Hair, Makeup, and Costumes

Dance hair and makeup has to be big, bold and out there. The audience has to be able to see it from the stands or from where ever they’re sitting. From far away, so the lips are normally red, the eyes are dark and the hair is normally done according to the style of dance being performed. This is normally how it’s done for any type of performance, whether it’s cheerleading, dance, show choir, etc. The makeup and hair must be big in order to be seen by the judges and to add to the overall performance and showmanship. It also adds to the theme or feel of the performance as well.

 
Up close each person may look like a clown with all this bright crazy makeup on, but from far away it looks more natural and normal but still adds to the feel of the performance. The makeup also adds another element of unification to the team, another thing that ties the individual dancers together to make the routine look more in sync and together besides just the costumes.


The costumes also add another element to the performance. Besides everyone wearing the same outfit, unifying them, they also add to the theme or feel of the performance as well. Dance costumes are normally made of stretchy material that’s usually sparkly. It’s stretchy so it’s easier to move around in and more comfortable to dance in. it’s sparkly because you want it to catch the judges’ eyes and make them remember you.

 
The dancer’s or performer’s hair is also another unifying element. In other performance’s it can be used as a piece to help project the theme of a piece, but in dance the hair is done more towards the practical sense than any. In individual dances or solos the hair is more important, but in team dances the hair doesn’t have to be big or voluminous, it has to be practical and mostly depends on the dancer or dancers. You have to be able to turn and do certain moves and tricks so you mostly want your hair out of your face and pulled back tight so you don’t have to worry about it. A lot of times in team dances it’s just too much work to get everyone’s hair done the same and in a timely fashion so simpler styles are done most often. On my team, during competitions, we perform two routines, our pom and jazz routines. Because we’re doing both and doing them pretty close one after the other than it’s easier to just leave our hair in the same style for both so we don’t have to mess with them.