Forums > Social Chat > Costume?

Posted: 11th Jul 2001
hey touch. how ya doin?recently i've had this problem myself.my main original costume was a cyborg esk creature. I wore a boiler suit that had metal hinged arms with circuit boards (complete with flashin L.E.D's ), and a mask (old paintballing face-mask with visor). the mask has loads of flashing lights on the front but has a U.V cob-web painted on the front. (a back pack is work in progress , but it's got clear tubing encorparated in it which is filled with glow-stik fluid <1cm diameter> ), like cyborg blood it gets pretty hot but is OK for upto two hours or so. now that the weather is slightely better, i'm poi'ing more outside so with fire i wear all black. black combat pants and a huge black cotton hoody. (looks quite sinister with the hood up )But, thinking about it, at the last "Jugglers Ball" we put on (circus skillz event in manchester), I really enjoyed spinning with some 'slinky's' (huge UV springs). I'm now thinking of some springy-type costume to match my new toys Oh, also, i wanted to make a white straight jacket, with really long (un-tied) arms.if the pants were also white and and were long, prehaps i could poi on stilts ? the arms would actually be the poi anyway, good luck and i really hope i could help. if it turns out well, come over to the next Jugglers ball to show it off (half price entry and mucho kudos for good costumes ) C'an'U

Posted: 11th Jul 2001
So, there are some basic questions that would ned to be answered before this monumental questions of yours can be concidered (btw, I have a certificate in theater costume and make-up design).1) What type of venue are you targetting or planning on performing at?2) Is there a set type of music you perform to?3) What is your style of swinging, generally speaking...large or small motions, slow or fast, close to the body or more away?4) How techinical are you getting? Do you need to do flips and rolls? Btb?5) Were you thinking make-up, mask, head to toe or looking for just clothing?If you can answer these then I bet you can come up with an appropriate costume, and most certainly with all the wonderful people on this site.------------------Pele Higher, higher burning fire...making music like a choir...

Pele
Higher, higher burning fire...making music like a choir
"Oooh look! A pub!" -exclaimed after recovering from a stupid fall
"And for the decadence of art, nothing beats a roaring fire." -TMK

Posted: 11th Jul 2001
Touch--I'm guessing that even if you don't have a particular costume in mind, you might have some kind of style or theme that you'd prefer. Also, you've probably got a budget in mind, some preference for buying vs making it yourself (or a combination of the two), etc.Once you've figured those things out, that'll help narrow your options. And all that said, here are my general bits of advice:1. Less is more. Several reasons for this:a) in my opinion, firedancing is and should be sexy, so play it up; b) the less you are wearing, the less your clothes can get in your way or catch fire; c) firedancing is a workout, so you want to be able to shed heat.2. Some may object, but I strongly believe leather is the best material. It doesn't burn, it's generally durable, it also ties in well with 1.a above. Note that leather does not automatically mean "black"--one fire-friend has made a halter top out of pink metallic leather, so anything is possible. I've managed to get denim jeans to catch fire, but not leather. If not leather, natural fibers. Try to avoid synthetics, and if you must go with synthetics, make a special point to hunt down some flame-retardant treatment for it.3. Obviously you want to minimize loose-hanging dangly stuff. Pele makes a good point in asking what your style is, because you can get away with more or less depending on your style. With some moves that are close to the body, even slightly baggy jeans tend to get in the way (at least for me).

Laugh while you can, monkey-boy

Posted: 11th Jul 2001
touch- well if you are gonna use UV light then try body paint or even white clothes and black out your hands and face. and i agree more is less. sammy