The mysterious and sensual culture of the East has always attracted many fans. Relatively recently - only from the end of the XIX century - Europe, and then the rest of the continents began to reveal its secrets. The rhythmic music and graceful movements of oriental dances have made them popular all over the world. Learn more about one of their important parts - outfits for their performance.
Costumes for oriental dances
Most often, they consist of an embroidered bodice, skirt or harem pants. But in reality, ethnic oriental costumes look much more modest. Sometimes it was enough for a dancer to simply tie a scarf around her hips on top of the rest of her clothes to emphasize her movements.
Costumes for dancing among representatives of different countries have significant differences.
So, the Turkish outfit includes:
- gemlek - a thin shirt;
- trousers - wide trousers, tightened on the ankles;
- entari - fitted caftan, dressed on top of gemlek;
- Zhelek - fitted jacket to the hips.
A dancer from the Levant (countries of the eastern Mediterranean - Syria, Lebanon, Israel) wears a loose dressing gown called toba. This type of clothing corresponds to the hot climate of these countries. Made from thin cotton, it protects the skin from sunburn and gives coolness. Such scenic oriental costumes are richly decorated with embroidery, rhinestones, coins. They make long, wide sleeves that can be used in the performance of some dance movements. For this purpose, toba is often associated with abaya, but the second is an element of outer clothing. Its classic color is black, but dance costumes often circumvent this limitation.
The hot climate of Egypt also suggested clothes that were similar to you. Therefore, a common form of costume is a long loose shirt dress called Galabey. Most often, it was white or striped. But for the stage, oriental costumes are decorated with voluminous embroidery from laces around the neckline, on the cuffs and hem. On top of the Galabei, they sometimes wear the abaya.
Melaya is another traditional Egyptian element of clothing, which is a wide black shawl that all Egyptians wrapped around themselves before leaving the house. Today she has lost her strict traditional destiny, but she has become the basis of a new style of oriental dance - Escandarani or Alexandria. It plays out the movements with a shawl dressed over a bright short dress with an asymmetric hem. Melaya is richly decorated with various decorative elements.
Show bellidans
Oriental costumes familiar today, which are most often found at performances and are sold in specialized stores, are not traditional. They appeared as a result of the popularization of belly dancing in Hollywood films of the 30-40s and created the image of an exotic seductress. This direction got its name - show bellidans. For an oriental woman in real life, such clothes would be unacceptable. Therefore, such costumes are exclusively stage wear.
Good manners
Luxurious costumes for oriental dances are needed, as a rule, for performances. But before you get an expensive outfit, specify what style other participants will have. If folk dances in ethnic costumes are supposed, a show-bellidance outfit will be extremely inappropriate. This will be a manifestation of disrespect for the organizers of the event, other participants and spectators.
In any case, overly explicit clothing or the repetition of images of heroines from popular films are considered bad manners.
DIY costume for dancers of different ages
They say that a talented person is talented in everything. Many dancers prefer to make their own costumes - taking into account not only personal aesthetic preferences, but also making the decoration more practical.
And for beginners or amateurs, buying an expensive stage outfit (prices for which range from 50 to 500 dollars) may seem unjustified. The same goes for children - they grow quickly, and the expensive kit will soon be out of size. You can make an oriental costume with your own hands at minimal cost, but you will have to devote several nights to hard work.
Begin by defining the color scheme and style of the outfit. The simplest costume of an oriental beauty for a girl or an adult woman consists of three elements: a bodice, a belt and a skirt. Let us dwell on each in more detail.
Bodice
This is the most difficult element. An ordinary bra is taken as a basis. Color does not matter, because it must be fitted with a fabric to match the suit. The main thing is for him to sit perfectly. It is advisable that the straps come unfastened - so you can experiment with different types of their location.
Choose a full or closed cup with good support so you don't look vulgar. With the youngest dancers it’s easier here: just a topic or a shortened blouse.
While working, try on the bodice for yourself. If you pull the fabric somewhere, it may cause discomfort when worn, and you will have to redo everything. You can decorate it with coins, sequins, rhinestones, small artificial flowers, ready-made decorative elements with embroidery, etc. The main thing is to fix everything to the conscience. You will move a lot, and flying beads are unlikely to add charm to you.
Belt
The easiest solution will be a finished shawl with coins in tone along with which you can tie around your hips. But if you are ready to work hard and make an almost professional oriental costume for a girl or woman, then do this:
- Take 4-5 sheets of A4 paper, glue their short edges together.
- Wrap them around the belt and pin them with sewing needles (the help of another person will greatly simplify the task).
- Mark with dots the desired depth and width of the belt.
- Remove the sheets, draw a pattern. As a rule, a belt is made of two separate parts - the front and back, and only then they are connected.
- Cut the required amount of fabric along the pattern, not forgetting the seam allowances.
- The belt will lie well if you make tucks. To understand how many are needed and where, attach the fabric to your hips and see where it does not fit.
- Work on the edges of the belt and decorate it.
- Sew on Velcro or hooks for fastening.
Skirt
Here you have to remember school labor lessons. Namely, tailoring a skirt-sun. She is best suited for different styles of dance. Most often, two types of fabric are used:
Biflex is a stretch material that stretches well in both directions. It is quite expensive; a minimum of 1-3 m takes a skirt for an adult woman .
Chiffon is perhaps the most popular choice. It has many colors and a magical flying texture. It is much cheaper than supplex, but we must not forget that in order for the skirt to not shine through, several layers of fabric will be required. Therefore, the skirt takes about 20 m of material.
For inspiration, look at professional dancers and their oriental costumes. Photos of some of them are presented in this article.
Advice
If the dance event will be held outdoors, then consider this when creating a costume. Fully synthetic fabrics will not allow the skin to breathe, and large metal elements can become very hot in the sun and cause discomfort. The smallest spots will be noticeable on a light suit, so choose fabrics and accessories that can easily survive at least hand washing.
Also do not forget about shorts under the skirt. You don’t want the audience to be puzzled if they’re wearing your underwear. Choose bodily dance shorts or make them from the same fabric as the bottom of the outfit.
When you make an oriental beauty costume for a girl, do not forget about convenience. The child should be comfortable if the tissue will prick and irritate the skin, this will only add stress before the performance.