Team dancing costumes and other articles of teamwear clothing are not necessarily uniforms. Oftentimes, they’re more than that. Just depending on the event, or what the team is looking for in their teamwear, will often define what a dancer will wear.
It’s important to remember that these costumes will be performed in many times, they are not a one-time deal, like many traditional dance costumes. When ordering uniforms, use a catalog specifically for teamwear. There are costume catalogs and uniform catalogs. Make sure you know which catalog you are ordering from. If you need a uniform order from a uniform catalog, if you need a costume make sure you are getting it from a costume catalog.
Many uniforms and even practice wear are very flexible when it comes to adding and subtracting other articles and accessories. There are many styles of both, but durability is important when choosing performance costumes. That’s why many teams and schools will purchase practice wear and convert it to costumes: because the outfits have to last well beyond the first or second performance, usually for more than one year.
Motionwear dancewear is built to last from one year to the next. The colors don’t bleed or fade and the pieces can be used interchangeably. For instance a team might purchase a pair of black pants and zebra patterned spandex top for one routine, the next routine might require a leopard print spandex top and therefore only the tops need to be changed. The pants can be used for both costumes. So our dancewear has to be able to handle the versatility and the extra workload.
Costumes are all about the mood that is set either by a song in the routine or by the type of routine performed. Uniformity is important, all the dancers need to look the same, but this does not mean the costume is a uniform.
In addition to being durable, costumes must be flexible enough for the dancer to move and at the same time snug enough to show off the dancers fit physique. Costumes must breathe so the dancer is as comfortable as possible. Team dancing is an extremely physical sport, obviously the dancer sweats when performing such a physically challenging routine, it is imperative that the costumes that are chosen allow the dancer to move as freely as possible and without causing the performer to overheat.
Photo: Doug Waliing
