How to Avoid Basic Belly Dance Costuming Mistakes

No matter how beautiful your dancing may be, these mistakes can steal the spotlight. Taking basic precautions will reduce the chances of having an onstage wardrobe meltdown!

Improperly Fitted Costumes
Tops that are too small may enhance your cleavage, but they leave the audience watching for an overflow accident instead of appreciating your dancing. You can enhance your bust with makeup, padding, or both without risking an updated version of Janet Jackson's Superbowl debacle. Overly tight bra style tops can also cause the unflattering effect of redistributing your breasts from the desired position to the sides, near your armpits.

Costumes that are too big are not only move in a distracting manner, but they can be dangerous. Many dancers have shimmied out of their skirts or belt on stage. In addition to causing embarrassment, this can cause a tripping hazard. If being on stage in your bottom layer of clothes isn't bad enough, imagine falling down, too. Someone will catch it on tape and you may shoot to fame overnight on YouTube.

Underpinning
This should go without saying, but sadly, I've seen proof that it doesn't. Wear the appropriate undergarments. Take a cue from the near universal mockery of Britney Spears and don't show off too much of yourself. You will forever be remembered in the dance community as the flasher, as well as offending your entire audience. There are many shops offering full coverage dance pants, of the type worn by cheerleaders and ballroom dancers. Bikini bottoms are a low cost way to cover your assets. Make sure your inner layer matches your outer layer. Light colored underclothes can glow like neon through a darker costume on stage. Again, it will be caught on camera. This brings me to the next suggestion:

Stage Testing
Stage lights are stronger than regular lights, and can turn a perfectly respectable outfit into a completely sheer one. This phenomenon is well documented on celebrity gossip sites! Whenever possible, wear a new costume on the actual stage or performance area before your big day. Put on the whole costume, from the skin out, exactly as you will wear it in performance. This is the time to see if the outfit is properly fitted, as well as seeing if your accessories need to be rethought. Bring a brutally honest friend along for feedback.

While you have a helper there, get your friend to see how the costume's color looks under the lights. Just like fitting room lights can make fabric look different than it would in sunlight, stage lights can give a different impression than the lighting at home. Also, check the effect of your color choice against the performance area's backdrop. Dancers wearing the same color as the backdrop not only struggle to stand out, but can give the strange, creepy impression of a dancing detached head, arms, and stomach.

Be Sure To Secure
No matter how well you've planned and tested, accidents can still happen. Straps break, buttons fly off, and elastic chooses odd moments to die. Even if your costume fits like a second skin, reinforce it with safety pins. Many professional dancers swear by safety pinning their costumes from the bottom layer all the way through to the top. If one layer fails, the others are secured to it, so they hold your clothes together. This pinning habit has prevented many wardrobe malfunctions.

With these basic stage wardrobe tips, you are less likely to become famous for poor costuming. Let your personality show, and only as much skin as you plan on exposing. These ideas should help to keep the attention where it belongs, on your beautiful dance!