The Place of Dance: A Somatic Guide to Dancing and Dance Making

Day 21

Costumes are experienced as part of the body—for the viewer and the dancer. The brain maps the moving body, space immediately around the body, and fabric as one. Thus the texture, weight, volume, shape, flow, color, pattern, and detail of costumes all become part of the dance. Viewers read a dance in the first ten seconds or so of watching—looking for clues that clarify. Complex ideas are being communicated and translated , and costumes help in making the dance “legible.” Designers look for strategies to amplify intention and action. One role of a costume is to engage the actual and the imagistic. It needs to look good on the specific dancer’s body and also to invite associations and connections. For example , some clothing inspires freedom of movement: twirling skirts, sporty pants, the exposed skin of a swimsuit. Some fabrics create an expectation of intimacy. Some shapes detail a historical period. The watcher sees what’s happening in the moment and also interprets through his or her history, memory, and emotional palette.1 From the audience’s perspective, you envision your own body moving. Mirror neurons in the brain are key players in empathy, projecting (mirroring ) what it feels like to inhabit someone else’s skin, cloth, and movement . Because you wear clothes, you project yourselves inside a costume: what it feels like to reveal bare skin in underwear; the flow of the fulllength satin gown; or the formality of suit, tie, and shiny shoes. You know kinesthetically whether a costume is restricting or freeing, suggestive or irritating, revealing or disguising, historical or contemporary, safe or sexy. As in all perceptual assessment, survival responses are central: is this situation threatening, edgy, interesting, or sleep-inducing? Your alertness is impacted. Good costumes create the opportunity to experience yourself and your body in a new way. You see clothes and movements you might never inhabit : the queen’s royal robes weighing down your shoulders; a tutu plumping out your hips as you lean forward; a slip-of-a-gown or trim-of-a-trouser that would never make it in public. This is refreshing to the brain, opening possibilities. Gender-bending shifts expand that horizon: the woman in shirt and tie, the man in a skirt. Since costumes are a reflection of the times, politics of the era, and people’s concerns, cultural and social expectations are revealed. Sometimes, just a reference to an image or cultural icon is enough: a belt, boot, or bustline brings back Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, or Marilyn Monroe. Dancers have their own opinions about what they look good in, and what they are willing to wear. It’s helpful to check in with them so they feel involved in the process, but the choreographer or director also can take a Textures, Fabrics, and Costumes When you watch dance, your brain dances. —Sandra Blakelsee and Matthew Blakeslee, The Body Has a Mind of Its Own Day 21 Day 21: Costumes • 163 Exposed Underwear Day became a popular end to the semester in one advanced technique class at Middlebury College. This lively dancing day came about when colleague Tiffany Rhynard told the students about a tradition at another school where first-year students wore bathing suits for the initial month of classes. In that case, exposing the bodies for scrutiny sometimes created a damaging, self-critical impact on body image. Middlebury dancers took what was potentially threatening and turned it into an end-of-year positive affirmation of the body. After dancing and performing several concerts together, they enjoyed a liberating “dress-down” underwear day, increasing awareness about alignment, and claiming confidence with their natural appearance. Dancers practice being seen, and this includes accepting your body— not just standing in front of a mirror in the bedroom, but dancing in front of others. 164 • collaborating firm stand. An innovative costume often looks different offstage than onstage ; you have to try it to know its demands. It will affect the movement, so you have to have time in rehearsals to explore its possibilities. It won’t feel familiar, so your likes and dislikes get shaken up. A costume designer can watch what the dancers wear to rehearsal to get ideas: fabrics, lines, and colors. Many dancers have a natural sense of style that can get amplified in design; observing lets you know what they look good in, and also their areas of comfort and avoidance. You may not want to use those lines, shapes, or colors, but they...