyone can try them on and deduce their size from the manufactures scale. If your costume comes in two pieces, you may find you can swap tops and bottoms between dancers. Avoid “one size fits all” costumes unless you have a small size range in your group and a couple of needle wizards. One size never fits all! Also be aware of size differences between countries. A Chinese XL can be a US size 6. Like most troupes, this group has a range of hights and sizes to consider when picking out a costume. They have used bright two piece bedlah to give their dancers the flexibility to find something that is a good fit, while also linking the skirts by keeping them in metalic tones. Color (or color range). We all have favorite colors that suit our skin tone, and others that make us look washed out or ill. Multiply that by your troupe number, and you may find you have a very limited palette from which to select your color choices. There are a few "Neutral" colors that are said to suit a high percentage of the population. These are often chosen for corporate uniforms, but are not inspiring for belly dancers: Navy, Cream, Black, Grey and Beige. However, you may find a more exciting color or pattern that suits most of your dancers depending on their skin tones and hair color. Red, hot pink, turquoise, teal and Kelly green can be popular choices. If your group do not all have similar coloring, you might instead allow each of them to pick a color from a range and have the same costume but in different colors. If you do this, be aware that the intensity of colors can change the look. “Jewel” colors look good together as do pastels, however a mix of bright jewels and washed out pastels can confuse the eye and make a group look mismatched. Be sure to keep on top of their choices. If six dancers like the red, and one picks the teal, she will look like the soloist. In the belly dance universe, we can add metals and patterns to our list of neutral colors: Gold, Silver, Assuit, Animal print or "Pick and Mix" (where a variety of colored beads are mixed onto a costume) are considered a belly dancer neutral. These belly dancer neutrals can look good on a wide range of dancers or can be mixed with a key color to create a pleasing look. When mixing colors and fabrics, try to limit yourself to one neutral, one belly dancer neutral, one color and one pattern, unless you want a very “busy” look. s for performing dancers. With blue as their neutral, these dancers have added black lace as a belly dancer neutral and then allowed each dancer to add a colored belt to their look. I particularly like that they have used the same fabric on their hips and on their head. Co-Ordination Every troupe director has a choice to make about how coordinated they want their dancers to appear. Dawn Devine, author of dozens of books on belly dance costuming, describes it along a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is a group of dancers who look like they didn’t discuss costuming before their performance, and 10 is a group of people with similar body shapes, height, make up and identical costumes. The Rockettes are an example of a troupe that coordinate at level 10. They select dancers with a certain look, have a set make up, hair style and shoe. They design costumes to work on the large stage, and use tailoring techniques to minimize individual body quirks. Most of us start in a group roughly at level 1, when we dance with our classmates at the end of semester, or at our first studio event. There is a strong instinct for us to want to coordinate with each other to show we belong. Those first class groups often want to all wear black, or add a matching belt, so they can look more like a troupe. Once one person takes the lead, even class groups push to move beyond the level 1 look. This group obviously wanted a very put together look. They added wigs and matching lipstick to get a very coordinated look. The Look The “Put together look” is more than just a group of people gathering together in similar costumes. I often describe it as “the look of a group of people who went to the same shop with the same budget”. Remember as a teen how you and your friends all had a favorite store? There was the crew who dressed at Abercrombie and the Old Navy gang with their bright red lips. The table of kids who all wore football shirts and their hair in braids, and the group of girls who wore cropped jeans and winged eyeliner. Belly dance troupes can be just as easy to identify. Even if you go for a mix and match look, everyone in your group should look like they belong together. This is the look you choose for your troupe. Although very simple, this red dress plus coin belt is a good choice for the range of dancers in this troupe. Beginner dancers (and more advanced !) may feel more inclined to purchase a costume that they can wear for every day in addition to belly dance performances. How do you coordinate your troupe? How do you get that put together look? Read on as I explain some of my suggestions: I love the use of a mixture of black and white fabric to pull this look together. Control the Budget It is not going to help your team dynamics if you have some dancers in $40 costumes and others in $400 bedlah, even if the colors match. Everyone wants to wear their best costume for performance, but if it doesn’t match the budget or look, veto their selection and ask them to better co-ordinate with the group. These wrap tops and matching skirts give a lot of bang for th bucks. Mix and match Mix and match wardrobes are always popular with beginners and dancers who perform with multiple troupes or who perform solo. This look takes advantage of key pieces that may be in every dancers wardrobe: Black yoga pants, black leggings, silver skirt, black crop top, red coin belt….. In addition to the key pieces, pops of color are added to help the group look put together. That might be as simple as adding a coin belt to black leggings and a black crop top. Or it might involve adding in more expensive pieces in timeless colors and rich fabrics. If you run multiple troupes, you can also tie your troupe look together using a mix and match wardrobe and encourage dancers to move between your troupes. Perhaps your beginner dancers wear black and teal, your intermediates wear black and yellow and your pro troupe wear teal and yellow. Your pro troupe can keep wearing their black pieces as class wear. If your group is large enough, suggest two or three tops and two or three skirts/trousers, so each dancer can find a style that suits her body type and personal preferences. Limit their fabric choices to one neutral and one color or belly dance neutral: Red and black, Assiut and silver, Animal print and teal, Gold and cream. If there are many members of your troupe, three or even four fabrics may work, but if you are under 6 dancers, try to stick with just two fabric choices. Discuss the possible textiles and decide what will be acceptable, do you want lace or velvet, cotton or silk? You can choose to purchase your costumes through a vendor or use a local seamstress and design your own. To save money consider purchasing fabric in bulk. If you want your dancers to order their fabric separately, give them a SKU order code so there is no mix up on the fabric you want them to select. These dancers have elevated their black trousers with a lux wrap top and interesting belt. Each of those pieces could be used as part of a different look. The belt could be worn with a dress, the wrap may have a matching skirt... Keep it simple Uniform looks can be achieved in two ways: either with a variety of shapes and cuts of costumes in a clearly defined shade of one color, or with exactly the same cut of costume in a range of colors. Mixing costume styles and colors can look chaotic. If you are picking from a limited color palette, clearly define the range you want them to use. Red can mean a dark pink to one dancer and an orange to another. Better to pick one single fabric or allow a “8 shades of red” look. If you prefer to give your dancers the choice of colors, be clear in the style of costume you want them to purchase. Either pick a costume from a retailer and allow them to only select the size and color, or be very descriptive about their costume: “Sleeves must finish one inch above the elbow” With a very clearly defined color choice, this group had some flexibilty in cut, coverage and design. This group have gone for a very similar sillotte, matching fabrics but a variety of colors. Pick a key, dramatic fabric. If you have a local fabric store you could select an exciting fabric and allow your dancers to express themselves with their costume design. One fabric can be used to tie a variety of looks together and works particularly well where you have a wide range of body shapes or a number of strong personalities in your group. If your troupe already has a costume that is looking a little tired, or needs to be refreshed for a new performance, adding key pieces in an exciting fabric can be the key that ties the look together. The black fabric used here for bras, skirtlets and gloves works beautifully under the stage lights. Find and outlet for personalities Every troupe is made up of an exciting blend of personalities. Unless you want to remove all traces of personality for the performance, you will have to allow it an outlet. Little touches can add an interesting twist to each costume and let the dancer’s real personality shine through. Consider letting them add “big” jewelry in any color or style, trim their bras with off cuts from previous costumes, pick out their own belt, or go crazy with hair decorations. From their set costumes you can see how each dancer has added little embellishments to add personality to these costumes. Make up and Hair A troupe look is not limited to the fabric on our bodies. Set expectations with make up and hair styling and add an extra level of co-ordination. Once you have purchased the costumes, take some time to experiment with make up looks until you find one that you like. Suggest products and on-line tutorials to help your troupe to perfect their make up skills. Consider hosting a workshop where you all learn the techniques together. Hair can be harder to match, but consider using accessories to give your group a put together look. Hair bands, flowers, wraps, turbans can all be used on many different cuts of hair. If you suggest wigs or hair extensions, add those to your budgeting. A strong lip and eye look, combined with the silver jewelry adds impact for this group. Tailoring Encourage your dancers to adjust their costumes to get a perfect fit. Nothing says expensive so much as a well fitted costume. Equally your dancers will feel uncomfortable in costumes that bulge, sag or squeeze. Add the cost of adjustments into your budgeting and remember that costumes rarely arrive “ready to wear”. The simple addition of the ties on the back of these costumes help them to be instantly tailored to better fit the dancers. Mixing the ages Pre teen and teen dancers are a blessing in any troupe. If you have younger dancers in your group, remember the “How Shocking” test and add some coverage to your look. Make sure that costumes fit them well. If they are young, you might want to consider how long it will take them to grow out of their costumes, and expect to make a new purchase each year. While it can be awkward for any dancer to have a costume malfunction on stage, it can be life changing for a young person. Give your younger dancers layers, like cycle shorts and a crop top under their costume, and use toupee tape to help them feel secure. No matter the age of your troupe members, be aware of their physical limitations and their feelings about their bodies. Understand the difference between a dislike of highlighting a particular part of the body and a real phobia. There are lots of issues of shame, fear and disgust linked to parts of the body and these vary from one person to the next. Areas like the upper arms, that are shown off without thought by young people, may be upsetting for older dancers to have on display. Be kind and thoughtful when suggesting costume ideas and don’t discredit the fears that are expressed to you. The world of belly dance is very accepting of all body types and you should try to encourage your dancers to love their bodies and show off their skills with pride – however, your dancers may not be at the point in their career where they can show off areas that previously upset them. This group spans the generations ! Using a limited number of colors and careful use of accessories they all look beautiful. Notice how they all have a similar hair style and flower dressings. That can be an easy way to achieve a put together look. This troupe picked out a two piece costume that was available in a good range of sizes. The arm, chest and legs are covered, meaning that the tummy feels suitable for their youngest dancer. Something for all genders Men are still a rarity in belly dance, so if you have one or two in your troupe they will struggle not to stand out. Some folks dont fit into a binary definition of gender. Costuming depends on the dancers age, style and personality, but most of the strategies above work just the same with any gender. Use a key fabric, or a costume style, or a limited color palette to make sure everyone looks like they belong. Talk to your dancers about the persona they wish to portray on stage and their comfort levels between standing out and fitting in. This group have included their menfolk by developing a "village" feel. While not of any time or place, all the members of the group look like they belong together, and grew up in the same village. Their costumes are not historically accurate, but they give the impression of all belonging to the same land and time period. Think about how Game of Thrones and Wheel of Time use costumes to link people to their home cities, even though it has a fantasy setting. This troupe has used metallics, animal print and chain accents to coordinate. Be the leader Being a troupe leader can be lots of fun, but also comes with expectations of management. Consider where on the scale of coordination you see your troupe and express that clearly to your dancers. Consider their wants and needs, and find costuming that complies. Talk to them about the balance of individuality and coordination, and set standards in make up, hair and jewelry. Your role is to have a vision and match that vision to your dancer’s needs. Provide clear leadership and your troupe will love their new costumes. Assuit is a universal fabric for belly dancers of all styles. In our new book "Becoming a Belly Dancer: From Student to Stage", we include a chapter on simple no-sew and sew projects so everyone can make their own costume. From simple skirtlets that can be made in 20 minutes, to dresses that may take a weekend, we wanted to include looks for glam, tribal and ethnographic dancers. All of these looks could be used as troupe costumes - and its a wonderful group bonding experience to gather for an afternoon and make your costumes together. Becoming a belly dancer is available on Amazon and also includes chapters on costuming strategy for solo dancers, make up and jewelry. There are also sections on music, performance, marketing, practice and 1001 other tips for performing dancers. Below you will find a sample of just 12 of the 407 pages - you can also flick through the book using the "look inside" feature on Amazon. Here is a slide show of some of the other photos I was sent, that didnt make it into the body of this blog: Further resources from Sara
I love teaching, writing and sharing info about belly dance. Please check out some of my other work: Teaching Belly Dance is the book about setting up, planning, teaching and enjoying belly dance classes. It has everything a belly dance teacher needs to run successful classes, from picking the right venue, to hosting events, through learning styles and critique. Teaching Belly Dance currently has 5 stars on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Teaching-Belly-Dance-Sara-S... 52 Lesson Plans and How to Write 5,000 More is a very successful workshop hosted through the Belly Dance Business Academy. This course is the companion to the book Teaching Belly Dance, and goes into greater details on how to plan successful semesters, create interesting lesson plans and support the progression of your students. It also contains 52 beginner level lesson plans that you can simply print out and teach. Perfect for the new teacher who is learning on the job. http://bellydancebusinessacademy.teachable.com/p/52-lesson-plans-and-how-to-write-5-000-more?affcode=47015_crl9lklk Becoming a Belly Dancer: From Student to Stage is the stagecraft handbook for belly dancers. It contains everything dancers of all levels and in all styles need to take belly dance to the stage. From stage fright to turning pro, cutting music, packing bags and creating a web site. The book also has three chapters on costuming, storage, repairs and low sew and no sew costume ideas. Becoming a Belly Dancer was written by Sara Shrapnell, Dawn Devine, Alisha Westerfeld and Poppy Maya, and is available for purchase on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Belly-Dancer-Stude... I’m always happy to travel, but you can also catch me on-line! I am available to teach workshops throughout the USA, and travel each year to the UK. There is a full list of my workshops on my web site. If you prefer to study remotely, I also offer one-on-one mentoring via skype or hangouts for teachers and performers. I currently have nearly a dozen classes and workshops available through the Beyond Dance Business Academy, from 5 minute listings, to weekend workshops. If you have a topic you would like me to cover, feel free to comment below. To find out more about Sara, her books and workshops or to sign up for her mailing list, visit: www.Letsbellydanceusa.com
0 Comments
|
AuthorCategories
All
Archives
March 2023
RSS feed works with feedly.com or theoldreader.com
|
Proudly powered by Weebly