When your team is preparing for a performance, the dancing is the biggest, but not the singular, part of the artistic process.
Turning choreography into a production involves several more elements, including: staging, props, lighting- and of course, costumes!
What you wear on your body is critical when it comes to dance- it can either hide or highlight or complement or distract from your moves. Thus, choosing a costume can be a difficult process for a team.
But since it is also one that depends on the comprehensive artistic vision of the set, this nifty flow chart/ infographic can help make your #costumestruggles a bit easier to navigate:
The MONEY
This applies to any and all costumes, really.
You’re probably not going to have a spare astronaut suit or full on cowboy hat-britches-boots combo laying around in your closet, so themed sets often require dancers to buy at least part of their costumes.
And if you’re a student / worker / dancer / car owner with current gas prices (gee whiz), I doubt you are A-okay with blowing a bunch of money on a costume you’ll only wear for a few performances.
THE SILVER LINING:
If you already own a part of the costume you have to buy “Black shoes” – oh! done!
Buying something for the costume that you’ll probably wear irl (in real life) Oh! These joggers are actually cute. ANDDDD every time I wear it people will know I danced in (Team)’s 2013 VIBE set. Hohohoho~
The MAKING
Again, with any costume, but most particularly with themed costumes- to cut our wallets some slack, we have to make a lot of stuff! Sewing on details or cutting up shirts, it requires a a few team members to get hands-on. It can be a tedious process- sewing is fun, but doing it 40 times to 40 pocket tees gets tiring.
THE SILVER LINING:
Costume making parties bond teammates! Your fingers are about to fall off too? Awwww, Little!!!
It allows for someone to take the spotlight of being team seamstress! Oh my shirt? Soft, huh? It’s made of Wifey Material.
The CHARACTERS, ACCURACY/APPROPES-NESS
There’s a bit more research that needs to be done depending on your theme, and a lot more questions to ask.
Does everyone fit the theme?
Are we staying true to the theme, historically / technically / scientifically like seriously. Are the main characters too flashy? Not different enough?
There are a few more problems that come with it- when we have such specific costumes, you have to REALLY keep track of all its components. Like how can you play a pirate if you’re missing your beard and hook and parrot?!
And you’re also not gonna be wearing this costume on a regular basis irl. tbh. Unless it’s Halloween.
THE SILVER LINING:
A free Halloween costume!
The HYPE
Sooo a lot of hype sets tend to go with a trend that’s hype. Confusing sentence but you get me.
But the thing with trends is that they’re not timeless. Dropcrotch pants, paisley, color block, FLORAL PRINT POCKET TEES… I can’t confidently say that our grandchildren will go thrifting for these pieces and marvel at how classic and iconic they are.
But like who cares?!
THE SILVER LINING:
It looks super cool and “in” when you’re performing. Like Wow, that team is dope and clean and are ultimate fashion trendsetters for these next 2 weeks!!
The DANCEABILITY
One of my biggest nightmares is having a wardrobe malfunction on stage that will be immortalized in 4K…
So it’s important to tuck everything in, safety pin it, and check for a costume’s danceability. Tight pants ripping, nip slips, or not being able to grand plie- AHH!
THE SILVER LINING:
‘Feelier’ sets allow for a bit more artistic freedom, so if a nip does happen to slip- hey! We’re just pushing artistic boundaries. Very modern of us.
The REPETITION
We reached a certain point in performance history where every color combo has been done before.
Khaki and maroon? Black everything with gold accessories?
THE SILVER LINING
Costumes don’t have to necessarily be innovative and out of the box to be cool. Often, the classier combinations are the the most appropriate and set-flattering.
A bulk of the costume doesn’t have to be bought or made! As long as you can pass your heather grey as a granite grey, if you don’t mind standing out a little…
The BASIC-NESS
Black pants, black shoes, and team shirts! Using a tech-rehearsal outfit for your actual performance may feel a bit… basic. But it’s a great go-to! If all else fails, it will ALWAYS work, and it will ALWAYS be timeless!
THE SILVER LINING
Team shirts provide a sense of unity. And the group photos will be soooo IG-worthy.
