Source Material by DanceVision
Not all ballroom dancers participate in events, but some dancers find events and their environments bring a sense of accomplishment, gratification, and excitement like none other.
Whether you are a seasoned event-goer, or just starting your journey into the glitz and glamour of competitive ballroom dance, here are some helpful tips on how to navigate.
Ballroom Hair and Makeup
A crowd favourite element of ballroom? The opportunity to get glammed up! When you step onto the dance floor, whether you are a leader or a follower, hair and makeup play an essential part in your presentation. Here are some tips:
Hire a Professional – Some dancers enjoy doing their own hair and makeup or do so to save the expense of hiring someone. For others, spending 5 minutes battling with a false eyelash and some glue is not worth the trouble. Every competition hosts vendors who are seasoned professionals in ballroom hair and makeup. They are efficient with their time and have the experience to suggest styles that will suit you and your costume, ensuring that you look your best on the dance floor.
DIY Tip – If you choose to do your own hair and makeup, know that ballroom glam has similar qualities to other stage makeup. Hair is generally slick and secured with hair pins, hair nets, and hairspray so that it doesn’t move around when you dance. Short ballroom hair can also be slicked, crimped, or curled to create fun and stable hairstyles. Ballroom makeup involves foundation, highlighter, blush, and bronzing products to catch and reflect the powerful lights present on the competition floor. Here are some helpful videos to get you started: Ballroom Hair and Makeup and Dancesport Smokey Eye.
Don’t Forget the Nails – It can be easy to forget about your fingers and toes, but when we spend so much time ensuring proper hand and arm placement and executing beautiful turnout, many dancers like to use acrylic/gel/press on nails to help extenuate and elongate the beautiful lines.
Where to Find a Costume
There are three ways to find you the perfect fit so you can feel performance ready at any budget.
Rent – It’s like Blockbuster, for dance costumes! Renting is a service offered by some designers and fellow dancers. It is a great opportunity to test drive a dress or suit before you purchase your own, and normally costs significantly less than outright buying a costume.
Buy Second Hand or Consignment – These are costumes that have been worn but are generally still in excellent condition. They have been deep cleaned and, if necessary, re-rhinestoned before finding their new homes. Prices can vary, but this is another great option if you’re not ready to commit to a custom costume quite yet.
Customize – You can work with a dress/suit designer to commission a costume based on your specifications and style preferences. How amazing is that? Of course, this is an investment, but when you can choose exactly what you want, you’ll be glowing on the competition floor.
Types of Costumes
Latin/Rhythm
Dresses – Rhythm and Latin dresses are generally short in length to show off leg action and fast footwork. What’s most important is that the dress fits well so that a dancer does not feel like the dress is moving or slipping while they’re performing.
Tops & Bottoms – Leaders often wear “Latin pants” (available to purchase from most costume designers or can be ordered online) and a shirt. Shirts can be almost any style: short or long sleeve, with or without rhinestones, you can even consider adding a vest.
Standard/Smooth
Dresses – These gowns are floor length – think Cinderella. Smooth dresses reflect the diverse style of American Smooth dancing. They are built with long but lightweight skirts. Often designed with slits to show off leg action and accommodate plenty of spinning and turning. Bodices often have cutouts, open backs, or 3D elements such as pearls, feathers, or flowers adhered to the dress. If you are participating in Standard the dresses include floats, an accessory that hangs off the sleeves of the dress creating movement as the dancer glides across the floor.
Tops & Bottoms – Like followers, Smooth leaders have great freedom when choosing a costume. Smooth suits are made with flexible materials, can be made in a multitude of colours, and can even include rhinestones! If you are participating in Standard leaders typically wear a black or dark-coloured tail suit. They consist of high-waisted pants, a tucked in shirt, a cummerbund, suspenders, a long suit jacket with tails, cufflinks, and a tie or bowtie.
We hope this article gave you some insight to the very prominent visual aspect of ballroom events. Feeling that you look your best will have an effect on your overall confidence, and on the dance floor confidence goes a very long way. Look your best – dance your best!
Happy dancing and good luck to everyone participating in Toronto StarBall 2024!
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