Costume Design for Dance Troupes

• Control what the audience is paying attention to. Strive to make all parts belong to the whole.
• Do not sabotage the dance with the costumes.
• The human mind is hard-wired to pay attention to the exception, not the group. Eliminate the exceptions and the contradictions to keep the audience focused.

What is an audience exception report? The human brain is hard-wired to produce exception reports as a survival mechanism. Think about sitting around a camp in the jungle, keeping a look-out for problems. Tree, tree, tree, tree, tree, tree, LION! Catching exceptions was the key to survival! Unfortunately, this mechanism doesn't turn off just because the audience is watching your dancing instead of scanning for lions.

Group dances are especially problematic because every extra person on stage increases the possibility of sending a contradictory message if you haven't analyzed WHAT the message is and how you will reinforce it!

1. Define the character;
2. Establish the overall theme and mood of the dance as intended by the choreographer;
3. Reinforce the effect of the music.

REASON (story, theme) for being on stage:

It can as simple as: American Tribal group wants to perform together on stage.

The story or theme can be complex, with several sub-themes in action at the same time.

TIME:

Era, year, season, month, day or special date

War, peace

Feast, famine

LOCATION:

Could be in another timeline or on another planet or even purely imaginary.

For ethnic dances, the costuming is often strongly influenced by the garments worn by the original community.

CULTURAL(s):

SUB-GROUP:

Rich/poor

Parent /child

Queen /servant

Farmers/ nomads

Prostitutes / customers

INDIVIDUAL DANCER ROLE:

Role, function

Personality, including age, gender, rank and social status

Protagonist/ Antagonist?

Leads /Supports?

MOVEMENT SUPPORT:

Fast / slow

Smooth / twisting

Level / Leaps and bounds

Earthy / airy

Flowing / syncopated

Small / large

Serpentine / energetic

• Style:
• Silhouette:
• Proportion: Costume pieces and parts should be in pleasing proportion on the dancer's body. Uneven divisions of space are more pleasing than equal or extremely unequal divisions. Do not use equal or extremely unequal divisions unless a jarring or unnerving effect is desired.
• Color:
• Scale:
• Texture and structural texture: use this to stay on message.
• Line:

Q: Wouldn't it be easier and more professional to buy tassels at the store?
A: If it is tassels you want, make them yourself or buy them from a costumer. Don't buy the ones that are designed to go on the bottom of cafe curtains.

1. If an understanding of the backdrop and lighting can be obtained ahead of time, choose costumes and accessories that are harmonious with those colors and conditions.
2. Keeping the group costuming harmonious within the group is a strong remedy for less than optimum lighting or backdrops.

• If your bra is not fully re-constructed, make sure ALL original parts (straps, hardware, sides, back hooks) are completely hidden from view under a vest or shrug.
• When dancing on stage in a flared skirt, cover legs with pants. The sudden sight of bare legs will disconcert the audience as much as a bra malfunction.
• Check your waist and ankle elastic and your bra hardware BEFORE your performance and in time to fix if necessary.
• Minimize / eliminate the use of safety pins by analyzing what you use the pins for and figure out if they can be replaced by alterations.
• Wear trunks or bike shorts, not thongs, under your skirt.
• Never pin your skirt to your underwear.
• Keep your costume clean and in good repair. You never know when you will have an unanticipated close up.

• If the venue is a stage, make sure that you use colors that can be seen clearly and are attractive together at a distance.
• Do not wear an all-red or all-gold costume unless
  1. Other people on stage are also dressed in those colors - or -
  2. You are a soloist or lead dancer who will be manifesting some of the characteristics of that color.
• Beware the disco lighting!
  1. Plain red light turns colors with any blue in them (including purple and green) into gray and black.
  2. Plain blue light turns colors with red in them (red, orange) into brown and black.

Yellow is the first color that the human eye notices. The right yellow denotes confidence, extraversion, emotional strength, creativity. It is a symbol of the deity in many religions. But pure yellow can irritate, lower self-esteem, provoke fear and anxiety.

• The reason (story, theme) for being on stage;
• The era;
• The location;
• Identification within a sub-group on stage
• The individual dancer role;
• The movements in the dance (earthy vs airy, flowing vs syncopated, small vs large)

• Strive for a design that all can wear. Do NOT use one-size-fits-all pieces unless they truly fit all sizes.
• The costume should have flattering points for everyone. Do not leave one or two dancers feeling and looking like beached whales.
• Do not pretend that there will be no fitting issues unless the entire group is model-size. Identify and plan for them.
• Do not make looking thin on stage your ultimate goal. Wear a nude-color body stocking if you have flesh to hide.

Many dancers use skin-toned body stockings to feel less 'exposed' or to dress more conservatively when performing.

• Synthetic fibers are cool in winter and warm in summer, natural fibers are warm in winter, cool in summer.
• You must be able to raise your arms, bend over, bend back, jump, turn and twirl without your costume dropping to your knees, ripping under the arms or wrapping itself around your neck.
• Minimize exception reports in the audience mind..
• Plan ahead on how you will keep it clean. Will you really have time to remove all the bling before washing it; can you really afford to take it to the dry cleaners after a gig?
• Plan ahead on how the costume will be altered when necessary.
• Dancing is a sport. Your costume must be durable. A gig is not the same as a Halloween party.