Author Topic: Ideas for a small burst bag of sequins  (Read 4359 times)

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BayAreaSM

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Ideas for a small burst bag of sequins
« on: May 20, 2015, 12:36 am »
I've searched several terms and nothing is popping up useful, so here goes.

For one of our ballets, a world premiere, we need one of our dancers to make glittery dust fall from his hand. My thoughts went to blood packs, filled with silver sequins. The problem is the dancer wears a shirt with medium length sleeves, so I can't hide it in his cuff/around his wrist. I don't want to use real glitter for obvious reasons (plus it's a rented dance floor). I figured sequins would be easier to clean up and would reflect well in the spot light.

If I use a blood pack design, I have to figure out how to store it on the dancer (there is no set) and how does he get rid of the empty pack without making it noticeable?

This is the last piece before intermission, so we have 20 minutes to clean it up. The downside is, it's in the middle of the piece, so dancers will have to dance on it (or try to avoid it).

I welcome any and all thoughts - or better suggestions for what to do.

(And no, our company doesn't have a prop shop, so this does fall into my scope of work.)

MatthewShiner

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Re: Ideas for a small burst bag of sequins
« Reply #1 on: May 20, 2015, 07:40 am »
I've searched several terms and nothing is popping up useful, so here goes.

For one of our ballets, a world premiere, we need one of our dancers to make glittery dust fall from his hand. My thoughts went to blood packs, filled with silver sequins. The problem is the dancer wears a shirt with medium length sleeves, so I can't hide it in his cuff/around his wrist. I don't want to use real glitter for obvious reasons (plus it's a rented dance floor). I figured sequins would be easier to clean up and would reflect well in the spot light.

If I use a blood pack design, I have to figure out how to store it on the dancer (there is no set) and how does he get rid of the empty pack without making it noticeable?

This is the last piece before intermission, so we have 20 minutes to clean it up. The downside is, it's in the middle of the piece, so dancers will have to dance on it (or try to avoid it).

I welcome any and all thoughts - or better suggestions for what to do.

(And no, our company doesn't have a prop shop, so this does fall into my scope of work.)

The other option might be silver mylar confetti, it should fall relatively flat . . . sequins might have some dimension which may make it hard to dance on.

Still hiding it still a problem . . .

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Anything posted here as in my own personal opinion, and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of my employer - whomever they be at a given moment in time.

Maribeth

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Re: Ideas for a small burst bag of sequins
« Reply #2 on: May 20, 2015, 07:59 am »
Can you sew a small pocket into his costume, and at the appropriate moment, he palms the sequins?

maximillionx

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Re: Ideas for a small burst bag of sequins
« Reply #3 on: May 20, 2015, 10:42 am »
Or perhaps velcro the packet somewhere on his person?

BayAreaSM

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Re: Ideas for a small burst bag of sequins
« Reply #4 on: May 20, 2015, 04:53 pm »
Thanks for the ideas.

The choreographer is going to test just putting the loose sequins in the dancer's pant pocket. I'm worried that she will have to put a lot in there for him to be able to palm the sequins quickly - but she'll find that out in rehearsal today. Her concern with using something to hold the sequins is that the dancer will have trouble popping the bag in time. We thought about velcroing the pants pocket closed, but that would be too noisy.

The other consideration is that the dancer rolls on the floor before he has to take out the sequins.

I didn't know that he had a pocket before - let alone pants (I assumed he was wearing tights). I'm going to see if I can convince her to try a small drawstring bag tacked into the pants pocket that holds the sequins.

Matthew - I also toyed with the idea of punched metallic paper, but then it would have to be fire-treated, and we don't have the materials to do that. I do worry that with mylar or sequins, someone is going to slip in their pointe shoes.



Post Merge: May 21, 2015, 12:55 pm
Well, a solution has been found! When all else fails, change the choreography.

While changing choreography is not always a possible solution, this choreographer created a distraction with dancers DL so that the dancer who drops the sequins can extend his arm into the wings SR and an offstage dancer drops the sequins into his hand.

No bag to tear open or discard, no sequins falling out of his pocket, no fear of timing issues. But, we have sequins on the floor.

With the choreographer being open to alter choreography for an effect she wants, I'm guessing she's going to alter the choreography to keep the dancers off the sequins so that they don't fall down.

I guess some things are easier in the dance world. :)
« Last Edit: May 21, 2015, 12:55 pm by BayAreaSM »

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Re: Ideas for a small burst bag of sequins
« Reply #5 on: May 21, 2015, 01:17 pm »
Be really carefull with sequins. Its dangerous for the dancers, if they step on them. And if they turn with a sequin under the Shoes it will leave scratches on the dancefloor. Its much better to buy fireproof silver confetti.