Costuming on a Budget

Carolena Nericcio is such a day-ruiner sometimes.

When she dances, she's dolled up in fabulous textiles, what looks like authentic jewelry, gorgeous flowers... she makes it look so EASY.  There's a bit of "Oh, THIS old thing?" mixed in with "La, just collected these in my journeys and travels of a full and adventurous life, NO BIG" when she takes the stage. She looks effortlessly fantastic.

And I'm learning that it takes a lot of work to look so effortless!  The cost alone... I mean, the only reason I even own Rokedet is because she was part of a going-out-of-business sale, and you'll have to pry that belt out of my cold dead hands. In fact, it's going in the ground with me.

So, this is how I stay costumed and glorious.

1)  eBay, Forever 21, Claires. While it would be lovely to be able to own nothing but authentic Turkomen and Uzbek silver, sometimes, us budget-conscious ladies do have to go for a knockoff.  Though we may have to paint the interior with clear nail polish (it really helps!), a fabulous fake can get you through the first year or two of dancing, until you've solidified your identity as a dancer more and know what you'd like to invest in.

Tips:  Be careful about big solid pieces, where the metal can tarnish or the finish can come off. This doesn't look aged, this just looks cheap. Try something that's got a lot of chain. If it breaks, it's usually a pretty easy fix.

2)  Thrift stores.  If you live in an area with a high immigrant population, go to the thrift stores in the area. I've found full salwar kameez, saris, and my favorite batik sarong there, and for less than what you'd ever pay in a store, online, or from a tailor. If not, just wait for the whole boho trend to wane (it comes up and goes out pretty regularly) or wait until after Coachella/Bonnaroo/Burning Man/festival season.  There will be so many fringe bikini tops and vests. Sooooo many vests.

Tips:  Look for something well made, where the stitching isn't coming apart, free from holes or tears, and NO stains. Make sure it works well for your purposes, and for the love of god, if it's pilly, move on.

3)  DIY. Take a jewelry or accessory making class, or ask your ATS instructor if she'd like to put on a Craft Camp one day. Grace did one for hair flowers/hair falls, and I'm still using what she taught to this day! Also, it was like six months ago, so it wasn't really THAT long.  It's usually a lot cheaper to make a thing yourself, like the braids I just made for Club ATS on October 25, than it is to buy them already done.

Tips:  Practice and go slow!  Start with something achievable! And steer clear of Pinterest. I'm sorry, Pinterest is great, but there is far too much potential for fail. If at all possible, take some kind of class in person where you have a live, present human instructing you, in case things go Terribly Wrong or Off The Rails.

4)  AND MOST IMPORTANTLY:  Recycle!  If you have a necklace with one pretty element and the rest doesn't work, take out what you want and use it in another piece. I have a hair flower that used to be an awkward necklace, but the proportion of it is just right for the hair.  I also have this one headband I adore... it was originally a sheer caftan from Forever 21 that I adored and wore all the time, until it snagged and started to run. So, I made it a headband instead and it lives on!

Tips:  Again... start small, stay achievable, and be reasonable about what you can accomplish. This is not an indictment against any dancer's craft skillz, this is more an admission that I am the Kwisatz Haderach of trying something beyond my ability and making a bigass mess.

Dancer Chow

One of my great passions besides dance is food. I love food. Food is my favorite. I like meats, poultry, veggies, fish, breads, grains, fruits... I'll try anything once, and I'm probably inclined to like it. I love to cook, I love to eat, I love to research recipes, I love nutrition and food science... if I could have a cooking show right now, I would.

Here are some of my favorite tips to keeping your food healthy and delicious at the same time, to make sure you get the right nutrition to keep your dance engine humming along!

1)  Creamy recipe?  Use Greek Yogurt!

Replace cream, milk, sour cream, half-and-half, or anything similar with Greek Yogurt.  It's delicious, nutritious, and probiotic.

2)  Ditch the sugar, embrace the honey!

Honey comes in so many delightful varieties... orange honey is a great way to add Vitamin C when using it to replace sugar. Clover honey is like kissing an elf.  Sourwood honey is a great replacement for syrup and butter on pancakes. And just plain honey pairs well with anything... try it in your coffee. I'm serious.  Honey is also a natural antibiotic, so slather it freely on any of your dance blisters or sword-balancing stab wounds. It also has a better Glycemic Index rating than sugar, preventing the dreaded "sugar rush" and "sugar crash", and you tend to use less honey because it's sweeter than table sugar.

3)  Add your own salt!

I buy no- or low-sodium canned vegetables and stocks.  This isn't because Salt is Evil... it's necessary to support life! Also, it makes food delicious!  What I don't like is sneaky salt. I'd rather salt my own recipes to the appropriate level instead of dumping salt on top of more salt.

3)  Put down the frying pan!

Okay, I love fried, crispy, greasy anything. If it's fried, it's awesome. Especially if it's fried in butter... But there are many other ways to get delicious crispy texture while keeping fried food at a minimum.  Saute vegetables in cooking spray, or roll meat in breadcrumbs and bake it.  Roast your vegetables in the broiler or over an open flame, if you have it.

4)  Healthy does NOT mean bland!

Just because something is good for you doesn't mean it has to have a weak flavor.  Add spices, herbs, vinegar, even a dash of alcohol (red wine + literally anything = mmmmm...) to create a rich flavor. In my house, we go through garlic and lemon juice the same way some people go through bread and milk.

5)  Cook to WIN

Yes, you can win at cooking.  Make big batches of whatever you're making, so you have leftovers for another day, or just to bring to work for lunch.  Set yourself up for success so you can keep dancing.

6)  Weight, what?

Don't worry about the number on the scale! There are dancers of all shapes and sizes at all levels in all styles. Some of these tips might help you lose weight, if that's your goal, but the most important thing is to take care of and honor the body you're in. Dancers need fuel, and they need the best fuel they can get to keep it going during practices, drills, warm ups, and performances. The one and only Grace always tells us to dance in the body we are in, and that's wonderful advice... to work on improving, but not to kill yourself trying to imitate someone else. All of these food tips are merely to make the body you have, own, and move as efficient and well-fueled as it can be.

All Tribes Wednesdays! (With an aside on performance anxiety)

Now that summer is over, my awesome teacher Grace has reinstituted Belly Dance Wednesdays at one of the bellydancers' new favorite haunts, Coop's Den. We didn't have a specific performance to start with, but I was determined to at least dance in the chorus and back up the other dancers.

For those not in the know, All Tribes is how my teacher has defined an ATS performance as it was originally intended, pure improv, dancers with the same vocabulary getting together and rocking it folkloric style.  All of the ATS dancers in the area are invited, and anyone can go up during that set to join formation and groove. So there were plenty of dancers I'd never danced with before, and plenty of dancers I hadn't even met.

Of course, at one point the floor clears and nobody goes up, so one of my dance sisters from EFBD heads up there.  In ATS, one of the strong principles is that a dancer is never alone. We have to have our dance sisters' backs. So, in the spirit of participating, I headed up to take the floor with her, because we're always there for each other.

I have to be honest, I was not intending on even dancing that night, and it still happened. Oy vey. But, I was all gussied up, hair done, skirt on, makeup working, and I had a feeling later that if I hadn't danced, I would have regretted it, and I don't want any regrets when it comes to dancing.  But let me tell you... I WAS SO NERVOUS I THOUGHT I'D PEE MY PANTALOONS.

As I headed up into formation, I felt my knees begin to tremble, and my elbows got all wibbly, and I'm sure I looked like I was going to be shot.  And then I realized how funny it was, that I was looking fine as hell in my fancy jewels and freshly colored hair, my new favorite lipstick on, and a look of sheer glazed terror on my face. And then it came to my turn to lead and I went, "oh fuck."

So I went with about eight eight-counts of easy as fuck stuff (Arabic, Arabic Hip Twist, Arabic Hip Twist With Flourish, Egyptian, Egyptian Half-turn/Full-turn combo) and got the hell out of leadership just in time for the song to end.  We hit Level 3 not too long ago, but I'm still getting over my anxiety about performing where people I'm not used to can see.

There are a lot of anxieties I'm working through, through dance and through life in general. I'm kind of a brash, out-there weirdo in real life, and I work in retail management, so I'm totally comfortable just waltzing up to strangers and striking up a conversation. But in a performance context, my fight-or-flight kicks in majorly, and I get really freaked out and shaky. They say that a fear of public speaking/performance anxiety/etc. is at its base a fear of rejection from the community, and that rings true for me... I really crave reassurance afterwards (most of the time, this is directed entirely at my life partner and sous chef), and even if I have eight amazing classes in a row where I feel like I'm getting things and I'm told how awesome I did at X move, I still feel like I know nothing and I'm going to embarrass myself with my lack of coordination.

For example, I can Turkish Shimmy Quarter Turn Fade like a BOSS. I cue it all the time in class, I follow it either way with no problem, I can get out of it, it's amazing and wondrous and TSQTF and I are BFFs. I talk to TSQTF on the phone on my way to work, we get our nails done together... I love it.  But the second that people that I'm not used to dancing with are looking at me, I completely forget about TSQTF. My BFF disappears from my mind and I just... cannot.

However, although I was metaphorically shitting the bed with nervousness, I take Wednesday night as a huge win. There was a time, believe it or not, that I wouldn't have gone out at all. "Oh, no, it's cool, I'm fine just hanging around in my full costume and not doing anything. You go out there. Be young, have fun, drink Pepsi. My foot hurts so I can't dance." I was exhilarated with the fact that, though I may not have danced as beautifully as some, I did dance. Fear takes time to work through, and perhaps a little piece of it was shaken off with my shimmy.

The Bellydance TARDIS

No, I don't mean the inimitable Raks Geek and that beautiful performance (though you should absolutely check it out!), I'm talking transport.

ATS dancers have a ton of stuff. 25 yard skirts, cholis, pantaloons, tons of jewelry, tons of flowers, makeup, belts, scarves, special "choli safe" dance bras, fake hair, zills, props... and we have to get it from our homes to classes, performances, and events somehow.

Grace uses a rolling suitcase for her costumes, and to her credit, she does need it... she's carrying extra skirts, extra zills, extra scarves, merch, music, business cards, planners... the sheer amount of STUFF that she totes around is astonishing.

As I need less stuff, and am an apartment-dweller and do not particularly relish the idea of hauling a rolling suitcase around, I went with the Speedo Teamster bag. I generally like swimming bags as dance bags, because they are HUGE (designed to carry snorkels and flippers and TOWELS [towels are huge]), they're waterproofed, and they usually have separate pockets/compartments for quarantining anything wet, dirty, or gross. My "cordovan" (meaning = burgundy) Teamster is currently holding a pair of dance shoes, two 25-yard skirts, a hip scarf, Rokedet, my wallet, a bottle of water, and my phone, and there's STILL ROOM for jewelry, pantaloons, hair flowers, etc.

Anyway, this is not a paid advertisement. I do not work for Speedo, nor am I being compensated. To keep me from still blabbing about my bag, let's talk about yours, and how to choose one. So, how to choose a dance bag that you will actually use:

1. BE REALISTIC ABOUT YOUR NEEDS!  Ideally you should appreciate the bag, the contours, the color, the way it looks and fits. But this is also equipment, and much like my post on dance shoes earlier, looks are secondary to function. Instead of buying a cute bag that doesn't work for you, buy something that absolutely works that you happen to like the look of.  I used to have this problem... I would insist that a particular bag was PERFECT, I needed it, it would be fine, no problem. But after I'd fallen in love with the look, I'd realize that it didn't at all work for my lifestyle or the amount I needed to carry (here's looking at you, sling backpack). Only time and experience made me realize that function came over form when it came to matters of the bag.
2. POCKETS! ALL OF THE POCKETS! I looooove pockets. So I strongly advocate that you find a bag with pockets, sections, or some kind of division in it in case you need to keep, say, dirty dance shoes that reek from spilled beer away from your vintage hand-batik dupatti, and preferably something with an easily accessible interior pocket that you can stash money, a phone, or keys in.
3. BUT NOT TOO MANY POCKETS!  When buying the bag, take a good, critical look at all of those nooks and crannies, and make sure that they will be put to use.  One or two pockets that you kind of write off as too small to fit anything or too oddly placed to be of use is one thing, having an entire bag where you only make use of the main compartment literally defeats the purpose of having pockets in the first place.
4. CHECK YOUR CONSTRUCTION!  Trust me, you want something that's at least weatherproofed, with a reinforced bottom and zippers, and some kind of padding on the straps.  I have gone through far too many "trendy" bags to ever recommend anything else.  There was the cotton canvas messenger with a nylon web strap that gave me rugburn before the strap pulled free of the stitching and I had to tuck the whole mess under an arm. There was the fabulous mid-century style faux-croc satchel whose clasp snapped off. There was the inflatable vinyl purse that only lasted for three months before it popped. There were the series of tiny, gothy purses and my valiant attempts to cram everything in there. Invariably, these purses would tear, wear, break, snap, or leak from rain.  If you're going to be carrying anything hard to replace or electronic in nature, you definitely want something heavy-duty and waterproof.
5. CHECK YOUR LIFESTYLE!  Does the bag actually work for you?  If it's too heavy, too unwieldy, too ugly, too hard to manage, or too complicated, you just won't use it. (Remember the swing backpack I linked above? I wore one like it five times. I still have it, but I never use it).  It's a similar principle to clothing... if you're not comfortable, you'll never wear it.
6. GIVE IT A TEST RUN!  Okay, so you've picked a bag that's big enough, has the right amount of pockets, is comfortable, is built like a tank, and that you'll use. Now, before you take the tags off and lose the receipt, put all of your dance stuff in it and walk around the house with it for twenty minutes.  Does it fit everything comfortably? Is it making your arm go numb or your shoulders ache? Are any of the seams straining? Is it doing anything weird (i.e. in the eternal example of the sling backpack, is the velcro from the strap catching on your clothing and turning it into a Pilling Hafla)?  If any of these are true, take it back. Life's too short.

Marinating

So, I've been doing this dance thing for almost a year now. It's had some ups and downs, but for the most part, it's been a blast.

Last night at class, I had a really cool epiphany. I've struggled with the shimmy, been terrified of leading, and gotten confused in formations. But for some reason, it all clicked as we worked on the Turkish Shimmy 1/4 turn with a fade.

We'd done it a few weeks ago, to much confusion, and reviewed it again last night, and for some reason, all of the elements just clicked for me. Shimmy, cool. My hips were like YES YES WE WANT TO SHAKE ROKEDET ALL OVER THE CLASSROOM! My arms waned to be elegant, and my feet actually knew where they were going!

I'd never quite had this type of learning experience. I was The Smart Weirdo growing up, so a lot of the concepts we were being taught, my brain snapped up pretty quickly. A lot of the things that were challenging for me, well... I never had the greatest frustration tolerance (neurodiversity, yay) so I'd learn just enough to skate by and then never speak of the ugly incident again. I don't know why I decided to stick it out with bellydance, even though my body just didn't get it at first, but I'm certainly glad I did, because I'm feeling the payoff now.

It helps that Grace likes to throw a bunch of stuff at us, let it marinate, and then go in and refine it. That's really helpful to me at least... I can think about the new moves, play with them a little at home, get a feel for them, and then get feedback on it. I'm a fan.

I'm on TV!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2xqORmsnAg

Yes, it's public access.  Yes, it's a ten-second portion of a 2 1/2 minute segment.  Yes, I do not say anything, nor am I credited.

BUT MY FEETS ARE ON TV!

During the last segment, my fantastic teacher Grace and Eastern Fire Belly Dance are featured... and there's me, in my green skirt, purple tank top, and pretentious hand knit open toe dancin' socks! YIP!

Our debut has not been posted yet... we have to get releases back to the videographer.  I am kind of freaking out about seeing myself on video, because I know how I look when I'm looking in the mirror. I know how I look when I put my clothes on. But I do not know how I look in full costume, dancing with my sisters, with my man lookin' straight at me. He made it easy to smile, bless him.

Until then, my feets are on Naperville Public Access.

DEBUT!

Edit:  THE VIDEO!

My dance sisters and I had our debut last night, and it went AWESOME.

Awesome, of course, is a word which means "Nobody died, nobody dropped a zill, nobody got lost, nobody ditched."  My man was all compliments... he said I looked great (I felt okay about it), I looked really comfortable, I danced really well, and "no, honey, you didn't swear. I would have heard you." I got a little shaky in the middle, but at least I didn't show it on the face. And by the time the last part of the music hit, I was comfortable enough to actually have fun.

It didn't hurt that he was RIGHT THERE in front of me and grinning the whole time. It's easy to smile and loosen up a little in front of the person that tends you when you're ill.

Anyway.  One of the things I like about Belly Dance Tuesdays in Bolingbrook is that there is such a range of dancers. There are ATS tribes, Tribal Fusion troupes, and Egyptian Cabaret soloists.  Also, the group of dancers we had last night was particularly diverse... dancers of all ethnicities, shapes, sizes, ages, all coming together to watch and perform (and get a little tipsy). White dancers, black dancers, Asian dancers, Latino dancers, Christian dancers, Jewish dancers (mazel tov!), Muslim dancers, dancers in their twenties, dancers in their sixties, tiny dancers, voluptuous dancers, dancers with round bellies and narrow hips, dancers with flat bellies and big hips, tall dancers, short dancers, all kinds of dancers! One of the best acts (in my opinion) was Mahira... not only was she zilling while holding a veil (and she accompanied the live drummers at the end with her zills, WOW), she worked the crowd and got everyone fired up. Stage presence... she has it.

The night was not without its snags... some of the food took awhile to get out, for the spectators, and there was one dancer whose ADD-riddled backside lost her zills. Yep, I have no idea where they are. They might be in the house somewhere, they might have sprouted legs and gotten the heck outta Dodge. I don't know. Fortunately, my dance sister Melissa tossed me her spares and got me out of the fire. Phew! I don't know what I would have done if she hadn't thought ahead. Probably just went up there and pretended I had zills on or something, I'm good at that.

All in all, a good time was had by most, there was drinking and dancing and carousing and "Holy shit, Katrina, you have a ton of makeup on!" "I KNOW I'm a hot tranny mess!" I'm so glad I did it. I can't wait for the next one.