Thread: HONEST thoughts about silk ISIS wings to dancers from a dancer..

If you are on facebook you can view the note here:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/AKai-...50870257210001

And the corresponding photo album, which has photos of the large pairs (in ombre colors) and the smaller pair with arm scrunchies (in swirled pattern)

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...50097521895001

After many requests I had two pairs of silk Isis wings made but have not offered them available for sale until I was able to test drive them. I have had many years experience dancing with silk veils AND the contemporary ISIS wings made out of tissue lame' (the kind that are pleated). I am familiar with the kinds of dance movements and the space needed for each..I'm also familiar with the behavior of silk in various weights, the size of the veils and what to anticipate, and also with the behavior of the pleated wings. Using this experience is why I write this note now..not to promote a silk product for A'Kai Silks but as a dancer reviewing a product/s.

I will start with the large silk wings. They are made from either a 5 mm or 8 mm weight and measure 3 yards by 55 inches. I had a sleeve sewn in the side that will accomodate wooden or acrylic dowels..dancer's choice. I picked up some wooden dowels at the hardware store for about $2. The dowels slip in easily. The bottom of the sleeve was sewn so that it is reinforced at the bottom, hopefully to withstand the pressure forced upon it by wooden dowels.



Let me say as someone who has dyed and danced with silk for over a decade, I am really antsy about putting anything potentially sharp or 'stickable' anywhere near silk. The light silk especially. One wrong move..which can easily happen, and I imagine the dowel may tear through the side or poke the wing and result in a hole. The sleeves were sewn by a professional seamstress, she did a great job, especially with the reinforced areas. But I wince when I wave around the dowels. This is not for beginners. I'm not even sure it's for experts. As experienced silk dancers know, silk has a mind of its own and will often billow into clouds ..such is the case with the wings. I LOVE how the sticks can be used to direct the motion and create fantastic shapes, especially with A'Kai Silks colors, these would be definite crowd pleasers. But more than once, even in a room with no breeze, the movements of the sticks would billow the silk into voluminous colorful clouds but often it would settle right back over the stick and get tangled. Experienced ISIS wings dancers (the wings with tissue lame' ) know that a flip of the wrist will often release the wings back over the correct side of the dowel. It's much more difficult to do it with silk. It is so light and feathery..it's actually a dichotomy..here you have these simple tools that propel the silk into beautiful shapes but at the same time they manipulate the silk so quickly that it makes it loftier than can be controlled easily. I tried out a pair with the HEAVIER silk, they did perform a bit easier but silk is silk and it still lofts, even at 8 mm weight.

With that said, I would recommend, as a dancer to other dancers, that if you were to perform at a stage show with a LARGE stage and NO fans to blow the silk, or you wanted to do a spectacular photo shoot using some really neat props, OR if you simply wanted a really pretty pair of wings to play with, then go for it. But honestly I don't see how these would ever work out at your normal size hafla or restaurant. The wing span is huge and you will need plenty of room to manipulate the sticks..more than is necessary with the tissue lame' wings because tissue lame' is more forgiving on dance mistakes and unwinds itself easier.



It should be noted for the purpose of photos I attached the loose ends of the half circle veils to the top of my dress, I'm guessing that wearing a silk collar, which I'm not willing to have sewn into veils at this point, allows the veils to behave similarly. If you don't tie off the loose ends you are going to have one hell of a time keeping them off the floor, they are very big.



In the photo album you will see the large silk wings dyed in a pattern similar to Bird of Paradise with the banded ombre pattern.



As always, I will start the large silk wings at an introductory price to judge the reception by other dancers. Right now they will be custom order only with about a 4 to 6 week wait time. The really cool thing about the large wings is this..take the sticks out and you still have a perfect pair of large half circles. As a dancer on a budget I like to have props and toys that fit various venues. (They are also great for poi).



Allow me now to talk about the smaller silk wings. The smaller silk wings are made from A'Kai Silks Little Wings, they measure 2.5 yards long by 45 inches wide. Sewn similar to the larger wings with a sleeve for dowels and reinforced where the dowel hits the end, but these wings have scrunchies dyed to match that attach the veils at the forearm.



I found this size MUCH easier to handle and would confidently dance in small spots, restaurants, stage shows, outdoor shows, etc. The wings still have similar issues, the silk likes to behave like a flame and settle in the wrong place but I believe a bit of practice with them will make them much easier to handle. I love the design, I love how they attach at the arms. I love that the sticks can be removed and you can hold the ends sort of like fairy wings or princess wings. And again, if you remove the sticks they are fully operational as smaller double veils.

Because of the time to dye, sew, etc these will be custom order as well at an introductory price.



In the photos you will see the Little Wings dyed in the blue/purple swirl.



As mentioned above, my intent was to write this note AS a dancer with experience dancing with silk and other wings to relay to you, the dancer, some simple facts and what to expect if you own a pair.



I will probably experiment and have some Little Wings sewn up in a heavier charmeuse silk fabric to see how they perform. At this time I don't see having the large wings made from charmeuse, it wouldn't be very affordable. These are definitely novelty items and to be danced with at special venues that allow for a lot of space. Much like the larger silks for poi spinning, flag spinning, and fan veils.



And most likely I will do more experimenting with smaller silks for the poi spinners, and worship dancers.

Would it protect the silk to put some kind of end on the dowels, like drilled wooden balls or even those rubber fingertips they sell as office supplies?

it would be a good idea to check the dowels over and possibly sand them to remove any potential splinters, and maybe either coat the ends with clear nail polish?

or just use the acrylic dowels..i couldn't find them in the hardware store ..boyfriend was useless he kept smacking me in the butt with the wooden dowel so i had to get him out of there :)

more on this later..nurse job calls..

From an audience member's perspective, I'd rather see a dancer performing beautifully with a nice silk veil rather than using wings, regardless of the material the wings are made of.

But then, I've seen too many wings performances that just looked like a frightened ibis trying to fly away after being startled by something. Or, that look like an ibis caught in a dust tornado....

Originally Posted by jesennia

it would be a good idea to check the dowels over and possibly sand them to remove any potential splinters, and maybe either coat the ends with clear nail polish?

I think sanding the ends to round off the edges would probably be better than just clear polish. Maybe another option would be Plasti Dip at the tips?

or just use the acrylic dowels..i couldn't find them in the hardware store ..

I think someone said they were the control rods for miniblinds.

agreed Shira, good dancing turns me on a lot more than fancy props..

Tourbeau yup that's what they were using..a friend of mine offers another option and you can purchase rods with balls on the ends on her site, I'll ask her if I can share her link here

I've had numerous emails asking if I'm planning on making a dvd on how to use them..not unless I lose my nurse job :) There's not enough time in the day but I will be creating some kind of youtube video with tips on how to use them..in time..lol

From a personal experience standpoint, the instructional videos about dancing with the tissue lame' wings MIGHT offer a few tips on how to hold them or doing spins, etc..but silk is SO different in its behavior so I'd recommend just watching performances on youtube and picking up a few ideas that way.

Not that I'm not happy to promote instructional wings dvd's but SILK is very different from tissue lame' and experienced dancers would know this..

I have an update on the large wings (does not apply to smaller wings since they use an arm scrunchie to secure them)

I was playing with the large wings without the sticks in them, since they don't have the neck leash (I just tuck them in the bra straps to help lift or you can leave the other ends free) ..the tiny sleeve that is sewn into them for the sticks does not make any difference on drag or how they move..none at all.

So I'm going to have my supplier sew the large half circles with sleeves in them, that way dancers can use them as half circles or wings (I'm a dancer on a budget too and like to have one item for many uses) .

That way I don't have to mark them up for sleeve sewing..the wings will remain the same price as the large half circles which range from $89 to simple colors to $99+ for fancier or custom colors/custom orders.

I don't see any reason to charge $139 for silk wings especially since there will likely only be a small niche of dancers interested in the wings.

How does that sound? Wings for the same price as half circle sets? Mission accomplished?

I have a pair of your half circle veils . are the wings half circle veils that you had sewn special and put dowels in? there was allot of ready and i just wanted to get that right. if that is the case can i ask how to sew my circle veils or should i buy a pair of wings? I am low on funds for new props but at the same time do not want to wreck my veils. i love the wings they are beautiful!

Jesennia, I can understand your concern about the stick poking through the silk. Have you thought about lining the rod pocket, so to speak?

Use a long rectangle of a sturdy cotton or thicker weight silk (any color) the length of the rod plus an inch and the width of the rod pocket area plus a seam allowance, lay it along the edge of your silk panel (and even baste stict it if you like), and let all rod pocket seams encorporate both the decorated outer silk and the more durable inner lining.

Beautiful silk corsets with steel boning are made with a similar concept - the silk is protected from the boning with layers of fabric in between.

Here's another idea.

Instead of trying to line the pocket as is frequently done with Lame's wings, or putting balls on the end of the sticks to distribute the load - try sewing small "ties" to the edge of the wings - then tie them to the sticks through small holes drilled in same. A bit of trouble to do (I'm assuming you'd have to lead the ties through the holes with a needle and thread), but it seems to me that it would reverse the loading onto the sticks where it belongs - the silk is plenty light enough to be able to be led around by ties.

Alternately, you might be able to actually sew the silk to the rods by using wood rods, many, many loops of thread around same and through the silk, then a coat of Elmer's glue on top of the thread where it goes around the rod. Very strong, this is actually used to repair broken piano hammers - but I'm not sure how the silk would handle this kind of stress from the thread. Perhaps sewing through a hem? Goddess help you though if you did manage to break one of the rods!

This is just an untried idea - its worth exactly what you paid for it!

As for technique - I'd *speculate* that it would be much like coming from Lame' half circles to silk for double veil - that you'd need to back WAAAAY off on the power. I'd like to try it sometime!