What should I wear to my first ballroom lesson?

Dress codes for ballroom studios differ from place to place. If you have never taken a ballroom lesson before, it can be difficult to pick the perfect outfit. Whether you are learning a wedding dance or picking up ballroom as a hobby, you can follow these basic principles to make sure you are wearing appropriate clothing.  (Note: many studios allow casual dress, in which case the guidelines listed here are not really applicable.  Following them may make you feel too dressed up.  However, some studios are incredibly strict and won't allow dancers to set foot on the floor unless they are dressed appropriately.  I created these guidelines with a stricter studio in mind so dancers are better safe than sorry.)

Think of a ballroom dance studio like a casual theater, office job, or church. You want to wear something slightly dressed up, but obviously casual and athletic enough to move around. Do not wear jeans unless you already know that the studio allows dancers to wear them. 

Many studios do not allow jeans both because they are too casual and too hard to dance in. Men should generally wear slacks or khakis with casual or athletic style shirts tucked in (with or without a belt). Avoid cotton t-shirts (they show sweat) and anything with large pictures or logos (small "polo man" and similar is ok). 

Women can follow the same principles as men, but skirts and dresses are good too. Just make sure all skirts are knee length or worn over athletic shorts or leggings.  Always wear briefs or bootie shorts under skirts, even if they are longer.  Any casual or athletic top is acceptable, but try to wear a top with at least wide tank straps and no lace or crochet detail (your partner can get his/her hands tangled). If you are not wearing leggings with your skirt, any nude or black tights or hose including fishnet tights is acceptable. It's also ok to go bare legged, just be sure to put on lotion before you leave the house. Do not wear jewelry (small earrings and rings are ok). 

It is also completely acceptable for men and women to wear dancewear such as jazz pants.

For footwear, bring any type of dance shoe you already have (ballet technique shoes, jazz shoes, dance sneakers, character shoes) and wear those for your first lesson. If you don't have any dance shoes, you can probably get away with dancing in dress shoes with slick (fabric or leather) soles or in socks.  If you dance in socks, make sure they are black or gray with no logos or designs so they look professional. The most important thing is for you to be able to control your feet as you glide and turn, so socks are often a better choice than rubber soled shoes or wobbly high heels. 

If the studio requires dance shoes for all dancers, even for the first lesson, pick up some character shoes from the dance store. These shoes come in men's Oxford and ladies' Mary Jane styles and have hard leather soles that accommodate many styles of dance as well as street wear.  

Whatever you decide to wear on your body or your feet, make sure you are comfortable, able to move, and feeling confident. 

When should a child move to split sole ballet shoes?

People have various beliefs as to when children should move from full sole to split sole ballet shoes.  Full sole shoes support the foot and provide more resistance, which strengthens the muscles.  It is recommended that all young children start in full sole ballet shoes.  I suggest that children should move to split sole shoes when they begin to wear adult shoe and clothing sizes, graduate from elementary school, or begin pre-pointe level classes.  For many children, these things tend to happen around the same time, at about age 10 or 11.  Waiting until this age ensures the child has muscles developed enough control the structure of split sole shoe.  Also, at this age, children can handle the tighter fit that is necessary for split sole shoes to properly form to the foot and create a more attractive foot shape.

How to wash dancewear

How you wash your dancewear depends greatly on what kind of items you need to wash.  The material and shape of the garment need to be considered before you start washing it.  In this post, I will give some basic guidelines of how to wash different dancewear items so they maintain their color, shape, and size.

--Dancewear that is similar to streetwear or exercise wear (such as jazz pants, men's tights, t-shirts, and shorts made of nylon/spandex and cotton blends) can be washed and dried in the washing machine and dryer like regular workout clothes.  Wash the garments on a regular cycle (high or heavy cycles are usually ok, especially if the clothes are very sweaty/dirty) in cold water (prevents color bleed) with your normal detergent.  Do not use fabric softener, as it can make the material less breathable.  Dry the dancewear on a light or gentle cycle. The materials they are made of usually do not take long to dry.  It is possible for the heat of the dryer to shrink the garments slightly, but they stretch back to their original sizes when worn again.  If the shrinkage bothers you a lot, simply wash the items in the washing machine and lay them flat to dry.

--Leotards should be cared for in a similar manner to swimwear.  If they are made of nylon/spandex or cotton blends, wash the leotards in the washing machine in cold water (prevents color bleed) on a medium to gentle cycle, then lay flat to dry.  Most leos have a line of elastic sewn into the leg and arm holes.  This elastic can melt or become brittle in the dryer, especially industrial laundromat type dryers (so if you are at a summer intensive doing laundry in a laundromat setting, DO NOT put your leos in the dryer).  If your leotard has delicate lace or mesh details or beading, hand wash it or wash in the washing machine on the gentlest cycle and dry flat.

--Women's dance tights can be washed in the washing machine in cold water on a gentle cycle.  Try to wash only tights by themselves if you can, as light colors tend to turn gray if they are washed with other items such as jeans.  If you do wash tights with other items, make sure none of those garments have zippers or other metal details that could catch on the tights.  Lay tights flat or hang them to dry.  If you put tights in the dryer, they tend to pill and then get runs where the pills are.  If your tights have runs in them, seal the ends of the run with nail polish and let it dry before you wash them; runs can get worse while the tights are in the washing machine.  If you have specialty tights made of lace or very cheap/not well made fishnet tights, hand wash them to avoid tearing the material.

--Chiffon, nylon/spandex, or soft jersey dance skirts can be washed on a regular cycle in the washing machine.  If the skirt has a tie, be careful of the tie getting caught on things or being "eaten" by the mechanisms in the machine.  Chiffon and nylon/spandex skirts can be dried on a gentle cycle in the dryer.  Lay soft jersey skirts flat to dry; putting them in the dryer will shrink them.

--Knit warm-ups such as legwarmers and shrugs made of acrylic can be washed and dried in machines on gentle cycles.  If these items are made of wool, rayon, cashmere, or angora (or if they contain a small percentage of any of these materials), wash them in the washer on a gently cycle and dry them flat.  Shrugs made of mesh or lace should be hand washed and dried flat.  Trash bag shorts and pants can be washed and dried on regular cycles, but they tend to get static in the dyer.

--Specialty dancewear like tutus, costumes, and ballroom dresses with fringe or beaded detail should be dry cleaned.  Tutus can be sprayed with antibacterial febreeze to make them fresher between uses.


If you need advice on how to clean a particular item, comment below and I will do my best to advise you.