|
I think there are several factors regarding having a "Professional" quality costume.
1. The costume has to be well made. There are belly dance costumes that they sell in Egypt for "tourists/novelty" and they are not well made. For a professional, you need a well-made costume. This means the threads are the same color as the fabric, the zipper is the same color as the fabric, the beads/sequences/fringe are sewn on tightly; the stones are glued well.
2. I think the costume needs to fit you well. If the costume doesn't fit well, then the look isn't professional. A professional costume will fit you well. So if you get a professional costume, its up to you to alter it if its too big or too small so that you can make it fit you well.
3. I think the costume cannot look "home-made." Its fine to make your own costumes, but you don't want it to look homemade, you want your craftmanship and seamstress ship to be on a par with a professional shop.
4. Your decorations should be well sewn or well glued onto the costume. You don't want to be dancing on stage will all your beads and fringe flying all over the place. I danced at an event and the dancer before me had her beads flying into the audience and the stage. It was embarrassing because it just brought to my attention how poorly her costume was made; therefore, I did not regard it as professional. Its okay to have the occassional bead or stone fall off, but her case was excessive.
5. I don't think the colors of your costume has anything to do with professionalism. I think that's a matter of personal taste. For example, I have seen some ugly Sahars and Pharaonics in which they combine, in my opinion, bizzare color combinations but that's a function of personal preference, not professionalism.
6. You want the fabric to be good quality. There are some fabrics that I don't think are very "professional" such as confetti foil and lame, but again, this may be a function of personal taste/preference, not a defining characteristic of what is professional vs. not professional.
7. Like some other bhuzers stated, I think to own a costume that you want to call "professional" you should have a costume by a top designer. Costumes by Sahar, Amira El Kattan, Eman Zaki, Madam Abla, Hanan, Mandour, Madam Hekmet, Madam Nousa, Aida Nour, Bella, Topkapi, Sim-I consider these professional quality because these designers have established themselves and built their reputations. I know these costumes are expensive, I think its better to own one of these then two or three not-so-professional looking costumes. A lot of this is a matter of economics, I think dancers who call themselves "professional" should own "professional" costumes. Definitely your skill as a dancer can qualify you as professional, but also your physical appearance is important and this often translates into the costume you are wearing.
|