Things change. We belly roll with the punches

The last entry was October? Wow! And now it's February. Sorry for the radio silence, all ye lurking readers.

In the last episode I excitedly described my new project for a black bedleh with leopard skirt and gauntlets. I explained it was for my drum solo duet with a troupe mate.

Well, since then, things have changed. Our troupe director was sketching the lineup for the show and realized she had too many drum solos and not enough up-beat, clap-along Arabic pop numbers. So she asked us to find a different song. Good thing, too - we probably weren't ready to choreograph a complicated drum solo and to be honest, I had been feeling anxious about it. It's been a few months now and we've finished the choreography. We successfully auditioned the piece for our director on Monday. Whew!

The Black and Gold Leopard Costume - Introduction

A troupemate of mine and I will be chorographing and performing a duet at our student showcase in May. The song we've chosen is a drum solo - something rather complicated and upbeat - and the name of the song, loosely translated, means "Feline Predator". We've decided that leopard print costumes would be appropriate.

Trouble is, I don't own a leopard print costume.

Now, as much as I'd love to order a beautiful Turkish leopard-print Bella, I just can't afford $900 for a costume right now. As a student dancer, this costume will likely get used once or twice a year, at most.

I can, however, order a leopard-print skirt and gauntlets, and then wear a black bedleh with it - affordable, versatile and classic.

I don't own a black bedleh, either. So that's where we begin.

Adventures in Sequins Inaugural Post

Welcome to Adventures in Sequins. I'm Samira. This blog will be about my attempts at belly dance costume construction - my failures and victories, the techniques I try and (with any luck) the final results! I hope to share some vendor information and perhaps review some articles and web sites for their DIY costuming info.

A bit about me: I've been studying Middle Eastern Dance for four years, which is to say I'm still a beginner. I currently study with Amarna of Banat el Nile Dance Academy in Calgary, AB as a member of her senior performance troupe. To me, dance is life. Sparkly things enhance the magic!

As a gauge of my sewing skill level, for those of you who might want to follow along: I consider myself an extreme novice in sewing. I've drafted and sewn darts, but I've never inserted a zipper. (In fact, there's a three-year-old project sitting in my closet that stalled when it came time to sew the zipper. I'll get to it eventually.) I can thread my sewing machine, cut out a simple pattern, muddle my way through directions, press seams and attach buttons. There's usually a significant amount of swearing.



I'm not a complete newbie when it comes to sewing belly dance costumes. To date, I've made harem pants, a tiered 10-yard skirt, cloak-style cover up, coin bra, tassel and fringe belts and a Ghawazee-inspired vest. I've worn them in public without being ridiculed, so I must have done something right. Perhaps at some point I'll go back and recount those projects. But for now this blog will report on the new projects I undertake.

Outside of belly dance costuming, I've created other costumes as well, both for myself and for my husband, including Jedi robes, pirate gear, faerie wings and even a bit of Steampunk fashion.

Also? I'm fat. So there are some special considerations for me to make when costuming. That's not to say that this blog will be about hiding my stomach, covering bulges or "camouflaging" flabby arms. It will touch on designing and creating well-fitting and flattering costumes to fit my fat body. I don't want to look like a lumpy sausage tied in sequin trim.

So thanks for joining me. Leave a comment and let me know you're out there.