Costume Makeover: Black Top

Costume Makeover: Black Bra Top

Like a woman with blue eye shadow, teased bangs, and a perm, my costumes were outdated and lacking the oomph much needed in the samba business. They desperately needed a makeover.

For months, I've been planning the makeover of my black bikini but did not have time to put my ideas into fruition (This parenting thing is taking up all my time).This week, however, I finally got around to working on my costume.

Now, my black costume bikini top looks amazing. The new embellishments really pop, and best of all, it makes my small boobs look huge :)

Steps 1: To completely remake the top, I stripped the wire-bra frame of all beads and embellishments. I then covered the wire with black ribbon and felt. This process took longer than actually decorating the costume.

Step 2: After breastfeeding, my boobs have gotten much smaller (Damn this parenting thing!). However, the triangle shape top is still too small for my small boobs (dam it, again!). With a piece of cardboard, I cut out a circular shape, covered it with felt, and attached it to the triangle bra cup. 

  

Step 3: At Joanne Fabric Store, I found a beautiful rhinestone-pearl pendant to serve as the focal point of the bra and glued it on the circular cardboard shape. To finish the look, I glued pre-strung sequence and individual rhinestones around the pendant and finished off the front of the bra by outlining it with pre-strung rhinestones. Bedazzling the bra was the best part.

Completed top

Step 4: Years ago, a neighbor gave me a bag full of mismatched or broken jewelry--Yes, I'm becoming a hoarder and will soon live in a house full of ostrich feathers, old carnaval magazines, damaged costumes, and broken samba shoes. To finish off the top, I added an old rhinestone earring given to me by my neighbor to the center of the bra and used ribbons as bra straps.

The makeover took a total of 4 hours. In the past, I sewed most, if not all, of the embellishments to my costumes. This time, I decided to use a combination of hot glue and fabric glue; let me tell you, it saved me loads of time.

I look forward to wearing my new costume at Ivete Sangalo's U.S. Bay Area show.

Beijos and enjoy your week!

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A Musa do Caldeirao--the Muse of Carnaval 2012

Musa do Caldeirao 2012

Every year, Luciano Huck, a prominent Brazilian talk show host, holds a Musa do Caldeirao competition. For a month or so, samba dancers from top Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo samba schools complete for the title. The winner not only is labeled the muse of his show but also receives noted praises and opportunities for the remaining of the year. Needless to say, I can't let this major Brazilian samba event go unblogged.

Below are some of my favorite dancers or costumes!
I'm not crazy about Joice's performance but I do love her top and hat...wow!!


Decorated arms must be my next project. I love the look and the attention it calls to the arm movements of the dancer. Check out Neia's costume.

I'm a little bias but I love Camila's performance. She has grace, style, and amazing footwork. My pick for Musa do Caldeirao!

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find a video of Evelyn's performance, but I did include a photo of her. She is the official Musa do Carnaval 2012.

Maria Souza: A Dancer, Friend, and Teacher

Maria Souza: queen of Carnaval and Aquarela's founder, manager, and dancer. Around the holiday season, Aquarela begins preparing for the San Francisco Carnaval Ball. We brainstorm costume ideas, rehearse old and new choreographies, and begin our beauty regime—brown rice and broccoli--tasty! For us, the SF Ball is one of the top shows of the year and we LOVE it!!

However, this coming ball is going to be very different for me. Since I am currently in grad school and pregnant, I have not attended rehearsals. I’m out of the loop and I hate it because rehearsals are more than just a time to dance and rehearse. It’s my time to bond with some of my closest friends.

Aquarela is like a second family with Maria Souza as the mother. For the past 25 years, Maria Souza has led Aquarela Dance Ensemble. During this time, she has been a fellow dancer, friend, critic, and mother. She taught me how to dance, make costumes, and build the confidence that I have today. In simple terms, Maria has been one of the most important people in my life. She truly is an amazing woman.

To show my gratitude, I've included some of Aquarela's best moments?

The beginning. Warning! The costumes are outdated but still fabulous. Plus, Maria's white feather costume is to die for.

Carnaval Parade

Silvana: Choreographer, organizer, dancer, and friend. Micaela: Organizer, dancer, and friend. Akiva: Organizer, dancer, and friend.
Dominique: Dancer, friend, and the baby of the group :)
Molly: Dancer, friend, and clown. Yes, a professional clown!

2011 San Francisco Carnaval Parade

The 2011 San Francisco Carnaval Parade is now a bitter-sweet memory.

Let me begin with the bitter:
It began at 7 :30 am when my very pregnant best-friend announced she would not be parading today. After parading together for 14 year, she would not...be...present. The news instantly broke my spirit and brought tears to my eyes, but I tried to overcome it and move on. However, later we were faced with technical difficulties involving the band and sound system. Those on the float and beyond could not hear the band that marched 20 feet ahead. Now tell me, how can any dance group perform when they can't hear the music? Lastly and the straw that broke the camel's back, metaphorically speaking, was the conduct of a fellow dancer. Her bad mood and unkind behavior left me disappointed and despondent. Carnaval, after all, is a joyous occasion in which participants show off their talent, bring pleasure and entertainment to the crowd, and simply have a great time--fun time. Bad moods and unkind behavior is not allowed. In fact, if you look closely at the San Francisco Carnaval Parade rule book, it clearly states that unpleasant and disagreeable behaviors are not allowed within 20' of the parade--really! But enough about the bitter.

Let me end with the sweet:
I looked fabulous! Of course, it was with the help of friends. For one, Dominique lent me a fabulous hot pink bikini and gloves to match my head and shoulder piece. She was also my chauffeur; I love when I don't have to drive. During the parade, Akiva consoled me (remember that my best-friend and partner in crime was not parading). Her kind words and carrying gestures brought my spirits up, allowing me to dance my ass off. At the end of the parade, I was pleasantly surprised to see that my feet did not hurt--always, always a plus--and in the afternoon, I had a great cup of coffee and closed the parade day with a great stage performance; I know it was great because other dancers (audience members) were clapping and smiling. In many ways, the parade was a great success.

Here are the pictures!
Maria Souza, director and founder of Aquarela
Me and my family
The amazing band
Silvana Sousa, choreographer of Aquarela

Just a Few More Days

It has not been a easy month but I'm near the end of all the chaos!
Finals...check
grades...almost
carnaval parade...4 days
costume for the parade...almost done
Birth of Micaela's baby...less than 1 month

With so much going on, I have not had time for my blog, which saddens me since I like regularly writing down my ideas and feelings. However, life will be back to normal is just a few days. By next week, I will have all of my school work done and will be able to concentrate on dance classes, family, friends, samba, and costumes. I can't wait!

Possible parade costume: Hot pink with hot pink legs.
By the way, I love the way Molly's bra reflects the lights and in turn bring attention to her boobs--too funny!

Ice-Skating Belt

May has always been a challenging month for me. When in college, I was overwhelmed with exams and essays. As a teacher, I'm bombarded by last minute lessons, projects, exams, and essays. As a dancer, I am challenged with last minute Carnaval parade costumes, choreographies, and set-up. But family and friends serve as pleasant distractions that add on to the excitement of May.

With my niece's birthday falling in May (right around Carnaval), I decided to make her 1st samba costume! Knowing she is a great ice-skater and a ballerina at heart, I decided to call her costume an Ice-Skating Belt. Little did I know that the belt would serve many purposes. In addition to being a belt, it also functions as a crown, and she occasionally uses it to ward off her big brother (I believe it is such an affective tool that police officers are now thinking of using it instead of the Taser gun :) ). Needless to say, she loves the ice-skating belt.

Check out the pictures:

Carnaval Parade: Countdown Begins

San Francisco Carnaval Parade 2007. My year as the queen of carnaval. I had fun this year.


San Francisco Carnaval Parade 2009. I was 8 months pregnant with my little Camila.

We now begin the countdown for this year's San Francisco Carnaval parade! With less than a month to go, my group is now scrambling to get costumes done, decorated floats ordered, sound systems reserved, and participants excited.

With so much to do, I almost don't know where to start and the stress makes me want to shut down. If only I have a magic wand, I could conjure up a gorgeous hot pink costume to match the well-designed, colorful, and large float that I would also conjure up. But the show must go on! Thus, I will probably spend the next few weeks mustering up courage to work on my costume and eventually produce something that not only I love but will also make this year's Carnaval parade special and unforgettable.

Feliz Carnaval!

When the going gets tough, do something you love.

As a full time teacher, I enjoy the benefits of long vacations and occasional weekly breaks. However, when on vacation I don't exert the same amount of physical and mental energy as I do when working. This can be a real problem!

Last night I was unable to sleep. After reading pages of Farm City, daydreaming of future events, and contemplating life, I still could not drift off into the world of the unconscious (I believe some call it insomnia but I refuse to accept or refer to my occasional problems as such--I'm in denial). So I did the next best thing; I worked on Carnaval costumes!

My costume pet right now is an old black hat that has seen better days. Yes, this hat has been around since the beginning of my samba career and for some time was the only costume I had. Thus, it's loaded with memories and personal value. To make a long story short, I ended up going to bed a 2:30 with the pleasure and satisfaction of having a "new," gooooorgeous black hat--OMG! It's beautiful.

As I crawled under the covers so not to wake up my better half, I realized that when the going gets tough, do something you love! It can be as simple as gluing rhinestones to a beat up hat :)

Below is the final product.