Your First Costume
by Karima Nadira

OK, so you're not quite ready to perform, but those glitzy costumes have been catching your eye?

Any of the following sound familiar?
* You've been to a few shows and seen some gorgeous costumes!
* Your friend/relative/work associate has suggested you dance for someone's upcoming birthday, but you don't have a thing to wear!
* You're dying to see what you look like in lots of glitter!
* You've come up with a little routine to a song you like and are actually thinking of performing it somehow, somewhere. And, really, if you practiced a bit more, you just *might* be ready to shake your hips for family, friends, or other dancers.

So maybe now is the time to put some thought into acquiring a starter dance outfit without having to scramble for one when you are ready.......

The short history of Middle Eastern Dance costuming:
This topic would require at least several books, but suffice it to say, that the people of the cultures where this dance comes from generally party in their regular party clothes (like you do when you go to cousin Jane's wedding). The type of costuming now popular in nightclubs is mostly a result of Hollywood fantasy orientalism adopted by stage performers in the early 1900's and since, both over here and overseas. So all the glitz, the 2 piece costumes, the slits, and, now that the Middle Eastern costume designers have discovered spandex and "sheer illusion", whatever their creative minds can dream up, is accepted world- wide as the costume for this dance. Variations on the glitzy nightclub costume exist among the American Tribal (an American-invented version of Middle Eastern dance) dancers, who use ethnic, or ethnic-looking, fabrics and jewelry from countries as disparate as Afghanistan, Tunisia, Ethiopia, India, and Armenia and mix them all up in a colorful, but less glitzy, totally invented look.

So where do you start?

First, it pays to be realistic. How often do you expect to be performing initially? If only occasionally, you may not be ready to lay out the $400-$1000 for a professional costume just yet. How can you put together something that will have you looking good without blowing your budget?

The hip scarf: The first costume piece most of us acquire in Middle Eastern dance is the hip scarf. Since you're likely to already have a hip scarf (or 2 or 3), that's a good place to start. Hip scarves are endlessly useful costume pieces, since just tying one around your hips makes anything you wear into a costume. ;-)

Very basic costume:
1 long skirt (circle, straight, other), 1 leotard or choli (short or long sleeved), and 1 hip scarf. I have seen this combination, in the right colors, make some dancers look better than dancers in $800 costumes (more on that later). And the best thing about it is you may already own some or all of these items if you dig around in your closet. Another advantage to this basic costume is that if you want to team up with a friend to do a duet, it will not be difficult or expensive for you to look coordinated. One important additional item: dance underwear, or white or color-matched full coverage underwear, to wear under your skirt for those turns when your skirt flies up (or when the wind blows it, out of doors). You can also acquire or make a pair of harem pants to wear under your skirt for a more modest look (my preference for circle skirts). Veils are very easy to make (3- 31/2 yards of lightweight fabric, edge hemmed), and they make great coverups for before & after your performance.

You may find this basic costume more than adequate for quite a while, and biding your time will help you decide what your next costume acquisitions might be.

Want something glitzier? Believe it or not, check all the department stores & boutiques especially after the winter holiday season when they are unloading their glitzy holiday party selections. There are some very usable gowns, skirts & tops out there at bargain prices that would make fine dance costumes. Current fashion trends have actually been very helpful, since many of the skirts around now already have the drop waist and will need little or no alteration.

Just make sure when you try on off the rack garments that they will allow for movement-I usually go through a series of dance moves in the dressing room to see how the fabric behaves and make sure nothing is binding. Some off the rack pieces I've used with best success are: fully beaded evening dresses (for $40-80!), crop tops (lots of them this season already have sequins & glitter on them) that tie in front ($7-20), and lately, shrugs & short bolero style sweater tops. Though I haven't bought any, there's also lots of jangly metal & coin belts out there this season that, in multiples, would look good around your hips instead of a hip scarf. With the dresses, make sure they fit well at the hips. If they are too loose, they will not show your hip work if you intend to wear them without a hip scarf (yes, some of them are that fancy!). Also, I stick to the sleeveless dresses, as the sleeves often bind when I raise my arms. You can add a shrug or make simple gauntlets if you don't like the bare arm look.

Ready for something fancy? While the Internet is a great place to look at costumes & see prices, I would hesitate to buy anything that you can not see or try on. Many of the new costumes on the internet that are low priced *are* too good to be true- they are tourist quality sets that may not stand up to much use and will more than likely not fit well. Larger local dance events and seminars often have attending vendors selling new costumes made in Turkey and Egypt, and they will be more than happy to help you try them on or advise you about their costumes. Also, there are always local dancers selling their used costumes. When you are ready to look for a costume, start by asking other dancers you know (especially if you think you are close in size) if they are selling any. You may turn up a bargain!

A good first purchase might be a bra/ belt set in either your most flattering color, or in gold or silver, which will match most colors of skirts and other costume pieces. Once you have a bedlah (arabic for "suit," and how bra/belt sets are most often referred to), you can look like you are wearing a different costume simply by changing from, say, a circle skirt with a complementary shrug, to a straight skirt with gauntlets. If you are not comfortable exposing your midriff, midriff covers are available as well, in beige, tan, black , and even colors, stretch mesh.

General costume advice: When you dress in the morning, I'm sure you try to look your best, and you may even have a particular style that you think fits you best, so it is of course logical to apply the same principles to picking out a costume. However, something happens when we are in the presence of glitter and sequins - even people who are never slaves to fashion suddenly seem to lose their judgment! So at this point, I should warn you, costumes can be an addiction unto themselves! That said, a few words of advice:

Pick a family of related colors that are flattering to you, and acquire pieces in that color family- that way after collecting various pieces you can mix & match for variety.

Watch other dancers and notice how certain styles look better on certain body types. Whatever your body type, there is a style that will flatter you. Ignore current fashion trends, and develop your own style based on which styles and colors flatter you most. You'll be glad you did this when you see the pictures/ videos.

Try to resist impulse buys. Try the items on, and especially if they don't fit, *think twice* before buying. Bras especially are hard to fit, no matter how good a seamstress you are, so unless the alterations are very minor or you're a super seamstress/tailor and you are *sure* you can handle it, don't buy it even if it is the perfect color, etc. It is very distracting to watch a dancer in an ill fitting costume.

Unless you make it yourself, nearly every costume needs some kind of alteration to have it fit properly. Learn how to do some basic alterations, or look for someone who can help you with this. Even the off the rack evening gowns I buy usually need at least hemming (I don't wear heels), and I often add a wider strap to the spaghetti strap dresses (no need for an accident while dancing), and maybe even a whole bra, for better support. Even the professional costumes, if they fit properly, need to have all the hooks resewn tightly (they attach them with one or two stitches assuming they will be altered.) At the very least, you need to make sure that bra hooks are secure, belts will stay put (I usually add additional safety hooks), dresses won't ride up, earrings are not so big that they whap you in the face on that fast turn, etc, etc.

Check the quality of your purchase(s) very carefully. Historically, the best beading is done in Egypt (although there are now exceptions to this). Beading done in China, India, and other parts of the Far East, can not always stand up to the tough use lots of hipwork, so look carefully at the products you intend to buy for sturdiness. Also, sometimes the beading is decent but it is done on fabric that is less than strong enough.

When your buy/ design/ put together your costume, make sure it enhances you and your dance. If the costume upstages you, or "wears" you instead of you wearing it, the audience won't notice much of your dance cause they'll be so busy looking at your costume.

If you are handy with a sewing machine, there are web sites where patterns for circle skirts and harem pants, for example, can be downloaded. Both are easy to make, and you will be able to choose the color & fabric you like, as opposed to just having to choose what's available.

Take your costume for at least one test drive (rehearse your chosen piece in it) well before the performance date. Some of the most interesting (for the audience) and upsetting (for the dancer) things have occurred when the dancer has failed to check the costume out in advance (including the $800 ones!).

Pick shoes appropriate to your costume. Grecian sandals don't look that great with the elegant evening gown & gauntlet look. Bare feet looks great with a simple, less glitzy costume, but dancing in bare feet risks your stepping on unwanted detritus on the floor (in a restaurant that could be shards of glass, another dancer's glass beads, bits of food, dirt tracked in from out doors,) so it is better to wear shoes of some kind. Now is also a good time to make the rounds of the shoe stores for glittery slippers on sale after the winter holidays. Just make sure you can dance in them.

Once you have nice costume pieces, take good care of them. Beaded costume pieces may not be washable, so make sure you hang them up to air out the minute you get home. Also do not store pieces with sequins in closed plastic bags, as, for some reason, the color on the sequins may deteriorate. My favorite storage bags are old cotton pillowcases.

Now, remember, don't get so caught up in the costume frenzy that you forget to practice your dancing. No matter how glitzy, expensive, fabulous, gorgeous your costume, the audience is interested in seeing your dance and is not there for a fashion show. A beautifully danced piece in street clothes will be a greater pleasure to watch than a dancer unrehearsed and ill at ease in a million dollar costume.