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Q & A: Patterns for Male Costumes
Costuming for male dancers can be problematic. On the one hand, there are no longstanding traditions for male Middle Eastern dancers in the US and other Western countries. But the flip side of this is that there is a lot of room for freedom of exploration and creativity. Costumes for male dancers can be based on folkloric styles, historic shapes or fantasy images. The first step is selecting a style. There are some web sites run by male dancers that feature photographs to get you started in your style research: Middle Eastern Dance Resource Guide has a page with general information on male dancers. Check out the informative resource with links to dancer's web sites, costume ideas and men's dances. http://www.bdancer.com/med-guide/culture/mdancer.html Tarik abd el Malik, protegee of Morocco has written
an insightful article entitled "Oriental Dance: It Isn't
Just for Women (And Never Was)" includes some pictures of
the author. Horatio Cifuentes, a fabulous dancer in Germany has
a series of wonderful instructional videos has a web site with
a few images. John Compton of Hahbi Ru has a web site where there
are images of the troupe. This is a more historical/folkloric
style that uses assuit tunics as the basis of their costume look.
Their troupe has a wonderful series of instructional and performance
videotapes. Kamaal is one of the top male dancers out there and
there are two photographs of him accompanied by a brief article
at: The Adam Basma troupe has a website with several images
of their leader and other dancers. Notice, when you look at the
images, all the different styles of costumes worn by this troupe
that performs dances from a variety of different regions. Jim Boz has a website with a few photographs that show
his distinctive look. David, a dancer from Oslo, Norway has a very exotic
look, check out his gallery for many wonderful photographs. Once you have selected a style, figure out what kinds of pieces you will need to create the look. Pants are a must for most male dancers. A shirt? A khaftan? Decide what you will need before you go shopping for patterns. Patterns - If you are aiming for a more folkloric or traditional style of costuming, Folkwear Patterns has some offerings for men. Check out the Algerian Suit for a complete outfit, if you don't mind dancing bare chested, but need a jacket. The Sarouelles are a pants pattern, that has several styles that work well for dance costumes. For a sultry 'Gypsy' style look with a loose flowing low cut shirt, try the Poet's Shirt Pattern. For a Khaftan style, try the Gaza Dress or the Syrian Dress. Check out their website at www.larkbooks.com If you are fearless when it comes to manipulating existing patterns, here are a few things you can try with commercial patterns: Harem Pants - This style can be adapted from sweat pant patterns. Most pattern companies have a sports pant pattern available. Check the inexpensive patterns looking for an elastic waist pants style. Simply widen the pants, and lengthen them by a few inches and then add a casing at the bottom. If your boyfriend has a nice body, pants alone with a simple veil tied around his waist might be enough. Vest - For more coverage than a costume made from a simple pair of pants, a vest might be an option. Many pattern companies have patterns that can be adapted to use for a dance vest. Look at both women's and men's vests and consider that you can alter the hemline to get the effect you like. Shirt - For a loose pirate or gypsy style shirt, look in the costume section. You can often find a loose-fitting shirt along with a harem pants style, which can be adapted for dancewear. You might need to adjust the neckline, lowering it to reveal more and possibly making the shirt fuller. Hip wrap - You will want to accentuate the waist/hip somehow, and you can go with a simple rectangular scarf or sash, or get more elaborate, with a belt with tabs, coins or tassels. A hip wrap can be made from a belt base or even a simple rectangle that wraps around the hips. There are really no patterns for this, you will have to just experiment with a piece of inexpensive cloth, cutting a strip, and wrapping it around the hip. Pin it in place and draw the shape on. Use this as a pattern for cutting out the interlining the outer covering (remember to add seam allowance) and the lining. Visit your local pattern store and when you are flipping through the pattern books, try to remove yourself from the idea of Male and Female patterns. Look for pants, vests and loose flowing shirts in the ladies sections too! |
