My New Costume

Me in my new costume! Short and sassy - just like me.

Shiny Costumes!

I have spent quite a bit of time perusing the internet for inspiration for costumes. Two of Elena Slikhova's (partner of Charles-Guillame Schmidt) costumes definitely caught my eye. I find the first black number to be quite sexy, while the second yellow number is really playful.




In addition to these, I fell in love with Dariya Chesnokova's costume that she was sporting at the Embassy Ball earlier this year. The second costume of hers is one she was wearing in November 2009. I really like the use of strings of stones - though upon enquiring, it looks like making a similar costume may require hours upon upon hours of stringing!




*Images of Elena and the second one of Dariya are courtesy of dancesportinfo.net.

The New Look

As I have mentioned before, we were at Grand Ball in Vancouver this last weekend competing. It was a great competition and an excellent opportunity to watch some very talented couples from Europe and New York compete. But the most exciting part of the competition was the mini makeover I got.

This was a spontaneous decision and somehow I managed to find someone help me execute my master plan on a Sunday morning. I decided to cut my hair! Not just a trim. About 8 inches of it. Check out the before and after pictures below. I realize its an odd look for an Indian girl, but I really like the way it looked on the dance floor. And I sure felt ever so Anna Melnikova-ish.

Before



After



In Action

New Costume!

Sorry for being MIA for the last little bit. I have been keeping busy preparing for the Grandball competition in Vancouver. It is coming up really soon - just next weekend.

I have been getting a costume made for Grandball. I picked it up today and we just need to stone it at this point. However, a fellow dancer stopped by the studio with some of her costumes for sale. I, of course, ended up purchasing one. Check out the pictures below. I'm thinking of wearing this one at Grandball instead. I'll post pictures of the other as soon as I finish stoning it.

Another First - My Costume

One of the most exciting components of competing is the costume. I spent ages researching, thinking about colours and other various shiny options. However, the design we settled on was swayed by other more practical ideas. As a “new” dancer, we decided that we would have to hide my weaker/under-utilized body parts – mostly my back. We settled on something similar to Oxana Lebedew’s 2008 costume.



Working with a designer, we drew up a design. I wasn’t too excited to be honest, since I wasn’t completely sold on the idea. But I needed to have faith, I thought. At the first fitting, I burst into tears. I hated it! It felt like a ballroom burkha! It was also quite different from what Oxana’s costume looked like. I seriously considered getting another costume, but funds and timing did not allow for this. Upon further reflection, I decided that we needed to shorten it and cut some holes in the bodysuit to make it a little sexier. Anything!

Well, the final outcome wasn’t so bad. On one hand, it was certainly unique. Did I love it and feel fabulous in it? No, not really. It still wasn’t me nor was it sexy enough for my liking. I love the colour though…



But like with all of my ballroom experiences, there is a learning here. Trust your instinct. If you feel that you are being heavily influenced by others and are placing blind trust in others, don’t do it! Create something that suits your personality and style. After all, you’re the one walking on to the dance floor.

I'm already in the midst of creating my next costume, and it's going to be fabulous.

All You Need is a Man's Dress Shirt

I always thought Carrie Bradshaw was the only person (granted she's a TV character) that could pull of wearing a man's dress shirt in public. That's until I saw the video below of Ekatrina Lapaeva. Ekatrina who.... Her and Justinas ranked 10th in Blackpool - the biggest and most prestigious dance competition.

I think anyone that can pull of wearing just that and dancing with such casual sexiness deserves praise. And a litle bit of drool.