Latin dances range from highly emotional forms with drama, passion and slow movements to forms with joyful, energetic and fast motions. Therefore, the Latin dress or ballroom dress a dancer wears can have large variations in style, form, ornamentation and extravagance.
In a dance competition, a couple has limited time to impress the judges and woe the audience. Thus, a ballroom dance dress should be as creative as their choreography. Along with the dancing styles, a dancer must consider the particularities of different body types. Each dancer must carefully approach his/her strengths and weakness, and pick a costume that creates harmony between the couple.
Common features for ballroom and Latin dance dresses
Designers of Ballroom dance and Latin dance dress experiment regularly with different fabrics, designs, colours, shapes and rhinestones to come up with dresses that stand out on the dance floor. Some fashions are classic and form the base of almost all dresses.
Here are a few common features of dance dresses to consider when making a choice
- Dresses with fringes –
Dresses with elaborate fringes are quite popular in the Latin dancewear as they greatly help to accentuate a dancer’s movements. Fringes can be attached in different ways in varying positions and can be easily customised according to a dancer’s body type.
For example, a lady with a curvaceous and short body will benefit from a Latin dress with long fringes attached in places like hips and lower bust to create length. Similarly, a tall girl with lean built can have more details and fringes around the shoulder to flaunt a balanced and voluminous look.
- Empire waist Latin ballroom dress –
Recently these dresses have become quite popular in Latin ballroom dance. The highlight of this style is the flowing long, partially full length skirt with generous pleats that add a lot of volume to the waist area.
However, ladies with shapely legs and large hips should avoid these. Also, a routine or a dance style that requires extensive leg movements won’t work with this type of ballroom dance dress.
- Draped dancewear –
Draped dresses are opposite to fringes, and exude a high-class look. A good quality draped dress must be made of soft and stretchy materials such as mesh, stain or angel skin. Expert tailoring with these dresses is compulsory as the fit is their highlight.
- Furs and feathers
Furs have recently made a comeback in the Latin and ballroom dancewear. Furs and feathers add a lot of extra movements, character and colours to the costume. Designers use both sets and individual features to decorate Latin dance dresses.
- Asymmetric designs
Moving away from the traditional styles, asymmetric cuts are gaining popularity. Most common of these are one piece dresses with supported bras. Features like open back and leg-revealing splits are common in this style. Often, the bottom line of a skirt in these dresses starts high up from the waist and reaches down to the knee.
It’s essential that dancers put a deliberate effort in choosing the right ballroom or Latin dress as it can enhance the performance and help the dancer stand out from the crowd.
