Thread: Help! I'm a mess when I perform! Belt sliding up and hair in the face. Any recommendations?

I have this bedlah that I love, but the belt fits very low on my hips (I have big low hips) so is not super snug at the top of the belt. Practicing in costume, when I do a big, dramatic Egyptian circle, the belt will come lose and fall "down" around my belly and when I come up I have to push it back down around my hips, or feel self conscious about where it now sits or how it looks if I leave it to gravity.

The other issue is hair. For a certain choreography i want to wear it down, but my hair is very straight and fairly thin. I get it sticking in my face. Any suggestions on styling or a certain way to pin it back that, again, won't look strange coming out of an Egyptian circle?

Any suggestions on the costuming or hair issue is greatly appreciated! I have not yet done a lot of performing and need some grooming tips!

Pin that sucker to your skirt, and put in an elastic casing so it hugs you better. Most belts that aren't cupped tend to slide up on me too, I find liberal pinning with diaper pins tends to quell the tendency.

As for the hair, look into hot rollers and lots of hairspray. You may want to invest in a 3/4 wig. To keep it out of your face a headband or tiara may work well.

Great advice, Tanya. Thanks!

Yep! Like Tanya said....I always pin my belts to my skirt(s), usually one in front and one in back and if the belt gaps in the back, add the elastic casing for a snug fit!

Hair in the face is also a problem I had more in the past and still have on occasion. I still wear my hair down and have just learned over time to flip it around (or back) enough to get most of it out of my face while dancing. Otherwise, yeah, I would use a nice headband that you've pinned in to keep it back out of your face.

Happy dancing! :-)

i pin front and back belt, skirts all to my "g" string.

I sew 3-4 big snaps to the inside of each belt and then put corresponding ones on the tops of the skirts I wear with them. Quicker and easier to fasten and unfasten than pins, and less likely to do damage.

Rosette

If you always wear the same skirt with the same belt there are a couple great permanent things you can do....attache the skirt to the belt, and attache a pair of matching panties.

Snaps work great too, put matching snaps on the out side of your skirt and inside of your belt, or I have used big patches of velcro in strategic places and it worked great.

I use safety pins on everything....I perform 4 or 5 times a week, safety pins are quick and easy for me, no sewing, and I can add more to places I find need it with out any real planning ahead...I carry a small case with several sizes and colors of safety pins. Also a great thing to keep with your performance supplies is double sided tape, you can buy it at craft store or Joannes.

As far as the hair issue, an thin head band, close to the color of your hair works great if you want it to be subtle, but crowns, tiaras, and jeweled head bands all look lovely...just make sure to discreetly pin them to your hair to prevent slippage.

Good Luck! :)

everyone's completely right on the belt issue, so i won't even repeat.

another thing you could do with your hair is take a few bobby pins and take a section of the front and secure it back. i have thin straight hair too, and that has kept it out of my lip gloss during shows quite well.

the hair in this link is a bit sloppy but this is what i mean

http://interioroffice.files.wordpres...1/cimg0080.JPG

Is your belt one piece or two? If it is two, have you angled is so that you mitigate the tuna can? Also, is it tight enough that you have muffin top? I know, not the greatest look, but it will help keep your belt in place.

But I don't pin anything. too many gigs where I have had to do fast costume changes and pinning is just going to do damage to something.

{{{HUGS}}}

Originally Posted by Benazir

everyone's completely right on the belt issue, so i won't even repeat.

another thing you could do with your hair is take a few bobby pins and take a section of the front and secure it back. i have thin straight hair too, and that has kept it out of my lip gloss during shows quite well.

the hair in this link is a bit sloppy but this is what i mean

http://interioroffice.files.wordpres...1/cimg0080.JPG

I do something similar. I have very fine long hair, so it sticks to everything when I'm dancing too. I pull a bit of the hair in front and on the sides back, gather it with a thin hairband, and put a pretty flower over the hair band. That keeps it off of my face. Just doing loose curls or crimping throughout helps too if you don't want to put it up at all. Get one of those three barrel curling irons and do a bunch of loose curls. It looks cute, adds body, and doesn't seem to stick as much. I don't even put in hair spray or product when I do the curls... I just let them fall so it makes my hair wavy. Dito on all the belt tips... you gotta pin/button/velcro/elasticize! lol

Originally Posted by Rosette

I sew 3-4 big snaps to the inside of each belt and then put corresponding ones on the tops of the skirts I wear with them. Quicker and easier to fasten and unfasten than pins, and less likely to do damage.

Rosette

i have a
"pin bar" sewed into the front and back of the belt..about 3" of grosgrain/velvet backed, sew ends down but leave enough room to pin.this way i do not pin through my bead work.

Never underestimate the power of barrettes and hair clips. I am not a headband girl (they slip off and I think they make me look stupid), but I almsot always wear a barrette or clip, even if it is a simple as a single row of rhinestones.

Originally Posted by zamora

i have a
"pin bar" sewed into the front and back of the belt..about 3" of grosgrain/velvet backed, sew ends down but leave enough room to pin.this way i do not pin through my bead work.

Nice. Thanks!

Originally Posted by Nazarah

Nice. Thanks!

ha ha ha ..i think i show it on my gilded serpent gig bag thing

my hair used to be super short... and it was never an issue-

now its in my face constantly- half of a shaved head- just to the bottom of the crown on one side- and all of its flipped over to the other- so it is ALWAYs falling in my face....

I have had to learn to turn my head and flip my hair... its an accent- a prop if you will- a flurish- use it to your advantage. its hard to flip hair with stuff in it and its super fun to have you rhead down and whip it up with the hair flying or use the bicep part of your arms as you lift them up to move it by holding your arms kind of crossed in front of you.

:) another layer of dance and something to do with ze arms and hands

Originally Posted by andalee-oriental

Never underestimate the power of barrettes and hair clips. I am not a headband girl (they slip off and I think they make me look stupid), but I almsot always wear a barrette or clip, even if it is a simple as a single row of rhinestones.

Same headband problem here! they just don't look good on me.
Creative hair pinning (take a few hours one afternoon at home and experiment for the best look and stay-put-ability for you), and matching flower clips work wonders!

Wow, this was all such great advice. I realize that I need to actually practice with my hair down, rather than tied back all the time. I love the pin to the panties idea. That could work. As far as the elastic casing... is this elastic sewn around the entire inside? or just at the sides/each hip?

Great advice everyone! If you really like the head bands but they refuse to stay, you can try a silk ribbon held in place with bobby pins. I have super fine hair and bobby pins are the only way anything will stay in my hair.

As far as elastic goes, it depends on the costume fit and where you need the elastic. I have some costumes that have elastic all around and some that only have it in a few placew. If you have a gap in the back you might need it in the back only, if its falling off all the way around you might need it all the way around ect...

Originally Posted by elisheva-dancer

Wow, this was all such great advice. I realize that I need to actually practice with my hair down, rather than tied back all the time. I love the pin to the panties idea. That could work. As far as the elastic casing... is this elastic sewn around the entire inside? or just at the sides/each hip?

This is why the belt should fit snugly and NOT gap at the upper edge, as they will do if your hip is curvy and the belt not custom-fitted. I wrote about fitting in detail in my Costume Goddess book "[I]Belt and Bra for Bellydancers."[/I]

ALTERATIONS:
Ideally, you'd do alterations on the belt so it fits perfectly. I've done this before; it involves peeling off part of the belt covering (at back or sides or both, depending on your hip shape), making darts, then putting it all back together. A bit time-consuming. Long ago I wrote instructions on Shira's site:
http://www.shira.net/costuming/cg/belt-alter.htm

But what if you can't sew that well, and can't pay an expert to do so? Then:

ELASTIC:
A fix using elastic depends on the type of belt. It may be difficult, if the belt is stiff and heavily beaded, to draw in that edge without a rippled, bulky look.

I would put a casing all across the back and sides, insert non-roll elastic, then distribute the fullness where you need it. Add a few stitches to tack the elastic in that position, so it doesn't shift.

PINNING: Pinning the belt to the skirt or underpants is a good idea. But if, as you say, if the belt slides up when you lean over to do hip circles, it may still tend to do so, because the belt is heavier than the skirt and undies; so likely they will all slide up together.

I sew a wide skirt hook on the inside center of the belt and a matching eye on the outside center of the skirt. That way they get attached with just a tug; there is no repeated twisting and pinning of the costume pieces, which eventually may damage the fabric.

HAIR:
Yes, practice with your hair down! That way if the hair gets in your way or gets caught on your costume pieces (sequins, rhinestones, jewelry) you will know to fix it. I personally find it distracting when very long hair is all over the place and the dancer is constantly tossing her head and brushing hair off her face, or letting it hang over her face. Plus, I can't see the dancer's back, it's just a curtain of hair.

I wear a nude bodysuit and pin my skirt to that, then pin my belt to the band of the skirt. No slippage. You might try some different belt styles too. I have seen some wonderful Egyptian belts that “cup” your backside. A two piece Turkish belt is easy to angle so that the top and bottom both have a snug fit.

As a fine haired person I have learned to not wear gooey gloss or lipstick. A nice lip stain with a quick swipe of a lip balm will prevent your hair from sticking to you lips.

What i usually do with the belt when this happens is resew the "eyes" on an angle on the belt (it's kind of hard to explain). This means that the top eye should be more in, and the second, sewn further out (depends on your hips), and lower of course. This compensates for the natural curve of your hips, especially if the belt is straight. You will most likely have to either remove the original eyes and resew them, or sew on new ones. By the way, I always use dental floss when sewing on hook and eyes/snaps- it's stronger and therefore holds longer.