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Showing posts with the label Ballroom series

Dance Costume: Design Consideration

There two things to consider when designing a dance costume:  Allow the dancer to move safely without interference Enhance the dancer's movement and body aka draw attention.  Let's discuss these considerations.  Movement Safety For a dance costume, you don't want the dancer's movement impeded or restricted by the costume. The style of dance (or the choreography) plays a role in the design. A dance costume for a dance that includes leaps and landings will have different design considerations for movement safety than a more deliberate, slow dance.  There are a few areas of focus for this on a dance costume: Feet/Legs (Hem), arms (Sleeves), and Torso (bodice). Hem This refers the the bottom edge of any skirt or pant leg.  A hem should allow for what I like to call "foot clearance". This is what I failed to realize with my earlier costumes for ballroom dance: the hem needed to be at my ankle or higher while in the high heels.   The style of shoe and the co...