Thread: did you choose style of dance or style of costuming first?

If you think back to when you started dance..did you end up choosing your dance style first or were you attracted to the costuming styles and that helped influence what style dance you chose?

Back in the day I think I had no choice of either since resources were extremely limited! I wore and learned what was available. Hence I was a very mutt-like dancer to begin with and couldn't really tell you (or remember) which came first.

Today, I create costumes based on numbers I plan to do.

style of dance, methinks. in my first year/year-and-a-half i bought a bunch of stuff. pretty much anything i liked really, which included quite a bit of tribal-esque/fusion stuff actually. but i've come to the conclusion that it's just not my style of dancing, so no matter how much i like that costuming style i think dance style is more important :) anyhoo it doesn't take long to get addicted to colorful bling hehe. still, some of the tribal (jewelry especially) i've kept and integrated into my daily wear (which was kinda hectic anyhoo so not much changed ^^ )

it was style of costuming for me! i love SPARKLIES!!!! .... i went on a shopping spree with pharaonics, bellas, ablas and more, lol.

and now I know that I'm better suited to more folkloric and balady type dances, so I'm selling off a lot of my cabaret stuff and buying a lot of folkloric and balady stuff.... and adding a bit of sparklies to them, too :)

My dance style is constantly evolving. Therefore, my costume style tends to come along for the ride

Recently, I had a revelation that my style of dancing, which tends to lean more fast-paced, saucy Turkish than gooey Egyptian, is far better suited to costumes with a modest, figure-flattering amount of fringe. So I've been selling off all my fringe-free, minimalistic costumes in favor of designs that show off my flashy moves. Bellas do far more of a justice to my evolving style these days than Sahars and Emans.

Even when I started in 2001, readily available costumes were either self made, Turkish mas produced or Egyptian mass produced. And to me, there really wasn't that much difference. Although I originally choose Turkish costumes because everything I read said that the belts were worn higher and I was modest! How things change.

As for choosing a dance style, I, too am a mongrel. My first teachers taught basically Turkish style. Then is became who ever I could take a class with. Plus I already had a very strong ballet, Jazz and Modern background to draw from.

{{{HUGS}}}

Dance - costuming came later.

Of course, there was no ATS in my area and no Tribal Fusion at all when I started.

in 1971, they came hand in hand.

Originally Posted by tamrahennatx

Dance - costuming came later.

Me too. I had no idea that there even were different styles of costuming when I first started. As far as I knew, my teacher's AmCab style was what every belly dancer on the planet wore.

I saw my teacher on a local news show in 2000 and loved the way she and the students moved. I started attending classes and didn't get my own costume for like 4 years. Plus my teacher is all Egyptian style. So as I've learned more about different styles, I've stayed true to Egyptian. I love the costumes best anyway so it fits.

Like others: back when I started, there wasn't a lot of difference. My costumes have always been just as eclectic.

I have a lot of what is now called "tribaret"; I tend to call it what we wore back when we made it ourselves.

It is an ongoing evolution as I continually discovered new possibilities for myself which I dare say is still shifting. Costuming and style adjust for their context. I refuse to marry myself to any particulars, although my preferences are fairly apparent most of the time.

When I started, I fell in love with bellydance in general and didn´t know what style of dance or costume I liked best. So I researched a lot and made various costumes in Egyptian, ATS and tribal fusion style. I feel like only recently I´m leaning more towards Egyptian style, more folkloric. So I´m expanding my folkloric costumes and selling a couple of cabaret costumes to keep the balance.

To me it´s important that your dance and costume are in harmony, even if you like more then one style or haven´t developed your own style yet.

Dancing of course. The costumes at first were a total turn-off for their impossible opulence, and I thought of many ways of having a pant-top costume like I was always looking for black flare pants like Melodia in order to avoid the sequined fringe monsters. Now that I know Melodia exists and were I can get those pants, I totally acknowledge the need of glitz, I'm sewing my own costumes I'm even thinking if I wouldn't like to own at least one beautiful Turkish fringe monster like the blue one Sadie wears in a clip on youtube...

I also like the minimalism of the Modern Egyptian costumes. Narrow skirts, little adornment instead of wide swirling chiffon "fabric-everywhere-around-you" were you dance with veils and wide sleeves and I think it goes together with the modern image of woman, less girlish, less romantic, less naive. Less embellishment, but cool fabric and interesting cuts...

Currently when I look at Egyptian costumes I'm thinking though: there has to be sort of more dress around the body. Not everything so tight, minimal, burst and torn-looking. I love the drapings around the waist and so, meaning single ribbons going from bra around the waist and connecting to the skirt, I think they're really pretty. I hate the silly stuff that comes attached to the newer costumes: feathers, ribbons, colourful little bulbs...that's real manierism to me. Like you fell into a kid's toybox with buttons you can press and little lights that go blinkey-blink...

Dancing: I loved modern Egyptian immediately. I used to do flamenco and I love the energetic, rhythmic ways of modern Egyptian, the hard accents, the passion that is possible.

I also developped a liking for Naima Akef - just her, for she is so fresh and cute and yet sensual, but a sensuality that is not intrusive.

So what costuming is concerned, I think rather Modern Egyptian and minimalist, but with a desire for more dress. Dancewise I don't know for I think I am the naive-romantic sort of type but I love the powerful thing about the modern Egyptian.

I'd danced a Hilal influence style first, and one day, I attended a Raqia Hassan workshop in my area about 6 or 7 years ago. I couldn't do any of it !

But I knew that whatever this was, *that* was what I wanted. So style of dance came first. Talk about an 'in at the deep end' experience.

I wasn't really into the costume aspect at the start. More into the dancing. Strange to think that now, as I am sooooo into my costumes now. Bling bling bling :-))))

Originally Posted by zamora

in 1971, they came hand in hand.

awesome year!

I started with what was available too. Hard to believe I'm back in the same house right now where I first stumbled upon Shira's site and the world opened.

On the island I was attracted to bright light colors and no harems, no lycra due to humidity. Now in the winter desert am loving thick sequined velvets again, long fringe drippy shawls, shiny sparkle and lots of black

Originally Posted by mekyria

To me it´s important that your dance and costume are in harmony, even if you like more then one style or haven´t developed your own style yet.

I danced for 5 years before I ever bought my first real costume, by which time I'd already started gravitating towards Egyptian style (after first being exposed to ATS and American oriental).

So definitely I chose my dance style first.

Oh, oh..I love that...need a costume for that..and that and that...one in blue. Oh my - Persian court dance...must assemble costume. Just saw my first ATS...turbans, way cool...no more bad hair days...must have - must do - must learn it ALL in the next 5 years!

Things have calmed down a bit, but I have one thousand years of fashion history in my closet. It all came at once like a huge tidal wave.

I was never meant to be a cabaret-style girl, no no no.

I like the looks of tribal-style dance AND costume.

But! Cabaret is what we're dancing, so I do as much bling as I can tolerate, and everything seems to go well. I look forward to non-cabaret soooo much! ahhhhhhh.....

But no matter what we wear, I'll dance. It's all good. I don't like every number we do, so what? I still get out of the house, I enjoy dancing to music, I love the new moves, and I'm starting to enjoy performing.

Originally Posted by mekyria

To me it´s important that your dance and costume are in harmony, even if you like more then one style or haven´t developed your own style yet.

I pretty much create choreographies with certain costumes in mind. So each costume has its own "theme song"!

I think a lot of dancers get attracted to the tribal/tribal fusion/gypsesque sort of look early on because it is fanciful and exotic and involves lots of fabric and mysterious jewelry objects that obviously come from faraway lands (or it least look like it). It is also a look that a beginning dancer can pull together easily from thrift store purchases, some leftovers in the closet, and a few key purchases.

My first costumes were what troupe dancing required. Ten yard cotton skirts, harem pants, peasant blouse, vest, lots of scarves and ethnic jewelry. When the troupe needed something glittery we switched to Turkish style bedlah, chiffon skirts, glitter dot vests and accent skirts, sparkly jewelry. When we needed something culturally sensitive and covered, we wore paillette dresses with the same bright harem pants.

The costume style was easy and comfortable for outdoor events where you might have to hike a mi. from the parking area to your stage or family oriented events at malls and schools festivals and fairs. And it fit the dance style which was mostly a mix of Am Cab and Pan Arabic/Pan folkloric fusion.

Now that I am no longer dancing with the troupe my dance and costume style has changed and my closet is full of glittery Egyptian folkloric-influenced costumes. Baladi and saidi style dresses with lots of beads and sequins and paillettes. Turkish bedlah sold. Madame Abla bedlahs now. They last forever. Galabeyas instead of "faux Gypsy".A couple of lycra and velvet gowns and rhinestone jewelry. The old troupe stuff is worn now when I play drums in the band.

Originally Posted by Nouria

beautiful Turkish fringe monster l...

that so enters my vocabulary Nouria! ..l;,

When I was really, really young I was drawn to the cabaret I occasionally saw in movies. When I finally "found" bellydance in the SCA in the mid-90's tribal was starting to show itself and many of the dancers copied those styles. For years I built a fantastic historic and tribal wardrobe because I had an outlet for those styles, even though the cabaret look and dance was still calling too me ;-)

When I finally started dancing outside of the SCA, I sampled a few classes and made a progression from tribal to American Cabaret (heavily Turkish) and now to Egyptian. My costume tastes have followed that same journey as well ;-)

@deelight: I also choregraph with a costume in mind, or I create a choreography and that I have to find a matching costume. It's a good excuse to buy a new costume. ..g.:

I sometimes feel like Dutch students are not exposed to a lot of costuming styles, so less beginner feel the need to buy an expensive costume. We're too practical to justify the cost, most of the time. I bought my first pro costume after four years of dancing and it was a Turkish fringe monster. Wore it two times and replaced it with a second hand costume from my teacher.

Back on topic: I feel both your personal style and personal taste in costumes evolve through the years. During our student recitals we wore skirts, black tops and hip scarves. We never had a discussion about buying pro costumes because most of the group didn't care. Once you start going solo you're searching for your own style and your own style of costumes. So to me, costumes follow dance style.