Double Veil Technique

[eden eyes]

I want to start learning how to use double veil! I think it is so beautiful :dance:

My only question (well one of many ) is do the veils HAVE to be weighted down with trim or can you use plain silk ones? Every video i've seen of double veil, they have had trim to make the flow crispy instead of soft

Thanks everyone

 

[alosha]

Depends on what you're doing with them. I've seen many performances with silk veils with no trim.

We'll wait for Zorba to jump in on this one!

 

[karena]

I'm a double veil baby, but no they don't have to be weighted down. Being weighted down means they can be easier to get in between, as they fall down over you without you having to make so much effort. I believe that BDSS who does multiple veil uses really heavy ones. But my teacher does double veil with silk veils, and I believe it makes some moves better as they then flow more. We start learning with heavier veils though.

 

[alosha]

Thanks Karena! I am super-interested in learning double veil, so i'm stealing tidbits here too!

 

[shiradotnet]

I've been performing double veil since 1986.

If you're brand-new to using double veils and you have not mastered the techniques of working with them yet, then I'd strongly recommend using semicircular veils made of tissue lamé with some kind of trim to weight the curved edge. Double georgette is another good fabric.

If you have mastered dancing with double veil and now you want a different type of veil, it is certainly possible to do that. I've seen double veil done with rectangular veils, I've seen it done with unweighted silk veils. I've seen it done with 3/4-circle and full-circle veils. But these variations in veil design and fabric are all MUCH more difficult to work with than the semicircle, weighted, tissué lame veils. So a lot depends on what your existing level of expertise is.

 

[alosha]

Is double veil something you can teach yourself? I'm planning on taking lessons, but am curious...

 

[shiradotnet]

Is double veil something you can teach yourself? I'm planning on taking lessons, but am curious...

I suppose it's like teaching yourself anything else. Videos do exist for double veil (I recommend Aneena's, I DO NOT recommend Petite Jamila's). You'd want to videotape yourself doing it to look for issues with your stage presence, your transitions, etc. But I suppose it could be done - it really depends on YOU and how good you are at self-motivating, video learning, self-critique, etc.

 

[Farasha Hanem]

first things first

I'd love to learn to do multiple veil, but first, I gotta get good at working with just ONE. -_- *angrily kicks evil veil for nearly strangling her again*

 

[alosha]

Gotta get yourself a veil with a better personality!! :lol: Or just let it win once in a while...

 

[Zorba]

I want to start learning how to use double veil! I think it is so beautiful :dance:

My only question (well one of many ) is do the veils HAVE to be weighted down with trim or can you use plain silk ones? Every video i've seen of double veil, they have had trim to make the flow crispy instead of soft

Thanks everyone

Nope, they don't HAVE to be weighted with trim. You can use silk.

HOWEVER -

To echo what Shira says, I'd strongly recommend a pair of Tissue Lame' half circles to start with - and probably with a bit of trim on them. That's the easiest type to learn with - and double veil isn't an easy thing for most people to learn. It took me NINE MONTHS of pretty constant practice to feel confident enough to take them onstage.

I don't know where you are - but if you can take a class from Alyne Hazzard on the subject, do so.

Silk half circles are wonderful for DV - but they're not nearly as forgiving and require a different technique to dance them well.

Another fabric you might want to try is Organza. I think Organza is the best kept secret among veil fabrics - and it can be used for DV as well. Unfortunately, although I have a number of rectangular Organza veils , I've never actually tried it myself for DV. I really need to rectify that...

 

[shiradotnet]

Another fabric you might want to try is Organza. I think Organza is the best kept secret among veil fabrics - and it can be used for DV as well. Unfortunately, although I have a number of rectangular Organza veils , I've never actually tried it myself for DV. I really need to rectify that...

Interesting. I personally don't like organza for veils.

For single veil work, I tend to think it's too stiff and doesn't drape well. I like to end a spin sequence in a pose with the veil draped around my body in a way that serves as a frame for various fluid dance moves, and organza is too stiff to do that nicely.

For double veil work, because I'm tall and I always use half-circles I need veils that either come in 54-inch width fabric (to make 3-yard veils) or I need to piece them. Tissue lame pieces well, and it's hard to see the seam while the veils are in motion. But with organza the seam would be much more obvious and ruin the look.

Of course, a lot depends on what your dance technique is like....

 

[alosha]

If you throw organza in the was a few times (Learned that from Zorba!!!!) it actually gets quite drapy...

 

[nightdancer]

I like double veil as well. Like Shira, I do not recommend Petite Jamilla's video. I normally use two silk semi-circles for it and they are not weighted down. On handy bit of advice is not to let the DV dominate your routine. You still have to dance with them. Also, rule #1, per Barbara from my group, who has been dancing with veils longer than she will admit--"The veil always wins." She taught me that if I get myself hopelessly tangled around to find a graceful (or depending on the venue, humorous way) to discard it. Most of all, dont let it fluster you. If you cant work it out in a few turns, some cool backwork and within about 16-18 seconds, consider ditching the veil (like the treasure it is) and moving on with your choreography. This is where not letting it dominate the routine becomes important. Hope that helps.

Love love love double veil.

Robynne

 

[~Diana~]

Does anyone have a video of a good double veil routine? I've been hearing and reading about this but never seen anyone perform it.

 

[Zorba]

If you throw organza in the wash a few times (Learned that from Zorba!!!!) it actually gets quite drapy...

Who's Zorba? :lol:

That's the secret to Organza - beat the cr@p out of it a few times in the washing machine. Otherwise, its kinda like dancing with Tulle - or chicken wire!

 

[alosha]

hmmm.. Have you actually danced with chicken wire? Farm-house fusion style?

 

[Zorba]

For double veil work, because I'm tall and I always use half-circles I need veils that either come in 54-inch width fabric (to make 3-yard veils) or I need to piece them. Tissue lame pieces well, and it's hard to see the seam while the veils are in motion. But with organza the seam would be much more obvious and ruin the look.

How about making them from gores?

All I know about Organza for DV is hearsay - I really need to try it for myself - but I love it for single veil.

From my article on veil fabrics:

Organza is often overlooked as veil fabric as it is generally stiff. Many organzas are indeed too stiff, but some work very well for veils. I have two veils made of organza. I had to run them through the washing machine a couple of times to soften them up! The result is a veil that is probably all around the best behaved of all veil fabrics. You cannot do ultra floaty veilwork (such as I love) with organza, but it floats better than you'd expect - and it is absolutely the best fabric I've encountered for "power veil". It just will not collapse or get flustered regardless of how hard you slash it through the air, it just folds in gracefully, and linearly. It can be used to make half circle veils, but not three quarter circles - the third quarter collapses.

 

[Zorba]

hmmm.. Have you actually danced with chicken wire? Farm-house fusion style?

:lol::lol:
Nope. Haven't danced with Tulle either! :dance:

 

[shiradotnet]

How about making them from gores?

Yes, you certainly could make gores. I've done it. They take more sewing skill and also more fabric than piecing the curve, but they look better.

 

[samiagamal]

I suppose it's like teaching yourself anything else. Videos do exist for double veil (I recommend Aneena's, I DO NOT recommend Petite Jamila's).

hey shira! there was also someone else that did not recommend Pjs dvd
can i ask you guys why?
i watched it but i dont know anything about veils so what was bad about it?

thanks!