Travel Steps Study Guide 1.3: Attire and Footwear

The Travel Steps costume worn with a long skirt.

I teach dance in tights or with bare legs to transmit as much information as possible about placement and alignment, and I designed my short skirt bedleh specifically for Travel Steps so that viewers could see my feet and legs.  While I recommend teaching and training in clothing that shows joint articulations and body lines, I don’t suggest that dancers use my teaching clothes as a model for performance costuming.  Minimalist designs that show the entire leg may be appropriate for theatrical and fusion work, but for folklore or traditional belly dance, follow the conventions of the style you are presenting, and choose costuming that is appropriately modest or daring for each context and venue.   Most traditional costumes include a floor-length skirt, although harem pants are frequently used in American cabaret, and gartered or flare pants are used in some tribal styles.  A short skirt may work in some nightclub environments; I also suggest it as a possibility for the contemporary lyrical fusion style shown in the “Combinations with Style Variations” section of Travel Steps.  [Note from Autumn, August 2014:  Much has changed in just a few short years.  Short-skirt costuming is not such a big deal anymore.]

Most dancers will find that the pivoting vocabulary in Travel Steps is much easier to dance in a soft-soled dance shoe than barefoot.  I love the look of barefoot dancing and the connection it gives me to the floor, but I’ve never been able to build up enough callouses to pivot barefoot with the same degree of ease I have in shoes.  (A wooden floor helps too.  You’ll see and hear a few very sticky pivots in Travel Steps; I was dancing on a floor designed to provide a high degree of friction and traction for modern dancers).  If I’m dancing anywhere other than a dance studio or theater stage, I also wear shoes as a basic common sense safety precaution.

I love the Fizzion shoe by Capezio (this is the shoe I’m wearing in the practice-clothing segments of Travel Steps), but many students looking for a lower-priced option will also be happy with a basic ballet slipper.  [Another note from Autumn, August 2014:  The price of the Fizzion has dropped significantly.  It's now cheaper than many ballet slippers.] For a fancier look, Miguelito makes ballet shoes in gold and silver.  [One more note from Autumn, August 2014:  Miguelito has discontinued its metallics, although some retailers still have a few in stock. I don't know of another source.  If you do, please tell me.]  In the performance-costume segments of Travel Steps, I’m wearing Dance Paws.  Half-soles and lyrical shoes like these are also a popular choice to decrease friction without covering the entire foot.  If you’re new to dance shoes, try on several styles from several manufacturers.  The construction nuances in different shoes make a big difference in the way each design feels and performs, and it’s worth shopping around to find the perfect match for the shape of your feet and how you use them against the floor.  Nearly all dance shoes have leather soles; if you’re looking specifically for a vegan shoe, there’s one available from Cynthia King. 

I rarely dance in high-heel shoes, but they’re also a costuming option.  Heels change your weight distribution and body alignment, so if you perform in heels, I suggest that you also wear them to train.

→ Next in the Travel Steps Study Guide: Describing Positions of the Feet and Legs 

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