Sunday, December 20, 2009

Floral Arches


I was asked to make some floral arches of Christmas greenery for a dance number in Christmas Carol. I knew exactly what the director was talking about when she was describing what she wanted. I feel like I have seen ballerinas dancing with them in happy spring folk dance numbers, but when I went to find them online I was finding nothing.
The floral part of the project was going to be easy, but I couldn't figure what the base would be. It had to be rigid enough to hold it's shape, but flexible enough to bend as the dancers moved their arms. They also had to be long enough to jump rope with. I searched the hardware store for a hose or pvc that would work but everything was either to limp or two rigid.
I hate reinventing the wheel, so I posted on some discussion boards hoping to find someone who had constructed these before and found no luck there.
I found this image of "portugese flower arches" but using search terms related to that didn't get me anywhere. Eventually  I came across this website on Phillipine folk dance with pictures of girls using similar flower arches. Luckily though, this wasn't a picture taken by a tourist or an observer, but the website of the dance school that choreographs the dances. I emailed the dance school instructor listed on the website and asked her how to make them. She sent me a very friendly email explaining exactly how she made the arches by cutting apart hula hoops and wrapping the ends in tape.
From there the arches were all a question of design. I wrapped them in garland and then wove holly, ribbon and battery operated twinkle lights through them.

On a side note during the holidays you can buy small strands of Christmas twinkle lights (some standard, some LED) attached to battery packs. They are invaluable for creating wireless lighted effects for endless uses, but they are only easily available during the holidays. So buy them while you can and keep a few in stock. 

There are two strands of lights in each arch. The packs are tucked into the greenery close to the handles at each end. The batteries were placed at the end because I wanted their weight to effect the swing and movement of the arches as little as possible.

9 comments:

  1. Hi, I'm a student at a ballet school in Spain. In the show so this year we're going to dance with arches of flowers as you did you do but we have to make ourselves and do not know how to build them. Would you be so kind as to tell me how to build them?. Thank you very much.

    My email is: lidiajurado@hotmail.com

    Thank you very much. Lidia.

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  2. Thank you so much for your helpful tips! I did not even know what to call these flower arches before! We are planning a Chinese New Year of the Dragon 2012 performance for our first graders' Chinese School event in California on January 28, 2012. Wish us luck! I will post photos of our very own flower arches we come up with after our performance.
    http://castleofcostamesa.com/chinese-culture/chinese-new-year/costumes-and-props-for-ics-cny-barclay-performance
    Thanks for your help with my research!

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  3. I'm happy that my research helped you Jzin, and I would love to see how your arches turn out.

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  4. Hi Jesse,
    I posted our very own garland "arches" (actually a hula hoop) on our blog:
    http://castleofcostamesa.com/chinese-culture/chinese-new-year/ms-yehs-class-chinese-new-year-barclay-performance
    We only had 1 month to prepare the whole show for Chinese New Year 2012. My volunteer ended up making it a simple circle without cutting up the hula hoop. It is simpler, a little different. (The children would sometimes hold it upside down or the wrong way coz it's a circle). With your permission I would love to post a link to your tutorial and a photo of your beautiful garland arches on my blog. Thanks! Jzin

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    Replies
    1. Hi Jzin,
      I'm glad that your arches/hoops worked well for your performance. You are absolutely welcome to post a link to my tutorial.

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  5. Hello:
    What type of green tape did you use on the ends of the hoop? Thanks!

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    Replies
    1. I used green electrical tape to finish off the ends of my arches.
      You should be able to find it easily at any hardware store.

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  6. Hi! Thanks for sharing. Did the hula hoop stay curved once cut or did you have to insert something to keep it in shape? Thanks!

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    Replies
    1. the hula hoops held a curved shape after cutting. No additional structure needed.

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