Costumes
May 15, 2023
Costumes, costumes, costumes. I love costumes and love to dress up. That was probably one thing that sold me when I first started dancing was the costume. Dancing in the recital was so exciting and have danced ever since.
When it comes to costumes, we have to really think about a few things when ordering costumes. 1. Does this costume enhance the dance? Does it help tell the story or go with the theme of the song. Will the costume get in the way, does it fit right? 2. Is it age appropriate? Does the costume portray the age of the student? Is the theme age appropriate? No matter if the dancer is age 3 or 18, dancers that are still in school should be wearing appropriate costumes especially dancing around other children. 3. Is the costume flattering the dancer? Will the costume show off the dancers strengths? Is the color or style flattering? The costume should showcase the dancers best assets.
We also have to think, is this for recital or is this costume for a competition or solo? For recital we might want to keep the costume cost lower. You might be wanting to go a little higher in price for a competition costume. Of course we all have a budget, but think about how many times the dancer will be performing in this costume? Is there a possibility to reuse the costume for other events? I know some students resell their costumes during halloween time. Some rent costumes for recital or competition. There are so many options available for any budget.
You can order costumes of course from online or a catalog or even better, some costume companies actually have shows! You can actually go and see the costume up close and how it will fit on your dancers. Or, do you know a seamstress? Is it cost effective? So many options and there is no right or wrong answer it’s all about what is best for your studio.
Make sure to plan ahead and order in enough time. Make sure you don’t order too early because some students do grow so fast in a year. Also try to keep track of what classes have worn what style or color for recital previously. You don’t want students wearing identical costumes every year. Try to keep a log of who wore what to try not to repeat the same costume.
Well, These are several tips that hopefully will help you out when planning your costumes for the season. If you have a favorite costume company or fabric company that you love please share!
