Back to School - Back to Dance

It's Back to Dance Season!

Time to get back into the swing of things. If you are just starting a young child, there are some things you should research before you put them in to any studio or program.

Starting a New Dancer in a New Studio:

• Look for studios that have an open house during the summer. Many studios do this to promote business and let new students try out some classes.


• Ask your neighbors. Word of mouth is key in finding a good studio. Word gets out about bad ones pretty quickly.


• Talk to the owners and teachers to see if they are right for your chilld. All kids are different and can handle different intensity levels.


• Watch out for studios that demand a lot of money up front or require that you purchase basic things only through them. You should be able to buy as many or as few classes as you want.

Most dance studios are run by good people, just be aware and ask a lot of questions before you commit. Your child's attitude will be the best guide in making your decision.

Your's in Dance,

Maria

The Summer Dance Camp Season

It's time to start planning for summer camps and conventions. Bloch has come out with a new line called Bloch Team that is specifically designed for dance teams and competition groups. This line is only available through authorized Bloch dealers.

There are new shoes that go along with this line as well. The new Bloch Klassik in solid colors and the Trisole - Hi boot. Shoes can change the look and feel of your competition piece, so make sure you choose a high-quality appropriate shoe.

We love hearing from dancers, so please leave comments of what you think the dancewear world needs.

Maria

The Early Bird gets the Best Costume.

What is the key to having perfect recital costumes every year? BE PREPARED - EARLY.

The earlier you start planning for recital, the higher the odds are that you will be able to solve problems and get exactly what you want.

Most recital costumes are not in stock, ready to ship at a moment's notice. January - March is not the time to start thinking about costumes. You should have your music and ideas for costumes ready in November, and have the costumes chosen by January - February for a June recital.

Costume Catalogs can take anywhere from 10 - 12 weeks to get you your costumes and they might not all be correct when you get them. Always allow a cushion of 1-3 weeks before your show date to receive and sort your costumes. This allows for measurement issues to be solved, and you will still have time to get any missing pieces.

The other benefit to being prepared is Happy Parents. There is nothing worse than having to tell a parent, who just put a lot of money out for costumes, that their child's doesn't fit or hasn't arrived in time. An efficient, professional costume process will keep the parents coming back.

Yours in Dance,
Maria

Teach an old look, new tricks

Are you tired of looking at the same 50's costume you've seen for the last 5 years? I have looked through so many costume catalogs over the years that my eyes start to cross and I even start to think the most horrendous costumes look fabulous by the end. Here are some ideas for quick and easy twists on old looks:

Flower Costume : Get Green leotards and tights and use colorful tutu hip bands as the headdress around the face to look like the petals. Sew or glue silk flowers directly to the leotard or on to a wide piece of ribbon to make a belt. You can also attach flowers to a skirt to match the costume.

Snakes/Frogs/Lizards: Get the Bal Togs Hooded/Footed Unitards in deep green or blue colors. You can add feet too for the frog look. Use make-up and rhinestones to bring out the look you want. Also good for underwater numbers.

Pick a Color: A great easy costume idea is to pick one color and do multiple looks. This is especially useful if you have a wide range of ages and body types in one number. You can do halters, long sleeves, skirts, shorts - anything as long it is the same color.

And Finally - the cardinal rule of costuming: Use A Lot of Rhinestones. You can turn any outfit into an instant costume by rhinestoning. A basic unitard that is rhinestoned is suddenly a fabulous costume piece. We reccommend glueing as opposed to using the grommets because it saves time and it won't snag.

More ideas to come - please respond if you have other costume tricks for our readers.

Yours in Dance,

Maria

Opening Night!!!

The curtain is up and Dancegear's Dance Blog is up and running. Now for Act 1.

We started this blog because we are passionate about dance. Our hope is that it will become somewhat of a meeting place for dancers and dance enthusiasts to talk about all things related to dance. Our posts will hopefully share some of the knowledge we have gathered over the years but, more importantly, will spark discussion on issues that we all have in common. We encourage all of our readers to comment often. If you agree, let us know. If you don't, we want to hear that too. The subjective quality of dance is one of the most interesting aspects of it. One dancer's trash is another dancer's treasure, but it is important to "feel" something.

Hope to hear from all of you soon!

Yours in dance,

Maria