Wearing black on stage??

[tabitha]

...With a black back-drop. Is it really that bad, will you disappear? What if has a lot of silver accents and crystals?

Thanks!

[beafarhana]

Yes.
Yes.
Unless the stage lighting is like floodlighting, you would need a heck of a lot of silver accenting to stand out very clearly. If the stage lighting is designed to be moody and atmospheric, you will disappear, particularly if it is a big auditorium.

It will look even worse on video.

[tabitha]

Thank you. So the best colors for stage are anything but black?

[rakgirl]

if there is a spot light be sure to dance in it. stay to the front.

[mmouse1534]

Most Dark colors don't show up really well on stage. Stick with vibrant colors, they don't HAVE to be bright.
Gold costumes show up really well on stage too!

[aazura]

I'm not a fan of black costumes -- I feel like I disappear, even when I'm not on a black stage. If you're dancing on a large black stage, wear something bright that will pop against the background. Red is good. For more ideas, look at some pictures or watch some vids taken on a black background and keep a mental note of which colors seem to work best.

[beafarhana]

Originally Posted by tabitha

Thank you. So the best colors for stage are anything but black?

When there's a black backdrop, yes. Bold bright jewel colours, red, pink, sunshine yellow, emerald green, they all look fabulous against black.
(I've got a page about this on my website:
http://www.beatricecurtis.co.uk/pages/colo.html)

White backgrounds are much more flexible, as they can reflect colour from the lighting, but a black costume against a black background is camouflage at its most cunning!

The other thing to watch out for is: white outfit + strong stage-lights = transparent costume if you're not careful!

[jmdruadh]

In general, a black costume will recede into a black background. The silver and crystals will help define where your body is, but won't help them see the outlines of your body unless they are really thickly encrusted on there. (i.e., if it's more of a silver costume with a black base than a black costume.)

That said, it could work to your advantage. Especially if you're pale, any exposed skin (i.e., face, arms, midriff) will be highlighted. If that fits our style and/or the look you're going for, it could work.

Unless you know you can get exactly the effect you want though (i.e., you get a full dress rehearsal with lights), I'd stick to something with higher contrast.

[lizajuk]

Unless the backdrop is white or cream forget it and even with a light background if the stage lighting is poor, you have problems with all dark costuming. The troupe I belong to performed in a stage show a month or so ago and it wasn't a dark backdrop and you can see from my photos that our "Ghawazee" costumes are not dark by any means but a friend tells me everyone was lost in dim red lighting. There was no attempt to suit lighting to costuming or choreography. So I'm with everyone else go for glitz!

[ChristinaRizkallah]

If you know in advance that the backdrop will be black, then its best you not wear a black costume. I have performed in shows in which the organizer has asked in advance that we not wear black due the dark, dark backdrop. I find that black and dark colors (I once wore navy blue) made you recede into the background. Best to wear colors that stand out and save your black costumes for backdrops that you know aren't black.

[Arwen]

Unless you have to use it for a specific dance style, stay away from natural fabrics- silk is the exception. Cotton and linen both eat light and appear very flat on stage unless they are very, very brightly colored. I know it's hot, but it's worth it.

[rosehips]

Black on black backdrop can be scary...I'll never forget the time I was vending at a festival and happened to look up and thought the dancer on stage had NO ARMS, because she was wearing full-length black velvet gloves. She looked like a wacky venus de milo...