Ensemble costumes

Shanazel

Moderator
Dancing aside, I like these ensemble costumes. Having variations in white guarantees visual unity while allowing personal expression and costumes to suit every body.

Costume discussion, please. Are variations on a theme a good thing or do you prefer all ensemble dancers to dress exactly alike?

[video=youtube;tJoe7GY0dw0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJoe7GY0dw0[/video]
 

Shanazel

Moderator
How about this group? Innovative but tacky is my conclusion. I especially disliked the spinning mushroom effect at the opening; they looked like they had bags over their heads. I might've liked the costumes a little better had the colors not been so bold... but not much.

[video=youtube;UjSZYPS1Ytk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjSZYPS1Ytk[/video]
 

Farasha Hanem

New member
How about this group? Innovative but tacky is my conclusion. I especially disliked the spinning mushroom effect at the opening; they looked like they had bags over their heads. I might've liked the costumes a little better had the colors not been so bold... but not much.

[video=youtube;UjSZYPS1Ytk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjSZYPS1Ytk[/video]

o_____0

No. Just. No. >.>
 

Daimona

Moderator
Dancing aside, I like these ensemble costumes. Having variations in white guarantees visual unity while allowing personal expression and costumes to suit every body.

Costume discussion, please. Are variations on a theme a good thing or do you prefer all ensemble dancers to dress exactly alike?

[video=youtube;tJoe7GY0dw0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJoe7GY0dw0[/video]

If I were to nitpick on these, I would choose a matte fabric for the one satin skirt and not so much fluff in one of the other skirts. Just nitpicks.
They have still been clever by how the different costumes are places in the various formations (such as the one sleeved lady in the middle being the most obvious) to create a visual balance. Otherwise, I like that they are style and colour coordinated (one colour, bare bellies and mostly bare arms/shoulders). As a side effect for the owner, a colour coordinated costume in a personal style is more versatile as it can be reused or resold without the tag of being a troupe costume. I also like that they have similar veils to to make them an entity in addition and in contrast of the white costumes.

In general I prefer theme and colour coordinated costumes OR similar costumes in different colours for groups to create a unity.
Very different costumes in different styles and colours will need a choreography made for it and dancers being aware that they have to create this unity when dancing despite doing the same movements. So far, I haven't really seen this done successfully on stage yet.

One of my pet peeves is that if all wears the same costume, it is important to make sure it is a costume that will look good on everybody in the group, not just the tiny/slim dancers, but also the pears and apples, the long ones, the short ones and the hour glasses. It is a more complicated task than many think, particularly if there is a large variety of body shapes in the group and some have strong opinions about a costume they have fallen in love with because it will fit themselves perfectly.



How about this group? Innovative but tacky is my conclusion. I especially disliked the spinning mushroom effect at the opening; they looked like they had bags over their heads. I might've liked the costumes a little better had the colors not been so bold... but not much.

A high score in innovativeness for costumes and manipulation of them.
(Otherwise, no comments from me.)
 
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Ariadne

Well-known member
How about this group? Innovative but tacky is my conclusion. I especially disliked the spinning mushroom effect at the opening; they looked like they had bags over their heads. I might've liked the costumes a little better had the colors not been so bold... but not much.

[video=youtube;UjSZYPS1Ytk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjSZYPS1Ytk[/video]

Mushroom effect is a good description and, yes, they did look like they had bags over their heads. I would have also liked them better in different colors. Outside of that I kinda liked it BUT I think a couple of them nearly tripped on them. In the end it's innovative but impractical.
 

Zorba

"The Veiled Male"
One of my pet peeves is that if all wears the same costume, it is important to make sure it is a costume that will look good on everybody in the group, not just the tiny/slim dancers, but also the pears and apples, the long ones, the short ones and the hour glasses. It is a more complicated task than many think, particularly if there is a large variety of body shapes in the group and some have strong opinions about a costume they have fallen in love with because it will fit themselves perfectly.
WORD.

It is almost impossible to have one troupe costume that looks good on everybody - unless "everybody" is the same basic body type. And that doesn't even cover throwing a male into the mix - I *really* wouldn't look good in a bra...

Now with that said, one of the troupes I'm in has a couple of costumes that scale well and work well for everybody. Even my lack of a bra really isn't noticeable. But these cossies were invented by someone with MANY years experience who knew what she was doing! But in general, very similar, but customized for the individual, costumes seem to work best in most cases.

Then I have a pair of dance sisters who were in a troupe that used a "flower costume" that apparently looked good on exactly no-one - All I have to say is "Flower costume" to either of them to set off a tirade!
 

Zorba

"The Veiled Male"
Well, at least the Flower Costume was nondiscriminatory. :)

I never saw this thing, but one of the two dance sisters in question is about a size F. Now picture strategically placed roses on this hot mess of a costume. She said that that was the LEAST of it!
 

Zorba

"The Veiled Male"
I sent that picture to my dance sisters and asked "Better or worse?" Only one has responded thus far with "They're both bad, but picture cabbage roses on MY boobs!". Not sure what a cabbage rose is, and not sure I even want to know at this point...
 

Daimona

Moderator
I sent that picture to my dance sisters and asked "Better or worse?" Only one has responded thus far with "They're both bad, but picture cabbage roses on MY boobs!". Not sure what a cabbage rose is, and not sure I even want to know at this point...

:lol: Rather voluminous flowers... I don't think they would fit on any boob, particularly not in 3D...
Now, imagine some other (less fortunte) placement of the same flower on a costume...:lol:


 
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Zorba

"The Veiled Male"
Heard back from the "other" dance sister who was stuck with the flower costume. She says the one pictured here doesn't hold a candle to how bad theirs was!
 

Aniseteph

New member
Me and the dance buddy would rock cabbage roses, it would be terrifying and hilarious.

I like the white costumes; it's strong enough to carry variations between the dancers while staying unified. OTOH, not so keen on the multi way skirt thingies. I was wondering if all the spinning mushrooms would get on stage without mishaps. I thought the skirt things looked unflattering in all the formats except the short skirt. One unattractive format would be a reasonable trade off for some stunning bit of costume gimmickry, but not that much. By the end I was thinking this would be really nice if only they had proper skirts on instead of oversized bunting
.
 

Shanazel

Moderator
Enjoy the video of a very good dancer and take special note of the alternative to cabboobages: tinsel corsages. [video=youtube;8Xepi6ME2O0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Xepi6ME2O0[/video]
 

Darshiva

Moderator
Now that I'm finally reading this thread on my pc and can watch the videos...

I love the way the troupe in the white costumes approached uniformity. The pick a colour and match a costume that suits you to it thing works spectacularly well, it shows uniformity without making anyone feel bad about how they look.

The parachute costumes are a one-note gimick that look fugly on everyone.

Camelia's costume managed to mask some beautiful dancing. :(
 
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