Bellydance Plus! Photo Gallery

Melodi!

Melodi is a dancer in Texas whose costumes sparkle with some items from Egyptian designers, and others from sources closer to home that are compatible with the "beads & sequins" look. While her studies have included many styles of belly dance her heart belongs to Egyptian raqs sharqi (Oriental).

When Melodi began building her costume collection, her first consideration was versatility. She chose a gold bra / belt set for her first purchase. By simply changing the skirt and top she can use these two basic pieces to achieve a wide variety of looks while at the same time maintaining a professional aesthetic.

She uses a skin-toned midriff cover for the archetypal costuming style, and a colored midriff cover that matches her costume for a more modest look. Now that she has the foundation of separates needed to build a professional wardrobe, Melodi says, " I can't wait to purchase my first dress for the sophisticated presence it brings."

Purple Velvet Dress

This purple velvet dress with chiffon drapes at the arm was purchased from L. Rose Designs, a vendor that makes costumes customized to the dancer's measurements. L. Rose designs offers the flexibility of choosing not just the fabric but also the gore, sleeve, slit and bust line. It is truly custom. The gold bra and belt set was purchased new on ebay. Melodi's comments about why she likes this outfit: "I like the overall coverage of this dress. I have used it with a hip sash for a more folkloric or casual look, and I have dressed it up with beads galore. It is very comfortable since I don't have to wear a midriff cover and it has worn very well over the years." Click on the photo to the right to see this costume in greater detail. This photo was taken by Melodi's husband, Dean Pentico.

Gold Bedleh with Peacock Skirt

The Turkish peacock-inspired choli and skirt that Melodi is wearing in these photos gives an entirely different look to the gold bra/belt set from eBay that was shown above in the photo of the purple velvet dress. This shows the versatility of building costumes around bra/belt sets that can function as separates in a dancer's wardrobe.

The choli and skirt set was purchased from eBay. The skirt is fully lined and the embellishment adds so much to this quite inexpensive look. Sometimes Melodi adds a turquoise hip sash with beaded fringe under the belt to add more color contrast. The photo to the right was taken by Easy Street Images in the Dallas & Ft. Worth, Texas area.

The three photos of this costume below were taken by Image Fusion Studios in the Dallas / Fort Worth, Texas area.

"Just Fabulous"

Melodi, along with her friends Angela and Michele, have formed an ensemble named "Just Fabulous". Melodi is wearing the gold one, Angela the green one, and Michelle the blue one. Click on this photo to see the costumes in more detail.

Each group member purchased a bedleh (bra / belt set) in the color of her choice. The ensemble doesn't feel it's necessary for a troupe to match exactly, but instead thinks it is more interesting to offer a coordinated look that also allows them to shine as individuals. Their color choices and costume preferences are as different as the three of them are. Each has a unique dance style and a unique personality, yet they complement each other well. This photo and the one above were both taken by Melodi's husband, Dean Pentico. Click on the photo to the right to see the costumes in more detail.

Emerald Green "Great Loop" Bedleh

The Great Loop bra / belt set shown below was designed by Amira al-Kattan, a popular Egyptian costume designer and the owner of Pharaonics of Egypt.

Here Melodi is wearing it with a green lycra skirt made by Melodi and the other members of Just Fabulous.

Click on the image to see the costume in more detail.

The above photo is courtesy of Easy Street Images in the Dallas & Fort Worth area, Texas. The two below were taken by Melodi's husband, Dean Pentico.

Melodi and her troupe-mates have gotten the most out of their costume investment by creating pants in the same green lycra as the above skirt to wear under "Gypsy" style skirts as shown in this photo. These pants have also come in handy for sword choreography that required kneeling.

Click on either of the two photos above to see this costume in more detail.

The Gypsy skirt paired with the Great Loops set was born out of necessity. The group was performing a long show with many costume changes and their finale was a skirt dance. So, they made the skirts with a Mardi gras fabric that had all of their colors in it.

Here are photos taken by Melodi's husband Dean Pentico showing Just Fabulous wearing their matching Great Loop costumes:

Regarding the troupe decision to use a different costume color for each member, Melodi says:

"We embrace our differences as individuals and as dancers; our diversity is our greatest asset and we believe that by embracing that and sharing that with our audience that we present the best of ourselves. We do not subscribe to the belief that one must sacrifice her individuality to be in a troupe."

Purple "Samia Gamal" Bedleh

This beautiful purple costume is another design by Amira al-Kattan, owner of Pharaonics of Egypt. Melodi purchased this one from Audrena.

Melodi describes this costume as follows: "I love the arm coverage of this piece that is built in to the bra top and has a lovely key-hole back. The picture shows how the sleeve split open so the look shows a bit of skin while remaining conservative. The beading on this is unbelievable and the skirt is double layered chiffon with sequin work around the entire hem. It moves like a dream. "One word of warning... the belt area of the skirt is stretch lycra and does (for me) require pinning to a mesh midriff-cover. For midriff-covers I always wear Sugar Petals." Click on the photo to the right to see this costume in more detail. This photo was taken by Melodi's husband, Dean Pentico.

Dramatic Red Costume

In the photo below, Melodi is wearing a red costume that originally started as two pieces - the bra, and the skirt/belt as a single unit. She purchased the set from Miabella at Blue Moon Studio in Fort Worth, Texas. Melodi said, "I almost didn't even try it on. I just couldn't believe that it would fit me off the rack. My friend talked me into trying it on and I fell in love with it immediately. The lesson here is always try it on. I would have never found this beautiful costume if my friend had not forced me to try it on. What are friends for?"

Click on the photo below to see the costume in more detail.

This costume originally did not have sleeves but Melodi and her friend went to the fabric store and found the same color lycra. They used it to make the sleeves, which attach with hook and eye closures to the bra. Melodi used the same lycra to create anklets and a headband and added large plastic jewels to them which, to her amazement, matched perfectly.

All three of these photos of Melodi in the red costume were taken by Heidi Briney.

In the photo on the left, Melodi shows how beautifully the lycra skirt of this costume moves with her as she dances. In the photo on the right, she shows how using a contrasting color for the Isis wings can really bring out the color in the jewels on the bra and hipband.

In Conclusion

As shown in these photos, Melodi embraces the bare-midriff look of an Egyptian two-piece costume by wearing a body stocking that matches her skin color. She also owns colored body stockings that match the colors of some of her bra/belt sets. Sometimes for a more varied look she will use a colored body stocking to create a more dress-like look. Having a variety of body stocking color options gives a single bra/belt set at least two different looks and sometimes more.

For more insight into Melodi and her philosophy toward Middle Eastern dance, see her article on the Gilded Serpent web site, One Dancer: A Journey of Self-Acceptance.

The contents of this page are copyrighted 2008 by Julie Anne Elliot. All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication is forbidden.