What to bring to your first dance class
Check your studio's dress code first. It usually names the exact color, and buying twice is the most common first-year mistake.
Every class, whatever the style
Label everything, including each shoe. A studio with thirty children in leotards loses more single shoes than anything else.
- A fitted leotard in the color the studio asks for, or a fitted top and dance shorts or leggings for boys
- Dance tights, not department-store tights, which ladder in one class
- Hair pulled back and secured off the face, in a bun where the style calls for one
- The shoe that matches the style, in the color the dress code names
- A named water bottle and a small bag with everything labelled
What changes by style
Ballet
- Pink footed tights and a leotard in the studio's color
- Hair in a secured bun, not a ponytail
- Full-sole or split-sole ballet slippers, usually pink for girls and black or white for boys
Tap and jazz
- Often a black leotard, with fitted shorts or jazz pants allowed
- Tap shoes for tap, jazz shoes for jazz. They are not interchangeable
- Hair secured, though a bun is usually not required
Hip-hop
- Fitted athletic wear the teacher can see the body line through
- Clean indoor-only sneakers that have never been worn outside
- Hair secured well enough to survive fast head movement
Acro
- Fitted attire with nothing loose that flips over the head
- Hair secured flat, no hard clips or scrunchies
- Bare feet usually, and knee pads if the teacher asks for them
Hold off on these until after the first class
Buy what the first class requires, then adjust once the teacher has seen your dancer.
- A dance bag. A tote works fine until she knows she is staying
- Extra leotards in colors the dress code does not require
- Anything for a style she has not started yet
- Shoes bought a size big to grow into, which slide and teach bad habits
Our studio also requires: