Enhancing Dance Costume Design Skills for Instructors at Sanggar Senaputra Malang Based on Malang's Local Cultural Identity

Abstract

This article describes the costume design training conducted by the Community Service Team of Universitas Negeri Malang (UM) for dance instructors at the Sanggar Senaputra in Malang. The objective of this program is to complement the instructors' existing choreographic competencies with essential skills in dance costume design. Through an intensive mentoring approach, the instructors were positioned as costume designers capable of translating dramatic narratives into a visual language of sketches, patterns, and costume forms. The process began with an analysis of cultural narratives to extract philosophical values, followed by an aesthetic exploration that integrates traditional conventions with modern innovation, and concluded with a practical dance costume production workshop. The activities were held intensively from June 7 to June 21, 2025, involving 20 participants. This program focused on strengthening the design of Malang’s signature dance costumes, material selection, pattern making, and production. The results demonstrate that the instructors have attained independence in creating innovative dance costumes that reflect Malang’s cultural identity. In addition to producing four design prototypes and costumes that serve as the "soul" of the performance art, the program successfully fostered foundational capabilities with the potential to sustain the creation of distinctive dance attire characteristic of Malang.