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In a word, yes. First and foremost the footwear for each class (ballet, jazz, hip hop, etc.) is going to be different. As for the dancewear itself, it usually boils down to style rather than, say, fabric or fit.

For example, Motionwear might use the same fabrics for a jazz leotard as a ballet leotard, but the look of those two leotards is going to be markedly different.

So, what are the different types of dancewear “looks” for the three big styles of dance?

Ballet

Ballerinas are conservative. Partly because it’s a strict requirement of their school and partly because that’s just the style. Ballet is an old form of dance steeped in tradition and part of that tradition is the dress. So, you’ll typically see ballerinas wearing either pink or black leotards (unless their school dictates otherwise) with tights. There isn’t a lot of wiggle room in ballet (pardon the pun) for personal expression through attire.

Jazz

Jazz, like the art form itself, definitely tends to be a lot more “free” in its dancewear choices. Here at Motionwear, we sell a lot of tanks, booty shorts and bra tops for jazz dancers. They tend to like the flexibility of separate pieces that are both comfortable and versatile along with the range of colors and prints.

Hip Hop

A big part of hip hop dance is the attitude and part of that attitude is personal expression. Personal expression includes dancewear and in hip hop, almost anything goes.

Depending on your studio, you could probably get away with wearing jeans to class if you wanted to (after one sweaty sesssion, you’d probably never want to do it again, but still). So, hip hop dancers don’t tend to snatch up the leotards and instead will gravitate towards the more colorful and modern separates.

A dancer could wear the same leotard to every dance class, but they don’t usually. Instead, they opt to wear clothing styles that fit the style of dance they’re practicing at that time.

Photo: Lieven SOTE

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This buying option leaves them plenty of room for creativity. These imaginative performers convert and embellish their dancing garment on their own. While we can put custom rhinestones on practice leotards, some dancers and designers add more embellishments such as feathers themselves. The benefit that performers can gain from buying Motionwear practice leotards is that they’re very durable and last for a very long time.

There are certain types of dance where Motionwear leotards can be worn as costumes without any embellishment, such as jazz or ballet. Our company even has a “teen catalog” that performers can get costumes from. Sometimes people tend to think of it as a costume catalogue but it’s really not. It is primarily created for teen and dance team competitions.

When performers want to create a different look on their dance outfit, our company can help them do it by introducing them to gymnastics wear fabric. This fabric is normally brighter than dancewear fabric, which lets dancers get a completely different look and feel to their outfits.

As mentioned earlier, the company doesn’t really do any excessive beading on our practice leotards. It is because we would rather stay with what we do best and it obviously is our style and the fit of our garment. We focus on the performance fabric that can be converted into a costume or something different.

A lot of performers and dance companies are turning to Motionwear practice dancewear for their costumes. The leotards can be worn multiple times, and are not going to break down on the performers, unlike some traditional costumes that can fall apart after just a couple weeks of wearing them.

Our customers are very pleased with our products and their quality. They know we produce durable and wearable dancewear, and that this year’s costume can be next year’s costume wear as well. For those creative types, they can make a whole new costume just by adding different shorts, or pairing a skirt with their current leotards. It’s fun and doesn’t cost a whole lot of money. This idea has become very useful for everybody in this economy. We have seen a lot of people starting to cut back and becoming more mindful of their costume budget, and reusing some of their costumes the following year.

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The studio owner

Try to find out where the studio owner is from and where his or her foundation is based. Did they just graduate college? Do they have their major in dance? Did they travel with a troupe? Were they part of a company?

Getting a good understanding of a studio owner’s background lets you know where they’re coming from and how much experience they have. Many parents choose someone who was with a well-known company. They feel that gives them the experience of being both a student and a performer.

The teachers

Look for a variety of teachers. When a dance school is diverse, I see it as more opportunity for a student to branch out and learn new styles and techniques. For example, a great studio may have a teacher who’s incredible at ballet, another who’s into hip hop, and yet another who’s a phenomenal modern dancer.

Diversity in the staff leads to diversity in the dancer.

Presence in the community

The best experience you can give a dance student is performance experience. That’s why I recommend looking for a dance school that’s active in the local community and performing locally.

A few recitals a year isn’t enough to build up that performance experience. But if a dance school is running performances at local events, it’s a great opportunity for students to really find their stage legs.

Inspiration factor

This one is all about personal preference, but look for a dance studio that’s going to inspire your children. If you go in and the ceiling’s leaking and half the flickering fluorescent lights are broken, they may not be inspired as an artist (and you won’t be inspired as a parent). So, always take a tour of the studio before you enroll your kids. Make sure it’s a welcoming environment that brings out the dancer in your child.

Photo: Bisgovuk

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Teaches Discipline

Our head dance designer began taking dance classes when she was three, and she’s one of the most disciplined and polite women I know. Actually, most dancers I’ve met in my dancewear career have been exceptionally polite and disciplined. I think that attitude and demeanor stems from the discipline and manners that are taught in the dance studio.

Let’s face it, manners and discipline are lacking in a lot of kids these days. But, put them in a room with some of the ballet teachers I’ve met, and they’ll have them saying please and thank you left, right and center.

Posture

Dancers don’t slouch. Why? Because dance school teaches you how to hold yourself — keep a flat back, stand tall and remember your legs. It may seem frivolous, but good posture is key to preventing future back problems.

Exercise

Dance school gets kids out of the house, away from the TV and actually moving. It’s an amazing workout that teaches them how to move their bodies, use their bodies and stay active.

Opens Kids to the Arts

For me, this is probably the biggest benefit of dance school for children. Dance is a great way to open kids up, at a young age, to the arts and the beauty of creative expression.

Unfortunately, our arts programs in schools are constantly being cut and I think it’s up to us, the parents, to make sure our children aren’t losing an important part of our culture. By exposing your child to the arts early, you’re setting them up for a lifetime of artistic appreciation. It’s hard to measure that, but I value it highly.

Photo: Tom@HK

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Favorite Leotard

Every dancer needs at least one leotard that she feels comfortable in, loves to go to class in and wears to almost every class. It’s your go-to leotard, the leotard that you’d consider fishing out of the laundry hamper if it wasn’t washed in time for the next class. Motionwear strives to make that kind of leotard.

Tights

You need a pair of tights that are comfy, not too hot, won’t ride up and don’t feel scratchy. Trust me, a good pair of tights are worth their weight in gold.

Warm-Ups

A comfortable and cozy set of warm-ups are often forgotten on the list of essential dancewear, but they’re important. You don’t want to run into a studio in your leotard and just start dancing, that’s dangerous. You need to warm up and a pair of leg warmers, a jumpsuit or even some little knitted shorts are great for those first 5-10 minutes of class.

Cover-up

Most dancers I know pack a ballet skirt or a pair of dancewear shorts in their bag. It’s nice to have during practice if you’re not comfortable wearing just a leotard and you want to cover up a little.

Safety Pins

While not technically dancewear, safety pins are definitely a dance bag essential. You never know when a strap, lace or ribbon is going to need a little assistance. We strive for long-term quality here at Motionwear, but we can’t help it if our leotards are so comfy that a dancer wears them into the ground. Even our leotards can’t withstand years of constant beating. So, just be on the safe side and pin a couple to your bag.

Photo: AutumnLeaf

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On June 18th there will be a special celebration with a lot of dancing – and a lot of heart. It’s the 2009 Heart & Feet dance exhibition, a unique fundraiser for a unique cause. This year’s event promises to be an incredible evening of food, drinks and dancing, featuring the Synthesis Dance Project and Border Crossing Collective. These performances, along with a raffle and silent auction, will raise money for this unique pediatric dance therapy program housed at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

Dréa’s Dream is the legacy of Andréa Rizzo, a childhood survivor of cancer whose dream was to become a dance therapist for children with cancer and disabilities. Her personal quest was ended when a drunk driver took her life at age 24, but her dream lives on through the Andréa Rizzo Foundation and the children who are given the gift of dance.

The 2009 Heart & Feet event is sponsored in part by MotionWear apparel (http://www.motionwear.com) and will be held at EMI Music, 2 West 20th St. in New York City. You can get more information about Dréa’s Dream – and the amazing young woman who inspired it – by going to www.dreasdream.org.<http://www.dreasdream.org>

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Sometimes I hear about competitors of ours not delivering goods for one reason or another – miscalculations on up front ordering overseas or computer mix ups with delivery dates on orders. While it is not my practice to worry about competitor’s practices it is my business to set the standards for the way WE do business.

So in many cases we end up getting the last minute call to see if we can deliver something pronto. And 9 times out of 10 we can say “absolutely.” We understand the panic a customer or retailer feels when this unfortunate occurrence happens and we try to alleviate that stress as easily as we can.

We Don’t “Bump” But We Still Try to “Save the Day”
Of course, we take care of the folks that pre-plan and put in the forethought about their orders and never bump them for the last minute guy, but we understand that things happen and we are set up to be the “go to” guys when the crisis order is needed. We hear often that we have that reputation as the go to company because we do pick up the ball and get the goods delivered and often, I am proud to say, save the day.

My theory is that we do what we say we will do.

Our goods arrive on time because we know how important meeting deadline is. We tell customers upfront what we can and cannot do. If we say it will be there we will go to any extent to keep our word. I don’t believe in the practice of telling customers one thing and calling up two weeks later with another story. It hurts our reputation and business, it damages the retailer or distributor who is selling the goods and more importantly it lets down the end user – the kids.

Bottom line is… If the costumes or uniforms do not arrive by performance times the kids are left undermined and deflated. We just won’t have that.

99% Success
Many organizations have to watch every penny when placing orders and may be swayed by someone promising price and delivery. They put faith in this business without knowing their reputation or history. Then delivery date comes and the order is late or wrong or not of the quality they’d been promised. We get the call and get the job done right. Of course, when it’s the next time to order I hope they remember us and make us the number one choice.

I’d say we have about a 99% success rate in making deadlines. Yes we have had the occasional glitch and my policy is to take care of the customer so we do just that. One time we had a customer in Texas whose dance team uniforms didn’t arrive on time for the first football game of the season. Our mistake. So I went out to my team and asked who wanted to see a football game tonight because I was going to put someone on a plane to get those kids their uniforms. It turned out we were able to make other arrangements but I think that is the only way to do business, you mess up you fix it, whatever that takes.

Since we do not want to make this type of delivery often, we build in checks and balances to insure that we can do as we promise and have the system also set up for those last minute panic calls:

“I NEED uniforms by TOMORROW, can you help????”

How nice to respond with a big:

“Sure, tell me what you need.”

Since everyone has one of these “crisis” stories, please share with us and let us know what you did to rescue the situation.

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But there are rules….. Yes there are always rules and we have ‘em too. Sorry about that. The good news is, by following the “rules” you will get what you what, when you want it more easily and worry free.

Why? Because we follow our rules too.

OK, enough of that stuff. On to Ordering…

Order Placement For Dance Retailers

First of all you will need to set up an account. We cannot take orders without an account set up. This is pretty easy. Contact the sales rep that covers your territory for details and what it takes.

Call us at: (800) 869-0609 or e-mail at: motionwear@motionwear.com to find out who your friendly rep is.

Once you’ve set up an account you’ve got lots of options:

1. Call us. Customer service is very knowledgeable and can get you set up. The toll free number is: 1-800-869-0609
2. Fax Us. 1-888-869-0609
3. E-Mail Us.
4. Sales Rep. Contact your sales rep directly to place an order and they will handle all the dirty work
5. Dealer Direct, Online. You do this by getting a username and password and then you can have your own secret passageway to your account and order through that portal. Simply contact customer service toll free: 1- 800-864-6315 to set up that kind of account. Once you do that, you are set up for life!

Many products are available at the motionwearstore.com too at retail prices.

That’s It!

So there is your handy-dandy guide to ordering. The hardest part is picking out what you want to order; of course we can help you with that too. And hey, if you have any questions, that’s why we are here, just call us and we’ll get you set up as quick as a wink.

I invite any questions about ordering – send me your thoughts directly and I’ll get you answers.

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The Progression
The thing I find the most uplifting is watching a recital starting with the youngest beginning performers. These 3, 4 and 5 year olds are all dressed and made up and under the bright lights for the very first time. As you can imagine this is not the finest dancing around and often the mistakes and goof ups are the best part of these performances. Nonetheless, these little ones are showing off their new found skills and performance abilities and you can just see the work that has gone into it. Better yet is watching all the encouraging parents, grandparents, sisters, brothers and family friends support each kid and in each performance. That is really wonderful.

Then each level and age bracket of dancers follows with their performance. It is astounding to see the progression in the performances. Every dance gets better and better providing an instant visual as to the tremendous progress these students make each year. By the time you get to the advanced dancers, it is obvious that with dedication and commitment that those little ones who started out pretending to be ballerinas or jazz dancers, one day can really achieve their dreams. This is both admirable and beautiful.

Collaboration
My kids do Irish Step Dance and were one of the first to have their recital. I never tire of going to see the performances and watching each level as they progress. Of course, I too am a pretty proud Dad when my kids dance.

It takes a collaborative effort on the part of all – the dedication of the instructor choreographing the performances, the parents who encourage practice and make sure their kids are at class each time and, of course, the students who work very hard and are eager to do a great job.

I encourage anyone interested in dance, whether it is ballet, jazz, step dance or whatever to try to get to one of these recitals. You will be amazed at what you see.

Tell Us About Your Recital
Since all the studios are putting their shows on now, you can tap into their websites to find out when and where the recitals are being held. Even if your child is not in dance this might be an excellent way to get them interested. Many academies and dance schools & studios have a spring open house too.

In fact, I know it is a bit late but we invite anyone participating in a recital, or any dance school or studio having a recital soon to post a response to this blog regarding your performance dates. Just include the date, time and location so others can attend your performances.

If you’ve already had your dance recital, tell us how it went, we’d love to read about it.

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