BEings: You Are What You Wear!

Emily Bufferd | Oct 13, 2009 | there are 1 comments 1
BEings. Photo by Robb Creese.

BEings. Photo by Robb Creese.

The topic of costuming and appropriateness has been brought to the forefront of conversation and several articles in Dancer Magazine this past year; but after presenting work at DUMBO Dance Festival last weekend, I would like say that appropriate costuming is not only an issue in the competition world, but in the concert dance world as well.

Sitting in my front row seat at the John Ryan Theatre at White Wave, I was unfortunately privy to much more information about some people than I would have ever liked to know; please put it away!

More after the jump!

BEings. Photo by Robb Creese.

BEings. Photo by Robb Creese.

For anyone who knows me in real life; I do not tend to sugarcoat things, and while I will watch my language on here (pg13; maybe) it is time for people to realize that unless you are attending a 'gentlemans club' if you will, most people probably do not want to see your bum hanging out of a leotard, or dance shorts, or a dress, or your underwear showing out the top of your pants, or know that you are cold, or have on a purple lacy bra with yellow straps.  There is a time and a place; and during a performance is certainly not it.

I have heard the argument that it is artistic.  While I will give this argument a fair go; seeing someones bum hanging out of their dance shorts is not artistic, nor is their purple lacy bra with yellow straps (unless their costume happens to be just that).  Putting a female dancer onstage topless, in very few but albeit some instances, can be artistic.  However, when anatomy that is not supposed to be showing shows; the audience is distracted, and not always in a good way.

I, of all people, love to put my dancers onstage in a pair of dance shorts, a bra, with a sheer dress or the like over it; I am a fan of being able to see their lines and their bodies move; just not as much as I have been seeing lately.  There is a difference between seeing the body move, and knowing whether someone waxes or not.

I found myself horrified with some of what I saw.  I went to watch talented dancers perform and got far more than I had bargained for from several women performing.

If I, as an audience member, am distracted by costuming to the point that I am no longer paying attention to the dancers movement (which is the point of presenting work, no?), costume choice was poor.  There are several methods to fix a lot of the problems I saw:  body tape, hairspray, strapless bras, nude colored undergarments, safety pins, wearing underwear at all!

I was, and am still baffled at these dancers levels of comfort with attire that really covered nothing; to an extent I applaud them for being THAT comfortable with their bodies.  But at the end of the day, I came to watch a dance performance and that is all I wish to watch!

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re: BEings: You Are What You Wear!

Generally speaking, my opinion is that competitions are good in moderation; they are a means of ensuring quality in a studio, they give students a wider view of the dance world and the possibilities within it, they give exposure to parents, students, and faculty of new styles, techniques, and teachers. Competitions also give something great for students to work towards. On the flip end, studios that compete need to be aware of where their students stand and keep them up to the standard of the competition. In my opinion, it is not a positive thing for anyone to attend a competition where you are extremely under par year after year. That is not to say that the only reason for competing is to win; that is a dangerous and toxic mindset to get into. But from a business standpoint, it is not going to be profitable to charge students to go see how much better the other local studios are so that they will not have to use any same day loans.

user icon CharlesE | Oct 16, 2009 | rated none by 0 others

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