The Dancer Thread!

[megthehennahead]

I couldn't find a thread devoted to long-haired dancers, so I figured I'd start one! All styles welcome! Share your styling tips, funny hair stories, anything!

I'll start!

I'm a senior dance major; I do jazz, tap, and ballet (all more aimed at musical theatre). I've taken pointe off and on when it fits in my schedule. For ballet, we have to have our hair completely secured, so I typically do a milkmaid-braid type style, sometimes with flowers, and recently I've been doing a flexi-8 bun. I've had to give up on high buns because I can't get all my frizzies to behave without a TON of hairspray, and it's just so drying for my hair. For jazz and tap, they prefer that we wear our hair somewhat down but out of our faces, so I do a lot of ponytails and half ponytails. Depending on how well my hair is behaving I can let a little more down. However, in particularly sweaty classes my hair gets stuck wrapped around my neck or through an armpit (ew), and I think that's just something I've got to deal with.

What styles (of dance and hair) does everyone else do?

[Reyesuela]

10 dance international ballroom. Standard is fine. Latin is hard to secure, much harder than ballet because of inertia, but I figured out how with the lightweight hair I have now, using the band base to secure the pins. We will see when my thickness grows out.

[megthehennahead]

10 dance international ballroom. Standard is fine. Latin is hard to secure, much harder than ballet because of inertia, but I figured out how with the lightweight hair I have now, using the band base to secure the pins. We will see when my thickness grows out.

I've always wanted to learn ballroom! The closest I've gotten is a couple lindy hop classes, and I have to say, partnering and following is an entirely different animal. I am amazed at the couples who have such great chemistry and dance together so seamlessly!

[school of fish]

Professional classical Egyptian-style bellydancer here :) I wear my hair down for most of my training time since it's down for performance as well. Hair sometimes gets used as a kind of 'prop' so it needs to be accessible - it's also just part of the expected look ;)

As part of my performace repertoire I do a lot of the Egyptian and Arabic folkloric dances, and some of those need loose hair but some of them can have hair a little more contained - I usually go with a side braid if I'm dancing saidi or baladi assaya, it has to be loose if I'm dancing khaleeji.

My hair is such a slipmonster it's probably a really good thing my dance form doesn't demand tightly controlled and contained hair :p

[RedStripe]

Hi, school of fish -- another belly dancer here, mostly Egyptian and also folkloric dances. I also wear my hair down for performance, but I usually have it in a bun or tied back during training so it won't annoy me (except when my troupe is practicing our khaleeji piece :) ).

But lately I've been trying to come up with ideas for something more interesting to do with my hair than my usual (I mean of course for raqs sharqi performance -- most of our folkloric costumes include some kind of headpiece). Mostly I just leave it loose and accent it with a flower or wear a headband -- a lot of my costumes have a matching headband, which is kind of handy. But I'd like to add a little more creativity -- anyone have any ideas?

[school of fish]

Hi, school of fish -- another belly dancer here, mostly Egyptian and also folkloric dances. I also wear my hair down for performance, but I usually have it in a bun or tied back during training so it won't annoy me (except when my troupe is practicing our khaleeji piece :) ).

But lately I've been trying to come up with ideas for something more interesting to do with my hair than my usual (I mean of course for raqs sharqi performance -- most of our folkloric costumes include some kind of headpiece). Mostly I just leave it loose and accent it with a flower or wear a headband -- a lot of my costumes have a matching headband, which is kind of handy. But I'd like to add a little more creativity -- anyone have any ideas?

*waves at RedStripe* :D :D :D

I wish I could advise but honestly, I've had very little option but to leave mine loose because the combo of houdini hair and the way I use my head in dance has just been disastrous for accessories - I need unreal numbers of pins to keep my headscarves in place for folkloric :p

One thing I used to do in my early days when my hair was shorter was wear a clip-in fall as a sort of half-up - it gave me volume that my hair just doesn't have. I can't do it anymore thought I'd throw it out there :)

[megthehennahead]

RedStripe, maybe a half French braid? Like just braid the top section around your face and leave the bottom half of your hair loose. I don't know exactly how much looseness/mobility you need in your hair, but I find that a style like that helps keep the look of hair worn completely down while keeping it out of your face. You could experiment with other types of braids and accessories to hold them as well!

[RedStripe]

megthehennahead -- Thanks for the suggestion; sounds like an interesting idea. I'll experiment with that and see if I come up with something I like.

[Alissalocks]

Finally checking in to this thread! Started dancing 40 years ago (ballet/tap), and went on to study pointe, lyrical, contemporary, musical theatre, jazz, hip hop and, in the past years of my life, belly dance. Still dancing and working as a professional performer, choreographer, and also stage manager, ...theatre is my church!

[Reyesuela]

Ha! I know somewhere between 30 and 40 partner and folk dances. I love dancing with other people. I've taught off and on, too. I took ballet/tap/jazz as a little kid, but it didn't "take" like partner dancing.

[school of fish]

Ha! I know somewhere between 30 and 40 partner and folk dances. I love dancing with other people. I've taught off and on, too. I took ballet/tap/jazz as a little kid, but it didn't "take" like partner dancing.

I'm always amazed at partner dancing! In my form my partners are the music and the audience - I can't imagine the kind of synchronicity it takes to dance as one with another human...!!! :)

[Reyesuela]

I've considered taking belly dancing for the muscle awareness and control. My life is just too hectic now, but I love watching what really skilled dancers can do!

[school of fish]

I've considered taking belly dancing for the muscle awareness and control. My life is just too hectic now, but I love watching what really skilled dancers can do!

It's big fun! When your life makes room I recommend it wholeheartedly - plus, it's a dance form that loves long hair so what's not to love.....? :p

[sumidha]

I'm an out of practice belly dancer, so hair is kind of a non issue. I hate performing though, so 90% of the time I'm dancing with friends in an informal setting or by myself and hair doesn't matter.

[Zemeraldite]

I used to do a cinnamon bun with lots of pins and hair net for BSL hair, it got heave by the end of the ballet lessons tho... quit ballet because of an injury.
Now I do contemporary, and don't have to worry about hair as it can be down, and I chopped to a pixie bob anyway :)

[Zemeraldite]

Also School of fish, I love the pic in your sig!

[Kat]

Highland dance. Which is basically constantly jumping up and down. Hair needs to be rock-solid, obviously!

Buns don't really work, unless they're made of two braids wound around each other (otherwise they're too heavy and fall right down). Those are a pain to do, because I have to hang my head off the side of the bed to keep my hair in the right position to place the braids (I can't just make a high ponytail and braid-- the ponytail will immediately sag). Most people wear their hair in a bun, but it's not required-- the only requirement is that our hair be off our faces. I think I only wore my hair in a bun for competition once, because our dance school had a group choreography and we agreed to put our hair in buns.

I usually either do my hair in Heidi/milkmaid braids, or on occasion I'll do a french braid and tuck the end up under the part on my head. Both of these I can make secure enough to stand up to the constant bouncing. They are also easier for wearing my hornpipe hat than a bun would be (just means my hat has to be a little bigger than I'd normally wear if my hair was down).

When I briefly took a ballet class, though, I did wear my hair in a bun, even though I don't think it would have been a problem to do something else.

[megthehennahead]

I took my last ballet class of my college career today. My hair was struggling because I washed it last night, so it was slipping out of the bobby pins the whole time. My bangs are a little over an inch from fitting into a low pony now, so that's exciting.

[Kat]

Should this thread be only about hair and dance, or also about dancing?

[megthehennahead]

Should this thread be only about hair and dance, or also about dancing?

I mean I'm fine if it's about dancing, but I think we should try to keep the topic of hair involved since it's in the "Mane" Forum rather than the Off-Topic one.

[Seeshami]

Cabaret belly dancer who regularly flirts with folklore.

His royal highness is contained for classes, seminars and practice. I will rehearse with my hair down and dance with it down. Last year at Colorado Medieval Festival I tied it in a knot for half up because it was so insanely hot.

this year if I get roped into battle of the bards I will start dancing with it up and take it down at a musical transition because people generally loose their minds the few times I have had it up and it's escaped on accident.

The Naughty Mess says, " braids are a no because I'll smack her"

....yes unfortunately you do. or others. you're just so inconsiderate.

[megthehennahead]

Cabaret belly dancer who regularly flirts with folklore.

His royal highness is contained for classes, seminars and practice. I will rehearse with my hair down and dance with it down. Last year at Colorado Medieval Festival I tied it in a knot for half up because it was so insanely hot.

this year if I get roped into battle of the bards I will start dancing with it up and take it down at a musical transition because people generally loose their minds the few times I have had it up and it's escaped on accident.

The Naughty Mess says, " braids are a no because I'll smack her"

....yes unfortunately you do. or others. you're just so inconsiderate.

The way you refer to your hair makes my day. I've made the mistake of dancing in braids a couple times. NEVER AGAIN.

[NightSister]

Hi all - new poster!

I too am a bellydancer, and I usually wear in a low bun or single french braid. We are working with cane balancing ATM so it helps to have the hair out of the way. As performance nears I'll take it out to get used to whipping my hair around with the choreo!

[Mrstran]

I keep my hair in a loose bun on top of my head while dancing. I'm a belly dancer (Egyptian not that it matters much) and this seems to be the most practical place for my hair at the moment. I use to take Tap, ballet, and pointe for 11 years. Back then I use to just do a simple high pony.

I forgot to add, I haven't done any stage performances as of yet. I'm not exactly a pro lol. (Just thought I'd make that known!) When I get to doing them, I intend to wear my hair down. It just looks nice.

ETA

Came back to this thread again. A bit off topic of hair but. Anybody ever have issues with rhythm? I have been able to do everything but a fast Egyptian shimmy for some reason. Doing this I cannot get my knees to cooperate back and forth evenly. Sorry, again off topic. Um... it will look nice with long hair hanging down! Ok...connected :o

[Seeshami]

The way you refer to your hair makes my day. I've made the mistake of dancing in braids a couple times. NEVER AGAIN.

Mess and I have a braidfu. He fights me and I block his shenanigans. I turned around in a circle really quick at work because I turned started to walk away but had to turn back around and grab my keys for the inventory closet and had to block an unsuspecting customer from a braid whip attack. Dance sisters have been almost attacked to but I have this really great block the braid with my forearm gut instinct reaction.


Just blogged some of my favorite dance pictures. I was gonna post one in the thread and then picked a ton of them
Convenient link (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/entry.php?b=129659)

[Medievalmaniac]

I used to dance ballet-- braided bun, ponytail, or braid during class or practice and a full-on ballerina bun for rehearsals and performances. Now I dance ATS (American Tribal Style) bellydancing. For practice/class/workshop, I wear my hair in a bun or a ponytail, and down for dancing at jams(I don't perform publicly at this time).

[megthehennahead]

Let's revive this!

I recently decided my new goal is to have hair long enough that a French braid is at least to hip. I just have this image of being a dance teacher with a very long braid, and for whatever reason, that seems very glamorous. I think it might be from Madame Giry in the 2004 Phantom of the Opera movie... :hmm:

[school of fish]

Glad to see this thread revived! Somehow I'd missed some of the last posts.

I'm back to gigging more regularly after taking an extended maternity and am starting to wonder if I'm going to start seeing some mechanical damage creeping in again... Wearing hair up is not an option, lol!! Guess I'll see over time - in the meantime I'm trying to be mindful of moving hair away from swinging fringe while performing, incorporating it into my movements and hopefully keeping it out of harm's way as much as possible...

[Alissalocks]

Great to see so many dancers around, love it! Ijust finished a show last month and am thankful for COs and wet-setting my curls to keep me stage ready but hair happy too. Still in Friday's curls this Sunday morning, actually from performing.

Recently I wore my hair down in class (a rarity) and had a fellow dancer tell me my hair was getting in *her* mouth during the turns. Oops, but what a great problem for me to have :D

[HaMalka]

I do Irish Dance. For practicing I wear my hair in a braided lazy wrap bun or a braided cinnamon bun. I sometimes have to redo my lazy wrap bun if it starts slipping. I can't wear my hair down at all or I'll trip over it when I dance.

[megthehennahead]

Alissalocks, I can't say I felt too bad for her... Gotta give you space for your hair-ography! ;)

HaMalka, Wow, you may have me rethinking my hair goals with that incredible length!