Carmen Miranda costume
My most popular act is also one of my oldest - Yolanda Banana, The Banana Act. I think it is pretty special, but it is by no means a flashy, stage-filling act. It falls short for two reasons: The choreo is sloppy and the costume is amatuer.
During the last year I think I've improved the choreo quite a lot. I've been emulating simple, characteristic Carmen Miranda moves and adding a great deal of my newfound poise and deliberation.
But the costume is still lacking! No small reason for that is the fact that I designed and sewed the entire costume myself. Since the picture above, I've bedazzled the vest (removing the buttons), bedazzled the skirt, and added a larger, brighter headdress. It's a small improvement that makes me proud to wear the costume in smaller venues & bar shows. However, it still looks really DIY. A whole new, shinier, pouffier costume is required if I want to make this act my signature!
Naturally I look to Carmen Miranda's amazing and extravagant dance costumes for ideas! This is what I'm imagining for my new costume. Not the most flashy of Carmen's movie costumes... I think it is something I can make myself (I excel at ruffles!) and adjust into pieces for stripping.
The skirt I can handle; it makes sense. But the top and the armwarmers are terrifying to me! I don't know where to start with drafting a pattern for that....
Then I have to make a HUGE hat/headpiece! augh! I think I might commission that b/c I'm not sure I can make something that will hold as much fruit as I want...
My feeling is that coordinating the color & fabric of the dress, top and hat, over-embellishing, and over-acessorizing with lots of matching bulky beaded necklaces and bangles will help me to achieve the stage-worthy, dramatic, and awesome costume that I need to make this my signature act!
During the last year I think I've improved the choreo quite a lot. I've been emulating simple, characteristic Carmen Miranda moves and adding a great deal of my newfound poise and deliberation.
But the costume is still lacking! No small reason for that is the fact that I designed and sewed the entire costume myself. Since the picture above, I've bedazzled the vest (removing the buttons), bedazzled the skirt, and added a larger, brighter headdress. It's a small improvement that makes me proud to wear the costume in smaller venues & bar shows. However, it still looks really DIY. A whole new, shinier, pouffier costume is required if I want to make this act my signature!
Naturally I look to Carmen Miranda's amazing and extravagant dance costumes for ideas! This is what I'm imagining for my new costume. Not the most flashy of Carmen's movie costumes... I think it is something I can make myself (I excel at ruffles!) and adjust into pieces for stripping.
The skirt I can handle; it makes sense. But the top and the armwarmers are terrifying to me! I don't know where to start with drafting a pattern for that....
Then I have to make a HUGE hat/headpiece! augh! I think I might commission that b/c I'm not sure I can make something that will hold as much fruit as I want...
My feeling is that coordinating the color & fabric of the dress, top and hat, over-embellishing, and over-acessorizing with lots of matching bulky beaded necklaces and bangles will help me to achieve the stage-worthy, dramatic, and awesome costume that I need to make this my signature act!