Dancers like being swishy.
I don't mean in an effeminate, limp-wristed, gay-stereotype sort of way (though I'm sure there is overlap). No, dancers really like it when they can do a swing, a twirl, a flourish and have their garments swirl out around them. It's a neat visual effect, the way the cloth moves, the rush of wind as something breezes past. Oh yes, dancers like being swishy, a lot, and that predilection is not at all limited by gender, role, or dance form.
Of course, there are certain types of dance that encourage it more than others (or perhaps it's the opposite correlation, perhaps forms develop more twirl to them when the dancers wear more swish). The kilt, as worn by dashing Scottish Country Dancers everywhere, doesn't just serve as an emphasis to a well-toned calf. It also provides incentive to keep your moves crisp, for optimal hem-swish. When a friend first got his, he remarked that it was suddenly easier to dance well --making the kilt twirl just so seemed to be the purpose of many moves that he hadn't quite instinctively gotten while he was still wearing pants.
Contra dancers seem to thrive on adding twirls, to every move they can, including (as far as I can tell) the twirls! On the one hand, it makes for a dizzying dance. On the other, it's a great excuse to wear full-circle skirts and watch the hems fly. I've never attended a contra where fewer than fifty percent of the dancers were wearing unbifurcated bottoms, and at some bigger events, that number creeps to seventy or seventy-five!
Even the less instinctively twirly dances encourage the wearing of garments that are kinesthetically pleasing as they move about the body. Oh sure, a lot of vintage lady'swear is hoops and bustles, with enough hardware beneath the skirt to ensure total rigidity. But what do you think the purpose of a tailcoat is? It's not just designed to get in the way when you sit down --tails look splendid during turns, which is quite satisfying to the more vain among us.
There are other good ways to get that visual blur as well. Beads and fringe of flapper dresses. Tiny braids or hair worn loose past the shoulders. Scarves, ties, cloaks and coats. A varied enough crowd of dancers will have all this and more, because let's face it, having your accouterments fly out around you is both visually pleasing and just damn fun!
So grab your skirts, your kilts, that excellent dress or perfect pair of tails. Let down your hair and let it fly. Spin like you've never spun before, until the cut of cloth through air becomes audible to all around you.
Just remember to wear a really cute pair of underwear. Otherwise, it gets a bit embarrassing.
2 comments:
Are you implying that bustles and hoops don't move with the dancer wearing them when you mention their rigidity? I've had the most fun doing twirly moves while wearing such clothing -- it can take hoops a noticeable amount of time to stop swooshing about after the person dancing in them has come to a halt. And my, do they bounce with you during bouncy dances. The effect holds true for bustles as well, though has a different feel for the wearer.
@Keira: I admit that part of this is having never danced in a bustle or hoops. That being said, I think the movement of them is decidedly different from the movement of a loose skirt or a pair of tails --bouncy is an excellent word for it, or springy.
The underlying hardware (is that the right word? Is it even close?) means the skirt moves...differently from loose cloth. I'm thrashing for words a bit, but I think it's partly that the hoop skirts I've observed tend to twirl as a unit, and stay close to the body (or as close as they start) where loose skirts can twirl more up and out, and you can get significant movement from one part without forcing it from the entire skirt.
I'll keep you posted once I've had a chance to dance in such modern contraptions.
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