Dance costumes, or apparel is animportant component of any dance competition, movie, or stage presentation. The look can make a dancer or dance group really stand out to the audience. A lotof effort goes into costume design. Most people when they think of danceapparel, they think flashy or glittery and sparkly, even. However, thebest designed costumes are beautifully designed pieces that will compliment theperformer and the choreography. If it sounds like a complicated process, it is! There are not only a vast array of styles, which consist of colors, textures,and materials of fabrics, but it also the fits and how the all these individualcomponents come together.


For instance, certain colors will show off certain dancemoves better than others, and the way the light reflects from the fabric canreally enhance a dancers form. Also, the color can represent the choreographyof the piece itself, a sort of representation of the dancers dance moves. Colorshould never distract from the dancer, and sometimes this can be a difficultaccomplishment for a costume designer.


Fabric itself is a huge consideration in the design of apiece. The fabric must show the moves and not the body. The audience needs toconcentrate on the moves of the dancer and not be too dazzled by the dancewear, itself. The fabric can be loose or tight, but should never inhibit adancer from movement, such as traditional clothes would. Choosing a costume ordesigning a costume that is comfortable is the most important step toward asuccessful dance event. For instance, dancers never dance in traditionalclothing, because most fabric we wear everyday is restrictive. Even when dancerseem to be wearing t-shirts and jeans in the movies or on stage, they are not.The cut and material are especially made to allow the dancer full range ofmovement and most times allow the dancers body to breathe and keep cool.


Another important factor in costume design is comfort. Ifthe dance apparel is beautiful, but the dancer is uncomfortable, then thepurpose will be defeated. Comfort is sometimes put on the back burner of designand when you see a performance where comfort has been disregarded, theperformance will suffer. It is crucial that comfort be implemented into thedesign process early on; otherwise, the dancer may not be able to perform themoves needed at all.


The key to a good dance costume is that it must accentuatethe dancer and not hinder the dancer or the dance in any way. A good dancecostume will enhance the audiences experience of the piece. If the costume istoo flashy in color or fabric, then not only does it detract from the dancemoves being performed, but it also detracts form the overall choreography ofthe piece. And last but not least, comfort is king here. No matter if all theother pieces come together, if the dancer is not comfortable then theperformance will suffer.


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