Please find below a guide to hair and makeup for the show. this is intended for the girls only. Although in theory the boys should wear some makeup, in practice we have found that they don't like this and that it is hard to make it look natural and not feminine looking.
Hair and Make-up
Knowing how to apply stage makeup is essential for all dancers and parents. Parents often ask what stage make up is for, and why we have to use it on children, it is important to understand why performers of all ages need to wear stage makeup.
The reason for wearing stage makeup is simple: the audience needs to be able to see the performers’ faces. If they don’t wear makeup, the audience cannot see your child’s face due to the distance between the performer and the audience, as well as stage lighting at the theatre which flattens facial features and takes away all of the dimensions that allow expressions to be seen clearly.As we all already know, no child needs makeup to look beautiful. Wearing makeup on stage is NOT about trying to improve their looks. It is about being seen under bright lights from a far distance. Stage lights are extremely bright and will wash out any and all facial features if no make up is applied.
Performance makeup us also part of the costume, it’s the finishing touch We NEVER want the costume to overshadow the face.
PPAS Chunks and skin sensitive children.
It can be very difficult to apply makeup to a very young child. We hear all the time that getting them to sit still long enough for hair and makeup when they are so excited about the show and it can be a challenge. Also, it is important to note that not all young children like the sensation of makeup being applied (usually eyeliner and mascara), and because of this, applying certain kinds of makeup can quickly become a real challenge.
If you have a child that is very young or sensitive to certain kinds of makeup, we ask you to just try to apply what you can, and not worry about the rest.
It is most important to apply one colour of eye shadow on the lid of the eye, mascara, blush, and lipstick.
Foundation, multiple colours of eye shadows, and eyeliner are all more advanced makeup techniques and can be skipped until you and your child are a little more experienced.
You will need the following to prepare your child’s makeup,
Basic makeup brush set
Foundation (slightly darker than their own complexion)
Eyeshadow palate with at least 3 complimentary colours pinks and creams
Pencil eyeliner (black)
Mascara (brown for blondes, black for all darker hair types)
Blush ( as close to natural colour)
Lip Liner ( natural no bright red)
Colorstay lipstick (natural no bright red)
Here is how we would like you to prepare your child’s makeup, we think it’s far better if parents apply the initial make-up and our chapereones will top up your child’s make-up during the show. Please supply your child with their own make-up with their costumes if you don’t want them to use our supply. We will supply each dressing room with blushers, eyeliner lipstick and gloss.
BASIC STAGE MAKEUP
Base/Foundation
Apply a shade slightly darker than child’s natural skin
tone. Apply over entire face, blending out to hairline and neck area.
Eyebrows
Darken eyebrows with eyebrow pencil or mascara —Brown for blondes; black or brown for brunettes or darker skin tones, you should still be able to see the natural hairs.
Eye shadow
Apply the lightest colour the underbrow Apply a darker colour to the lid and blend it in well Older girls apply darker colour in the crease
Eyeliner
Apply eyeliner to the top of the eye, liner, as close to the lashes as you can manage. Apply a very thin line of pencil eyeliner to the bottom of the eye. Be careful not to apply too much. If the line is too thick on the bottom of the eye, it actually makes the eyes look less open on stage.
Mascara
Apply mascara to lashes, focus more on the top lashes and apply very little to the bottom lashes. Use the eyelash comb to help separate and extend the eyelashes after applying mascara.
Blush
Starting at the middle of the cheekbone, use a big brush to blend the blush back. Using a large blush brush (as opposed to the kind that comes with the blush) will help to blend the blush into the skin and make it look more natural.
Apply to apples of cheeks.
Lips
Apply lip liner first. Be sure to stay within the natural lines of the lips.
Next, apply lipstick to the inside of the lips. Colorstay works best because once it is on, it does not come off when a performer sweats, drinks water, or changes her costume
Hair
We would like girls to have their hair in French braids where this is appropriate. Please see the link below for how to do it.