KuteNurse

What about wearing a pair of tight fitting bicycle shorts underneath? Low fitting of course

Shanazel

Would dancing to pop music call for a pop gun?

I asked one of my first dance teachers what to wear under a costume and she got very huffy, finally snapping, "Panties!" as if I'd asked her something incredibly personal rather than something very practical.

Salome

There are some kinds of costumes, I think, that call for a thong or little underwear. Those super tight, second skin lycra dresses show every detail and VPL is unattractive. Course in those costumes there is not really a concern of flashing because they are so tight.

Jack

Aw, come on people! Don't you like granny panties? :P
Maybe skin colored underwear would work?

__________________
Shoot for the Moon. Even if you miss, you will land upon the stars.

Jack

Aw, come on people! Don't you like granny panties? :P
Maybe skin colored underwear would work?

__________________
Shoot for the Moon. Even if you miss, you will land upon the stars.

janaki

Skin colored underwearnever work cos it gives people illusion that you have nothing underneath, although you are wearing soemthing. The best is to go for boy shorts (what Salome is talking about) that match the color of the costumes. They looks nice and sexy and yet very dignified. When I where chiffon circle skirts I wear matching jersey or lycra boy shorts under them. If I am on the stage I wear full length matching tights.

Aisha Azar

Dear Shanazel,
Have you not heard of the "Pop gun", invented expressly for the purpose of shooting people who are doing the wrong dances to pop music???


Dear Group,
I occasionally have advised some of my dancers not to wear underwear with certain costumes. Nothing amiss has happened. I have costumed both dancers and actors and sometimes the undies interfere terribly with a line on a garment, or cause other issues. It all depends on what the dancer is doing, how high the stage is, and a number of other things. There is nothing wrong with going commando in some circumstances.


Regards,
A'isha

Shanazel

One can do wrong dances to pop music? It is all I can do to bring myself to listen to most of it, much less dance to it.

Aisha Azar

Dear Shanazel,
I think it's pretty safe to say that most pop music, regardless of cultural origin, does not really lend itself well to belly dance. Most of it is just not complex enough to really give the dancer room for physical expression in depth. I think that occasionally one sees one of the big Egyptian stars doing a pop piece among other dances in her evening's repertoire, but it is just one dance in a whole show, NOT the sum total of her dance offerings.
American Pop, Rap, Algerian and other cultural offerings such as Rai music, etc, are not meant to accompany belly dance. Rap and Rai often have political messages that must be found beyond the rhythm and lyrics, cutting to the heart of the meaning. Like one of my Arab friends once told me about a certain Jeel song. "He's saying one thing but it really means something else.

Dear Yasmine,
Thank you for giving a very succinct and clear statement about Rap and Belly Dance.

Regards,
A'isha

nightdancer

If you are on the floor, level with your audience, they cannot (usually) see up your dress. There is absolutely nothing wrong, and indeed is sometimes necessary, to not wear underwear, or very very small underwear, as not to have VPL. (visible panty line) Up on a raised stage, with your audience below you, it becomes a different story. Some wonderful person wrote an essay about how to shoot dance shows, with lots of pictures.

Harald Heim Photography - Photographing Dance Shows


If you look at the picture of the three women in red, on the raised stage (great picture, btw) you can easily see what we are talking about. If the audience is 4 feet below them. Most of the rest of the photos are done on the same level and its totally a non-issue.

I have a friend that wears cheerleader's shorts under her costume. Across the butt, they say "NO PEEKING!!"