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Belly Dancing In Halloween Shows

© Shira

In the U.S., an annual holiday called "Halloween" falls on October 31. It's an outgrowth of the ancient Pagan holiday of Samhain, and was once believed to be a time when the veil between the worlds was thin and creatures could cross from one side to the other. In the U.S. today, it has become an occasion for people to attend parties dressed in spooky costumes.

For a change of pace, consider teaming up with other dancers to produce a Halloween show. Wear spooky costumes, use Halloweenie music, and choose props that fit the theme.

In the above photo from October, 2000, The Veiled Threats are posing with the dirty, torn, ghostly sheets they used for "veil" choreography.

Where can you start in Halloween-izing your show?

Props

Examine the dances that are already in your repertoire. Do you dance with a cane? Maybe you could substitute a witchy broom or a devil's trident. Do you like to balance a candle on your head? Then try balancing a jack o'lantern with a candle inside. What additional prop ideas can you think of?

The above photo shows the Veiled Threats posing after their Halloween show in October 1999. The devil tridents and witch brooms were substituted for canes in a raqs al assaya (cane dance) choreography.

Costuming

Think about what kind of costume to wear. If you're planning to dance with a witch's broom, then a witch costume would certainly be appropriate. Alternatively, look for inspiration at the characters that are frequently used in Halloween decorations: ghosts, black cats, spiders, bats, vampires, etc. If you're not feeling very creative, then just wear black and orange. Wear a fright wig, and maybe black out a tooth or two.

Still not sure what to do? Go to your local Halloween store, and look at the merchandise. Maybe they'll have some suitable wigs, masks, fangs, or accessories to inspire you. Or maybe, with just a few modifications, one of their costumes could be used for belly dancing. That's how I developed the black cat costume shown above. I saw an inexpensive pre-made tiger costume and copied some of the ideas from it.

Here is a picture of Dina Lydia, also known as "The Costume Goddess", dressed as a black widow spider for Halloween:

If you look closely, you'll see the hourglass on her stomach. She's preparing to devour her boy-toy escort. Visit Dina's web site to see pictures of her in other costumes and find out about her series of belly dance costuming books.