Nancy Senner on "Dancing With the Stars"

DWTS: Moves Count, But How Do They Look?
November 14, 2006
by Marylin Johnson

Impressing the judges requires color, fabrics and accents --- and a little skin. But "you want to attract attention tastefully," said Atlantan Nancy Senner, who with her husband, Eddie Ares, has been a 16-time U.S. Latin dance champion. "Also, we want the dress [or costume] to fit like a glove," Senner explained. "All the fabrics are stretch and comfortable on the body. Dancers do splits and backbends, and the costume must stay in place."


Sometimes a costume is almost as important as the dance steps.
Look at ABC's hit TV show "Dancing With the Stars," which airs its two-part finale starting tonight. Fans tune in not just to watch celebrities dance but to see how many--- or how few --- rhinestones and feathers Karina Smirnoff, partner of Mario Lopez, and Cheryl Burke, partner of Emmitt Smith, will wear.

"The costume must first catch the judges' eyes," said competitive dancer Ann Yearian of Atlanta. "But then you must be able to move your feet."

Along with the dancers, those provocative outfits get put to the test. That creates the perfect challenge for a fashion designer.

As part of their course work, seven American InterContinential University students were assigned a female dancer and required to design a costume. Those outfits got quite a workout last weekend at the Latin Champions Design Challenge, sponsored by the school. The winning students waltzed away with cash prizes, while the dancers, who'll go on to compete in Latin dance championships, received brand-new looks.

Lauren Newman's two-piece, white-feather-trimmed number for Dawn Douglas won first place in the competition at the Academy Ballroom in Buckhead.

"Lauren's feathered costume flowed beautifully, was done in good taste and fit the dancer perfectly," said Joe LoCurto, who judged on artistic and functional values. Added judge Jorge Morales: "The costume had a professional look."

Newman had an added incentive to create a winning look. Not only was her dancer a champion, but Douglas is also assistant dean of fashion marketing at AIU. "I put more pressure on myself to get the costume the way I wanted it to look," Newman said. "It was a joint venture. Ms. Douglas wanted feathers, ruffles and rhinestones. She left the design up to me."

Douglas has been dancing competitively for two years and plans to wear the costume in February at the World Pro-Am Championships in Buenos Aires, Argentina. "It's unique, sexy and stands out," she said.

The challenge was Douglas' way to combine her love of dance and fashion. "Who knows, this might possibly be a new area for design students," she said. "Designing dance costumes is an untapped market. Currently, it's an Internet business. Or dancers will meet designers at dance competitions to view their work.

"However, an enterprising student could make it a real couture business." Generally, dance costumes cost from $800 to $1,500, and a high-end one can go up to $5,000, depending on embellishments.

Over the course of the assignment, the students learned that designing costumes is not like designing other clothes.

"With costumes, you start from the inside out," Douglas explained. "It begins with a bodysuit, or a bra and panties; then a skirt, dress or sleeves are added. Successful students will have skills in designing lingerie as well as putting on embellishments."

Of course, missteps happen. Beads can come loose and scatter all over the floor. Men can split their pants. Body parts can get exposed. False eyelashes can fly off.

Male dancers, however, have solved the problem of pants slipping on the dance floor. "I wear my pants two sizes smaller in the waist so they will stay in place," said Eddie Ares.

And you thought women were the only ones who suffer for the sake of looking good.
Haute costumes
Here are the trendiest elements in women's dance costumes:
* Bright colors, such as fuchsia, yellow and orange, especially for Latin dance competitions.
* Black, white or red --- classic standouts.
* Shiny embellishments.
* Feathers or fringe, for movement.
* Skin, skin, and more skin --- especially in the midriff and back areas.
* Fur trims.
* Pants decorated with fringe.
* Provocative two-pieces.

SOURCE: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution