Riot and Frolic

a mostly ballroom dance, but also a bunch of other stuff, blog

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I own and rock people’s faces off teaching ballroom dancing at Dancers Studio in St. Paul, MN. My husband and I compete professionally in American style and wrangle eight children in our spare time. I’ve been teaching and competing in ballroom dancing for over 25 years and have lots of opinions on it. I am an expert by any means, but there are quite a few dancers who are better than me and I have a solid knowledge of basic technique, so suck it.

Blue Eyeshadow and the Showdown

I wasn't going to write this post for fear of offending someone, but it's my blog and I'll cry if I want to.  And truly, if you haven't been offended by now, I'm in the clear.

Blue eyeshadow.  I get it.  Blue is a pretty color.  Blue eyeshadow looks good on every skintone.  

But why blue?  I see a lot of ladies wearing blue eyeshadow on the dance floor and can't help but wonder why they choose that color (I'm talking to you, too, church ladies).  If your dress isn't blue and you're wearing blue eyeshadow, I'm bound to be confused.  

Ballroom makeup should make your eyes (and other facial features) stick out from across the floor and enhance your beautiful face.  Using any color (as opposed to neutrals) is GREAT, as long as it's used to moderation, AND in relation to your ensemble.  

Pinterest has several great boards dedicated to ballroom makeup and hair (check out Lauren's or mine).  Find your favorite look and practice mimicking it before the day of your competition.  Non-ballroom ladies, you'd be in good shape if you thought ahead of big events, also (prom, company holiday parties, weddings, etc.).  

If someone else is doing your makeup, make sure they know what color you're wearing.  Bonus points if you bring pictures of makeup styles that you like…  And make sure they have other colors than blue in their eyeshadow palettes.

Next up, the sticky-out arm while walking on the floor.  The guillotine, I'll call it.

Clearly, someone has taught you to stick out your free arm when you walk on the floor with your partner.  

But WHY?  The goal of walking out on the floor is to get to your spot on the floor, not to take up the most space and take out the most judges on your way there. 

Many of you were utterly perplexed when I planted myself in cutting range of your guillotine arm.  "WHAT WILL I DO NOW?" was written across your face.

I'll tell you what to do.  Get your ass on the floor and PUT YOUR ARM DOWN!  

If you just made the final from a huge group of people, then by all means throw that arm up and strut on the floor thinking, "LOOK AT ME!  I'M AWESOME!"  But until then, you just look silly and sheep-like in your ability to follow a direct order and follow the crowd without knowing why you're doing it.  

And I make fun of you.

 
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2 responses to “Blue Eyeshadow and the Showdown”

  1. Marsha Avatar
    Marsha

    UM, you don’t way this, but since you DO say that makeup should flatter the face, and since in all probability, close to half of the dancers on the floor have blue eyes, do you feel they need a blue gown too, to carry off blue lids, or could they just be wearing blue shadow to pop those pretty blue peepers??? Church ladies too?

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  2. Riot and Frolic Avatar
    Riot and Frolic

    First, 50% of people have blue eyes?! WHA?! I mean, really? I have never noticed.
    The cases I’m thinking of have struck me as “interesting”, but not in a good way.
    If someone has blue eyes, I’ve heard they are supposed to wear brownish hues for eyeshadow. BUT! I’m all for breaking rules, so let’s say they want to match their eye color. NO, I don’t think they NEED a blue gown, and YES, they might be wearing it to make their eyes pop (figuratively, otherwise eeeeeeeew). BUT! If they have a classic ball gown on, I wouldn’t do a monochromatic, supersaturated blue eye. Maybe a smokey number with a hint of blue? Or a 50s neutral cat eye look with a hint of blue in the crease?
    Church ladies and dancers alike need to keep an eye on consistency, both in our actual movement AND in our presentation. Modern dress = modern makeup. Classic dress = classic makeup.

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