Cabaret Costumes:
For performing in a simple setting such as a festival you can wear a hip scarf made of coins and beads and tied around the hips over a skirt or harem pants [or both with harem pants under the skirt] and a vest or tie top.  But, when performing on stage, night club, restaurant or party the audience expects to see a cabaret costume.  The cabaret costume consist of beautiful beads and jewels.  Your costume is an extension of your dance and your personality.  The cabaret costume is a bra, belt, skirt and veil.  The skirt can be attached to the belt or be a separate piece.  You can have matching anklets, wrist cuffs, hair bands, head and neck pieces, earrings and so on.  The bead and jewel costume is made of glass or plastic beads.  Glass beads are more brilliant and reflect the light but can break.  Sequins can be plastic and are available in solid as well as many colors.  Glass and plastic stones come in sew-on or glue-on types in all shades and sizes.  Appliques are my favorite - easy to sew on and can take up a lot of space on the costume in case you decide to make your own. 


Ethnic Costumes:
This costume is perfect for festival and day time performing.  It can consist of a full skirt, harem pants, hip scarf or shawl, heavy tassel belts,  choli or vest top and many dancers like to add a head piece.  You can really use your imagination and put your costume together any way you choose.  You can also add a coin bra, tassel type belt or a fringe belt, lots of ethic jewelry and your head piece.  The tassel belt could resemble Pakistani and Afghan tribes with lots of embroidery and can be ornamented with mirrors.  The choli is more of an Indian garment that has sleeves that are 3/4 or long, an open back that ties and a bare or covered tummy.  Your head piece can be wrapped using several pieces of material or one long piece of material wrapped to give you a beautiful turban.  Then, pin lots of jewelry to your head piece.  Keep in mind that your skirt and harem pants should not be see through [no chiffon].  Try using heavy fabrics and earthy colors.


Makeup:
Stage makeup is very important if you are under spotlights because some parts of your face disappears.  The larger the spotlight, more makeup is needed; especially, on the eyes and lips.  Expressions on the face need to be seen since the mood of the dancer changes and so does the expression.  You have to make your features appear larger to compensate.  After you have applied your stage makeup, stand back and look in a mirror and check your features.  Are your lips seen?  What about your eyes and eyebrows?  The stage will wash out medium tones and cut your makeup in half.

Check the lighting where you will be performing.  When I performed at Walt Disney World in their "World Musical Showcase" I had to wear three times the usual stage makeup because I performed on the stage in the ballroom at the Contemporary Hotel and the spots were huge.  Try an elegant look.  If you want a natural look then try using earthy tones.  You do not have to match the eye shadow to your costume.

Egyptian Stage Makeup:
A cream/moisturizer.

Foundation and cover stick.

Eye cream which must be heavy and very emollient.

Blush - dark unless you are blond and then a lighter shade Kohl pencil and black is the preferred color but if you are a blond try brown/black. Kohl must be soft and easy to apply.

Three eye shades - no shiny or iridescent. I suggest three shades ranging from     medium to dark.  Such as: brown, gold and green Eyebrow pencil/color if your eyebrows are blond or light brown or you may need to just fill in thin brows.  A black or dark brown eyebrow is best.  The kohl pencil can be used for the eyebrows as well.

Mascara should be black unless you are very light with very blond eyebrows; then, try brown/black. Lips will need an lip liner and should be a darker shade from the color you are wearing. Lip stick should be a medium shade.

Try to draw the brow so it will extend 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch so it will appear larger and will frame the eye.  Apply a cream base around the eye to keep the eye shadow on longer.  Then try to redesign the eye into an almond shape.  Shadow should be three different shades and extend out: medium, dark and light.  The dark shade goes on the bottom, medium shade in the middle and light just below the eyebrow.  Use your kohl pencil to outline the entire eye.  Mascara should be applied twice on the top and bottom of the eye.  Redraw your lips with the lip liner on the upper and lower lips.  Use a darker shade than your lip stick.  Then, apply your lip stick in a medium shade.  You blush should follow the contours of the cheekbones and should be lightly applied under the ridge of the bone.  Do not apply too close to the nose and stop midway under your eyes.

Now, if applying makeup is difficult for you, I would suggest first going to a store where they have makeup consultants who will give you a free makeup giving you plenty of suggestions and colors for your skin type.  You only have to purchase an inexpensive product and sometimes not purchase a thing.  The makeup consultant are wonderful and very experience.  They usually hand out a drawing of how to apply your makeup and all you have to do is apply it but make it two or three times darker since you will be under a spotlight. 

The thing to remember is you are a dancer...not the girl next door.  You are an entertainer and makeup is part of the act.  I had a great deal of problems when I started dancing because my husband did not like makeup.  And, I was raised that lip stick was all one needed for makeup.  A photo of me in my first costume with no makeup was terrible.  My instructor, Veydah Edwards, finally had to say you cannot dance if you don't learn to apply your makeup correct.  It is all part of the dance...makeup, costume, steps and movements.  To be a professional you must look like one, dance like one and act like one.