To think three year olds don't wear red lipstick, even on stage?

[DrSeuss]

DD has just turned three a few weeks ago and goes to a dance class, which she loves. They have a show coming up, her first and we are all really looking forward to it. However, the kit list specifies red lippy and blusher! DH and I were horrified!

Thoughts?

Yeap, I am the most-unfeminine person I know and hate make-up on kids, but stagelights do require it.
I would be more concerned if they were competing against each other with make up.

The point of stage make-up is not to "look pretty."

Little* fwiw I agree with them not wearing make up at 3 but if that is what the dance school has decided then then the op either needs to challenge the school or move her child somewhere more suitable

I was just going to say what matilda said. Stage makeup isn't about making you 'prettier'. Of course little girls are pretty enough, if pretty is even something you want to worry about. Adult women are, too, and as I said I very, very rarely wear makeup when not on stage. Stage makeup is about performance, it's part of what they are learning when they learn dance - the purpose is, surely, to perform, and makeup and costume are part of that. Not the same as street makeup at all.

I used to wear blue eyeshadow and red lipstick for ballet shows from 3/4 years old. It was stage makeup for under the lights!

I let my 3 year old mess around with make-up at home, and wouldn't be bothered about her wearing it for a specific reason such as a show, as long as it wasn't compulsory and they had the choice (wouldn't condone holding them down and forcing it on!). I think it's horses for courses not a definitive right or wrong.

I danced on stage from the age of 4 until I was around 13. We all wore french plaits, red lipstick, blusher, blue eyeshadow and glitter regardless of age. It was all just part of the performance, there was nothing sexual intended by it whatsoever. I, nor have any of my dancing friends have ever been negatively impacted by it. Stop making a mountain out of a molehill!

They are in a show. On stage. I can't see why people are fussing about this. If you feel this way no point in your child joining in this kind of thing.

In a church hall - no make up required

On a stage with lights - make up needed unless they are aiming for the ghostly look

Simples

I'm involved with am dram and we use base and lipstick on children. Simply because you absolutely cannot see people without makeup on stage!

It isn't about them "looking pretty" - it is about those coming to see them being able to see them!

Op have you watched dance moms? It's a show on lifetime and they are always in full make-up including fake eyelashes. It makes them stand out on stage. I remember having to darken my skin when performing at junior arts (acting) so that we didn't look washed out on stage.

Ive performed on stage myself with two of my girls and the lipstick and a little blush is only there to emphasise facial features as stage lighting tends to make your face disapear a bit.

the boys wear it too, eye liner and stuff.

my girls were not slicked with make up, how ridiculous

I used to think like you, OP, then someone explained that it's just part of the whole stage costume. It goes on for the performance and it comes off again, just like the fabric part of the costume. No big deal.

not necessary imo. At 3 it's just about play acting and doesn't matter if they look "washed out" under the lights

Normal round here! My girls have been dancing since a similar age and they always have to wear lots of make up for dance shows and similarly for competitions. I use babywipes on their faces afterwards and then further scrubbing in the bath as their hair is also always full of gel and spray.

I wonder if the responses on the thread would have been different if the question had been framed: "AIBU to think it's normal, and under stage lighting necessary, for performers of both sexes and all ages, to wear stage make up when performing?"

Yes, we can only wonder Edith.

I'd like to ask those who disagree with it, what harm do they think it will do?
I don't like the American style pageants as the whole outfit is geared up to be like mini adults but I can assure you at my DD's dance school this is not the case at all and outfits are all very age appropriate (maybe apart from oldest age group who kept the dads happy - 17+ age group).

I'm not a make up person myself and very rarely wear anything but I don't have a problem with DD's (who started age 3) putting on stage make up. I probably had more problem with having to put their hair in a bun which meant learning a whole new set of skills for me.

It's part of the costume. And yes you do need makeup on stage under full lights especially if it's being recorded. If you don't want your dd to wear makeup then take her out of the show. Don't complain to the dance teacher, they will be stressed enough with everything a show entails.

I work in stage lighting, it really does help pick out colour in performers faces if they are wearing makeup. Often the men get made up to some degree too. For kids at 3 in a small show for their parents it's probably not necessary but is a 'nice to have' for the people organising the production. If they go into theatre etc it will be expected so it's probably good to get used to it young. It's not about mak

Sorry, it's not about making them look made up like they are out on the town. By the time they have 1000s of watts with of lighting pointing down at them, they will look a lot more natural.

If you don't want to use it don't, but it's fairly standard to wear some type of make-up on stage. One of mine is allergic to make-up so at her ballet shows she wears none and she does look very ghostly next to the other children but ultimately I very much doubt your ballet teacher will make her wear if it you really object.

It's about being visible more than anything, I would have thought. What if it were green lipstick and blusher, any better? If you feel that strongly, don't put your daughter on the stage because she's part of a 'troupe' presumably.

Utterly ridiculous to think that a three year old would look anything other than a three year old 'clown' style.

I don't know if I wore make up on stage as a small child, but I definitely was by the time I was 7-10. It's part of the stage performance and it's what sets the recital apart from the dress rehearsal.