BELLY DANCER USA COMPETITION 2006

By Halima

Part of her review of the whole event …..

Sunday started out with two workshops.  One was Beg/Int Classical Arabic Drum Technique by Jeremiah Soto of Solace and the second one being offered was Janie's Boobology 101 "bra making."  I stepped in briefly to see how the drum workshop was going and Jeremiah had everyone working and the attendance looked good.  Sorry I couldn't stay longer, Jeremiah but I was off to the Boobology workshop.

Even though I do costuming myself, I feel there is always something someone else in the business can teach you.  Besides I believe in supporting in any way I can.  Janie does beautiful work too and I wanted to see what this class was all about.  The class was well attended but I managed to find a spot.  Janie of Designs by Janie had brought a selection of bras for us all to look at.  She started out explaining that the number one rule of a good costume is the bra has to fit.  She passed around different styles of bras and made some suggestions, as to which bras are good and where she buys her own.  While bras should stand on their own, they don't have to be hard as a rock and a softer bra can work too.  She gave hints and tips on how to make a softer bra work and brought one along that she had started to show how this could be done.  If you want to know how, I would suggest writing to Janie or make sure you catch her Boobology workshop somewhere.  And finally, another costumer that says "you do not need to buy a bra one size bigger." That is just an ole tale and I was so glad to hear Janie talk about this and explain why.

Janie had plenty of sample bras in various stages to show us how to cover and make designs.  She even covered a bra in the workshop explaining what she was doing all the way.  Covering the bra and straps and embellishments were all covered in this workshop.  Janie is a wonderful costumer and always manages to put you at ease and is always ready to answer any questions that you have.  She also provided everyone with a nice little booklet handout complete with photos on how to cover bras.

Frankly, I hope Janie decides to make a video tape in the future on Boobology 101, because I think every performer who is learning to sew or wants to make their own bras needs this information.  Great job Janie!  I'm looking forward to your workshop on hip belts.

When I thanked her on the Yahoo Designs by Janie Group for such a lovely review this was her answer:
"Janie you are welcome.  I've been to lots of costume workshops and frankly this was the best one on bras that I have ever attended."