I am a makeup artist with a history in ballroom dancing. My work is my passion. Everytime I go to competitions I try my best to make dancers feel comfortable, beautiful, and ready for the spotlight. You can hear more about my story by checking out my previous article.

What I want you to know firsthand? 

Applying makeup for a stage performance is very different to how you would do your makeup for every day or for going out. Everything is much more dramatic, exaggerated and at the same time works very well, since there is a certain distance between the dance floor and the public. It has to be appreciated from the last seats. 

Also, the lighting on the stage is much more intense and the light causes facial features to lose dimension. This makes the dancers’ faces look flat. A make-artist needs to make sure that the face and all its features look the way they should.

Although applying this type of makeup takes a lot of time, I never miss these 5 elements:

1. Long-lasting Power

Hip Hip Hooray for makeup that won’t budge, smudge, smear or disappear for an entire day!
As you well know, a dancer’s makeup has to stay perfect from beginning to end. Not only that, but you also sweat a lot and you certainly don’t want makeup to melt down your face. It’s not a good look! 

You have to prep the skin with the right skincare to set a good base to work on and apply professional makeup that is full coverage and very pigmented when applying a small amount.

2. Luminosity

The goal of every beauty routine is to give a natural finish. The face of the dancer has to have a healthy glow and be highlighted in certain areas of the face. For example, the areas where the highlighter  is applied are the cheekbones, just above the forehead, the bridge of the nose (the “T”), the Cupid’s bow (above the upper lip) and the chin. 

Highlighters have to be applied with a very light hand. We don’t want you to become a disco ball!

3. Clarity of Lines

A makeup artist combines dark and light tones to stylize our features and emphasize certain areas. It’s the perfect way to fine tune a face, to basically sculpt it by creating shadows. To do it correctly, you need a professional who knows about the specific ways to work with different face shapes. 

Also, the precision of applying an eyeliner or makeup in general is very important to get a professional makeup look.

4. Harmony

To achieve harmony in the makeup, you must achieve a uniformity between the colors of your skin, eyes, and hair, clothing, season, time of day or light. Remember that is is extremely important to see what will the dancer be wearing and work around that, some types of makeup looks just don’t go well together with certain types of dresses. 

You also need to know what kind of looks catch the audience’s eyes.

5. Matte Makeup and Only Glossy In Accents

Matte makeup is characterized by being smooth and even. A matte face reflects much less light while achieving a more velvety look and almost perfect skin, not to mention that the powder helps control the oils and sets the makeup.

On the other hand, the makeup can become pretty dull if we only use a matte finishes, that’s why a makeup artist will always play with glossy accents: a more shimmery eyelid or a glossy lipstick can make your face pop!

Remember:

Sometimes it’s not about what you put on the dancer’s face, it’s what is the feeling they take away with them on the dance floor.

You can check out my latest work on my Instagram.