SYTYCD: Final Four video and thoughts on Evan

Last night my Tivo, based on some bogus program data, missed the first hour of the So You Think You can Dance finale. Facebook to the rescue, one complaint later (bracelet moved to other wrist) and I had friends telling me their online sources for the videos. Hooray! For those of you who missed it:
check it out here.

Over on Bhuz, there is a thread about this season, and some talk about why Evan has made it this far on the show. After the jump, have a look-see at my thoughts on it. What do you think?

Performance makeup

Applying dance makeup is part necessity, and part ritual. The necessity is in making sure that our entire look is effective for performance--the expression in our eyes can be seen, the balance of our colorful costume with our hair and makeup is considered, etc. But while there are practical concerns with makeup, there is an emotional component as well. The act of getting "made up" is part of putting ourselves "into character", if you will. Even if we feel we are entirely ourselves in performance, there is still a different aspect of You that must be drawn out for stage that is different from the everyday grocery-shopping-laundry-doing You, right? Putting on our makeup, and of course costume, is a way to step out of who we are all the time to become the polished performer we wish to present to our audience.

Good performance makeup takes practice! Just like we don't just go through the motions of dancing, but instead build our skills through regular study and rehearsal, good makeup also takes repetition and experimentation to build our confidence and skill. Performers trained in other forms of dance and theater learn this from very early on, but sometimes we bellydancers seem a little behind the curve in understanding the need for strong makeup to create a more powerful performance.

To be fair, we bellydancers tend to be in a unique position when it comes to make-up: we have to have a lot of different looks because our performances are done in so many different venues! One week you will be up close in a dark restaurant, next week you will be outdoors in a sunny festival, the next dancing in a living room for a birthday party, and the next your are on a big stage with full stage lighting. And each requires different considerations when it comes to what we do with our makeup to give the most KAPOW! to our face! For today, let's consider stage makeup techniques, since much of these elements can be built up or toned down for various venues; but the individual elements are still key components to any performer's makeup repertoire.

Costuming for tribal dancers

This summer my students performed in a neighborhood parade, and some newer students had to invest in their first dance costuming to participate. One student asked some great questions, and I wanted to share my thoughts with her, with you!

Q. "How do you manage the colors and patterns and stuff? Do you go for the same color, or complimentary colors? How do you keep things looking put together and elegant and fun instead of looking busy and tacky? I mean, I don't want to buy a nice hip scarf only to find down the road that it clashes with everything!"

Seattle Tribal Bellydance at Greenwood Seafair Parade!

A group comprised of inFusion Tribal, Nomaditude, and students of mine collaborated to perform in the 59th annual Greenwood Seafair Parade, and boy did we have fun! We have lots of photos from many different sources, so poke around these links to see how beautiful everyone looked! Thanks to the dancers, our Parade Pals, and the parade organizers for all they did to make this fun day possible!

Here is a collection of photographs from various sources around the web, from friends and fans!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=95578&id=780707662&saved

In case you can't view the Facebook album, here are some other sources of images, some of which overlap the album above.

My Mother-in-Law took these pics while walking in the parade with us:
http://picasaweb.google.com/clarabear43/GreenwoodParade2009#

This was a photographer at the parade, posted on his Flikr account:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kfo/3756457658/in/set-72157621704414713/

The parade was fun and a new challenge for us, and it was a beautiful day for it! Everyone looked so amazing, and rolled with the changes throughout this fun evening, which we capped off with food and drinks at Snoose Junction. We are already looking forward to next year!

Make-up tip: cheekbones glow, eyes pop!

A great way to make your eyes pop, and your cheekbones look more defined:

Apply a light dusting of light colored blush or bronzer just below the peak of your cheekbones. Then apply a lightly shimmery powder, beginning at your apples, along the cheek above the cheekbone below the eye (but not on the lower lid), and around the outer curve of your eye socket. Look closely and you can see this technique is applied in the photo to the side. Experiment with ideal placement for more dramatic or subtle effect.