It is true that dance and dance costumes share a complex relationship, which doesn’t simply reflect the dance practice. It also reflects on social behavior and other distinctive cultural values. Dance costumes can be variably divided into multiple categories: folk, historical, traditional, modern, ballroom, musical, etc. No wonder the influence has significantly spread from fashion to dance and back again.
This article will discuss some of the most fashionable dance costumes that have ever existed until today. Let’s dig in.
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Folk-Dance Costumes
From the earliest fifteenth century, folk dance steadily developed in Europe. The costumes were remarkably complex, while each region had its own unique dance forms. Some Eastern European folk dances include mazurkas, czardas, polkas, etc. These dance forms invariably spread across France and England. Besides, the dance costumes highly reflected their backgrounds.
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Historical Dance Costumes
Each of the festivities at European Courts demanded highly elaborative dance costumes. The style of those costumes was quite similar to that of the regular dress during that time. For instance, laced corsets, farthingales with skirts, and puffed and slashed sleeves were some standard features of the attires. During the early 21st century, the historical dance costumes were highly evident in the activities going on in dance organizations.
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Ballroom-Dance Costumes
Ballroom dance costumes were typically in the form of special evening dresses. Costume designers exquisitely designed each of them to fit the needs of every occasion. And eventually, the dance costumes for swing, tango, mambo, Latin, etc., became all the more erotic.
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Belly-Dance Costumes
Belly dance originates from snake-like movements provided by some sisters of a woman who was giving birth. This was only to inspire her while delivering her baby. And in the late 19th century, enthusiasts brought it into the United States from the Arabic world.
Dancers of this genre wear exotic-colored fabrics that are embroidered with beads, semi-precious stones, and paillettes. While the tops are semi-transparent, the fringes distinctively reveal the stomach and the navel. It is accompanied by coin belts and hip scarves, which complete the belly-dance outfit.
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Modern-Dance Costume
The costumes for modern-dance forms were essentially free-flowing. And while most of the dancers let their hair loose, it permitted incredible freedom of the dance movement. The costumes eventually evolved when they moved away from traditional ballet techniques. Both makeup and costumes received a unisex look. So choreographers felt it irrelevant to differentiate between male and female dancers.
Wrapping Up
Apart from this listing, there are other types of dance costumes. Each dance form has different types of costumes since each of them requires different body movements. Also, this efficiently allows the spectators to differentiate between each of the unique dance forms.