#dance dancemom busykids

[cdt-2007]

Dress for success inside the studio

We are about six weeks into the dance season and as families are settling into their new normal of the school year, this is about the time we see a little bit of slack happen when it comes to dress code. So, this is a friendly reminder that your dancer��s attire is important. Click here to read up about the dress code at Children’s Dance Theater.

Look I get it, there are weeks where your rushing and stressing about pick up kids from school, having the snack in the car and then rushing into the studio, only to find out you packed the wrong leotard or you only have one tap shoe. I’m of course not referring to these moments.  I want to share why following the dress code important and some tips on how I manage it.

Dancers need to be in proper dress code for their safety, particularly when they are older and working on more advanced steps. Dance technique required the use of deep muscle tissues and that can be difficult for the instructor to see if the body is covered up by baggy sweats. It can also be dangerous in classes like partnering and acro, if there is excess fabric, hands can get caught in weird places and next thing you know a dancer being spotted or lifted has fallen.  Dancers should be focused on the learning and fun, and that is made more difficult if their hair is falling out or being constantly pushed out of their face. The distraction factor is HUGE when one darling little dancer is more focused on their skirt or the teen ager who is self-conscious about the constantly riding up tee shirt.

By wearing the proper dance attire, dancers start to feel like dancers. Have you ever heard that you should dress for the job you want not the job you have? It’s the same idea. Taking the time to put that hair in a neat bun or the appropriate leotard is attire is going to make your child feel more confident and a part of the group.

As a mom of two dancers, it can be tough. I have a 5-year-old who is dancing 3 days a week and right now my 13-year-old son is dance 6 days a week. It’s a lot right now, however 2 of those days are for Nutcracker practices and won’t last all year. I also work a full-time job, so I get it. I’m here to tell you organization and planning is key.

First, I make sure I have one extra dance outfit, for my daughter that means I have 4 dance outfits. We have her uniform outfit that she wears to her Tuesday classes. Second, she has a “fun” dance outfit she wears to her competition rehearsal. Then she has a special Nutcracker leotard with a skirt. Then is my back up uniform leotard, incase I’m behind in laundry. Which let’s face it, I’m never gonna catch up with laundry.

Second, on dance days, she goes to school with an amazing ponytail. She doesn’t get a hair choice those days. Before I had my daughter, I thought doing hair was going to be such a fun bonding moment. I had seen the epic mother daughter hair battles in my lobby before, but I just thought it was an overly sensitive child or something. I didn’t fully understand the level of contempt my daughter was going to have for me because of the hair brush. The ages of 2-5 were tough. She is just now getting used to that daily schedule of hair brushing. One of my life savers, Fairy Tales Hair Detangler Spray. It smells great too, and is a lice repellant so I feel like I’m covering all my mom nightmare hair bases with this tip!

Third, I only buy convertible tights. My daughter does the traditional combo tap and ballet class, as well as a second acro class. She needs to be able to bare foot for acro then pull the tights down over her feet for tap and ballet. It was driving me mad to search through the drawer and think about what class was happening that day and if I was grabbing the correct tights. I eliminated that concern and started buying exclusively convertible tights. My mornings are better for it.

Fourth, I don’t unpack the dance bag. All her dance shoes live in her dance bag. They never come out. If you don’t have a dance bag, get one now, put the shoes in it, of course shoes with their names in them, and never take them out. I only change out her dance clothes. For us, I pack the dance bag in the morning with the clothes she needs that day and her snack or dinner.  Due to our family schedule, sometimes my kids have to hang out at the studio until I’m done teaching so its not out of the ordinary for them to need a meal at the studio.

Fifth and final tip, create a hair kit and have it live in the dance bag. Our hair kit consists of a zip lock bag of hair rubber bands, bobby pins, and a small brush. Somethings I want to add to it is a travel size hair spray and a scrunchy or two. Scrunchies are not necessary, just my daughter’s latest obsession.

The process really isn’t all that different for my son. We are just now working on him being able to pack his own bag, which is definitely having some bumps, but getting better. I will say with a teenage boy, I need to take a role in the unpacking of the dance bag because the old dance clothes (or leftover food) isn’t necessarily coming out each night. Another thing with teens I would address is that as their body changes, deodorant and gold bond powder is a great addition to the dance bag. Hardworking teens get stinky. I’ve had more than one pre-pubescent teen almost knock me over with BO when lifting their arms to 5th position.

With teen body changes it is important to start thinking about sports bras for girls and dance belts for boys. Now that I’m going through it with my son, I wish I started earlier with the dance belt so it felt normal for him now. If you have a teen dancer, its work taking a quick peek into class and watching to see if there are any support issues starting to happen. You can make the choice of when that is right for your child, however if it is becoming an issue, we will be sure to kindly and privately mention it to the parents. Being a teen is awkward enough, then add a full-length mirror to the picture, it’s just better to handle it before its needed.

Know that your child’s teachers are here to support you too. We know there are going to be rough days. I’ve had MANY parents come up to me and say, “Ms. Stephanie will you please tell Suzie that she needs to have her hair in a bun”. Of course, I do it and the child will comply. I’m also a big proponent of the child should take some responsibility for their preparation in dance class. When a child forgets something and they tell me their mom forgot, I will say, “do you take dance class or does your mom?” Involve them in the process, as appropriate for their age. The more they develop the routine of preparing for class the more they can focus on the learning in class. That act of preparing for something is a life lesson that will serve them well in various facets the rest of their life.