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Stageworks Academy

WHY IS SHOW MAKE UP ESSENTIAL?


We often hear two common questions from parents as we get ready for show time, “Why does my child need to wear makeup?” “Why so much makeup? They are too young.”

Your concerns about applying makeup to your child’s face, especially your younger children, are understandable. We are here to help you understand the reasons why it is important for your performer to wear stage makeup. We are sharing the top 4 reasons why stage makeup is essential for all performances. Once you finish reading, we promise that you will be less hesitant to have stage makeup applied to your superstars face.

There is one main purpose for stage makeup. Dancers wear stage makeup to enhance their facial features to be visibly clear to the audience. Stage makeup is the only way we can clearly see your performers face from the audience/photos/DVDS. In other words, their beautiful faces won’t be drowned out with the harsh stage lights. Don’t worry your child does not look like a clown!

1. Stage Makeup Enhances Dancers’ Facial Features

It is extremely important to understand that without stage makeup, a dancer’s facial features will not be defined or visibly clear to the audience. Stage makeup creates a clear face from a distance. Unlike everyday regular makeup, stage makeup is more dramatic so that the dancer’s facial features are more pronounced.

There are some basic components of stage makeup that you will need for your dancer: makeup primer, foundation (slightly browner than your skin tone), eyeshadow, (bright colours) eyeliner (Black/dark brown or glitter), mascara (optional for younger ones), blush (pink, peach, bronze), and lipstick (ALWAYS RED), without red lipstick, the audience will not be able to see the dancer’s mouth, including their smile. For older pupils fake eyelashes would also be required.


Make sure your stage makeup is hypo-allergenic, waterproof, long-lasting and most of all suitable for sensitive skin.

2. Distance Can Drowned out the Facial Features and Expressions of a Dancer

Have you ever attended an orchestra performance or a music concert and noticed that the individuals performing appeared to be faceless people in action?

If your dancer does not have on stage makeup, this is how your dancer will appear on stage—as a faceless dancer. Theatre, concert hall, and auditorium stages are huge. These stages are also elevated and are a distance away from the audience. The distance from the stage to the first row can be up to 100 feet. Wherever your seated you want to see your dancer’s joy, excitement, nervousness, bravery, talent and/or shyness. Stage makeup will help your dancer’s facial features look bigger, brighter, and more pronounced on stage.

Eyeliner is used to emphasize the dancer’s eyes to help them standout from afar. Both female and male dancers wear eyeliner to define their eyes. For male dancers, eyeliner is applied in basic form. For female dancers, eyeliner can be applied in basic form or with a wing to make the eyes look more feminine.


3. Stage Lighting Can Wash Out a Dancer’s Face

If your dancer does not have on stage makeup and they are performing on a stage with bright, shinning lights, their face and facial expressions will be washed out and hard to see. You want the stage lighting to enhance your performers facial features not wash them out. For performances, stage lighting works to highlight and place emphasis on where the audience should place their eyes. Stage lighting also works to set the mood or tone of the scene/dance.


Performers are storytellers, Dancers who project words and emotions through movement. In order for dancers to properly tell the story to the audience, they will need their entire bodies, including their facial expressions, to be visibly seen. But, with bright lights shinning on the stage, a dancer without stage makeup will appear washed out and faceless and the story would be misunderstood, lost and left untold.

Stage lights are very intense and hot! Use a makeup primer to make sure your dancer’s makeup will last for several hours throughout dress rehearsal, awaiting backstage, and performing on stage. We don’t want that make up to sweat off!


4. Dance Costumes Can Overshadow Your Dancer’s Beautiful Smile

Some costumes are over the top! Tutus, big bows, and feathers are only a few of the many extravagant features attached to costumes. Costumes are created to “wow” the audience.

If your performer does not have on stage makeup, their costumes will easily overshadow their beautiful smile and cute little face. Can you imagine your little cherub on stage in an extraordinary costume with bright lights shinning down on them and they did not have on makeup? Once again, you would have a faceless dancer on stage. This is not something you would want. Without stage makeup, your dancer’s facial features will disappear behind their costumes and the bright stage lights.

Stage makeup is a part of your costume.


We understand that the initial acknowledgment that your dancer has to wear stage makeup may cause some concern.

Just remember that stage makeup is key in enhancing and highlighting the facial features and expressions of your dancer to be seen from a distance.

Now Parents and guardians can understand the importance of wearing stage makeup, we want to share a short make up tutorial video demonstrated by one of our older pupils Ciara.

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