5 ways to Improve Your Performance

2. Costume

I’ve seen performances that had the potential to be great ruined by poor costume choices. I’ve also seen performances that would have been mediocre, but managed to salvage some respect because of a hot costume. There’s so much that goes into your costume selection, it cannot be an afterthought. For the most part, your costume will be the first thing people see, usually before you even start dancing.Your costume will determine whether you are a professional dancer. Your costume will sell your show. Promoters look for pictures of you in a hot outfit, doing some dramatic pose, because thats what sells tickets. Here’s some simple rules when it comes to putting together your performance costume:

A. No Jeans. “What about black jeans?” – No. ” What about white jeans?” No. “What about fashionable jeans?” No. Cut-off jeans, Black jeans, blue jeans, tight jeans, loose jeans, women in jeans, men in jeans. If it can be described using the word “jeans” or “denim”, then it cannot be paired with “Latin Performance Costume”

B. One word- BLING! When it comes to rhinestones it’s never enough. So you’re placing the order for rhinestones, and they ask you how many gross you want. One gross is 12 dozen (144 pieces). You may be thinking “One HUNDRED and FORTY FOUR! That’s WAY more than enough!” If you put 144 stones on a shirt, it will look very sad. People will look at you backstage and ask if your stones fell off in the wash. Multiply that number by 10 and you might be getting closer to a good looking shirt. If you are planning to stone a dress, multiply that number by 20, and then match it with sequins, fringe,appliqués, and glitter. Now you are going in the right direction. I have never seen an outfit that was too sparkly, so don’t be afraid that you will overdo it. In selecting your stones, don’t get the cheap plastic stones from your local craft store! Go for Swarovski Crystal flat back stones. You can order from www.rhinestones.com, give yourself about a week of sitting in a quiet place and glueing on rhinestones. It’s tedious. But when the lights come on and you look like you are wearing a suit of armor, it’s worth it.

update – As an alternative to swarovski stones, you can order Czech Preciosa crystals – cheaper, harder, and sparklier.  Rhinestoneguy.com Thanks for the tip Irene!