Proper terms for dancewear

Just like with any sport or activity, there are many names associated with the supplies a dancer needs to participate in their activities.  As we enter the back-to-dance shopping season, it’s important to learn the proper names of dancewear items so you can ask for them at the dancewear store.  There’s never an expectation for a new dancer or family members to know the proper name of each dancewear item, but I must admit it’s pretty hilarious to hear some of the misnomers people have come up with.  In this guide, I’ll go over the proper names for common items (as well as common incorrect names).

1.       Leotard

Incorrect: suit, bodysuit, legatard, unitard (see my post on the difference between leotards and unitards here)

Almost all female dancers taking ballet will need a leotard, and some male dancers will need them as well.  Most leotards are made specifically to be dance garments, and they are not intended for use as “regular clothing” or swimwear, which is why most other common terms used to identify them are incorrect.

2.       Tights

Incorrect: leotards, legatards, stockings, pantyhose, leggings (this one’s complicated, see below)

Tights are perhaps the most ubiquitous of dancewear items.  Female dancers always need them for ballet, and they often wear tights for jazz, tap, contemporary, and ballroom as well.  Tights come in many styles like full-footed, convertible, and footless (see my full run-down here).  Like leotards, dance tights are made specifically for athletic performance.  They are thicker and more opaque than fashion tights, and while dance tights can be worn under dresses for “regular clothing” looks, they are not meant for this. 

Male dancers wear tights for ballet as well.  Men’s tights come in footed, footless, and occasionally convertible designs, and they are fully opaque.  Men’s tights often resemble women’s fashion or athletic leggings, but they are cut to accommodate men’s bodies.  Even though these garments look like leggings, they are more appropriately called tights.

If you are an athlete or have spent time browsing the lululemon website, you may be familiar with running tights, which throw a wrench in the terminology game.  Running tights are like men’s dance tights, but they are offered for both men and women.  On women, fully opaque form-fitting legwear is usually called leggings, but for whatever reason, some retailers sell them with the name tights.  Garments like this are becoming more and more common in dance as dancers perform more athletic movements and grow to appreciate athletic wear as dancewear.

So, in the final breakdown, if it’s slightly see-through, paired with a leotard, and worn by a woman, it’s tights.  If it’s opaque and on a man, it’s tights.  If it’s opaque and on a woman, it’s probably leggings, but you could also call it tights is the rest of the outfit is athletic.

3.       Shoes

There are many types of dance shoes, which I’ll address below.  It is very important to know the proper name of your specific type of shoes.  Never, ever go into the dance store and ask for “dance shoes.”  The salespeople will not know what to show you, as every shoe in the store is a dance shoe!

a.       Ballet shoes

Correct: ballet shoes, flat shoes, technique shoes (you may notice I use these terms interchangeably on this site)

Incorrect: ballerina shoes

All ballet students need ballet shoes regardless of age, gender, or ability.  In general, female students wear pink (actually a peachy-tan color) ballet shoes, and male students wear black or white ballet shoes. 

In general, beginning ballet students call ballet shoes ballet shoes, and more advanced dancers who study pointe call their ballet shoes flat or technique shoes to differentiate them from their pointe shoes.

b.      Pointe shoes

Correct: pointe shoes

Incorrect: ballet shoes, toe shoes, pointy/pointed shoes, ballerina shoes

Only advanced dancers use pointe shoes, and they will never be on the shopping list for a student who is just beginning.  Among dance store workers, having a customer ask for or about pointe shoes without using proper terminology is a red flag that the person is not prepared for a safe pointe experience.  See more about pointe shoes here.

c.       Jazz shoes

Correct: jazz shoes

Incorrect: dance team shoes, ballet shoes

These shoes are used for jazz and Broadway dance styles, dance or drill teams, and they are sometimes worn for modern or contemporary as well.  Some jazz shoes are slip-on, and others are lace-up. 

d.      Tap shoes

Correct: tap shoes

Incorrect: loud shoes, metal shoes, dress shoes

Dancers taking tap class will need tap shoes.  There are many styles, ranging from mary-jane style patent leather shoes for little girls to oxford styles for men and advanced dancers.  Tap shoes also come in slip-on and high-heeled varieties.  Regardless of the style of the shoe’s upper, dance shoes with smooth metal plates (called taps) attached to the soles are tap shoes. 

e.      Flamenco shoes

Correct: flamenco shoes, flamenco heels, flamenco boots or botines

Incorrect: tap shoes

Flamenco shoes for women look like high-heels and flamenco shoes for men look like short cowboy boots.  All flamenco shoes have many small nails hammered into the soles at the toe and heel.  This makes them similar to tap shoes, but they are not interchangeable. 

f.        Character shoes

Correct: character shoes, men’s/women’s character shoes

Incorrect: dress shoes, show choir shoes, ballet shoes

Character shoes are sturdy dress-like shoes with hard leather soles.  For women, they are high heels with a buckle strap across the ankle.  For men, they are oxfords.  Character shoes are worn for various styles including Broadway, jazz, ballet, and ballroom.  Character shoes are also frequently used by performance groups ranging from school show choirs to the Radio City Rockettes.  Aside from performance groups, character shoes (as insinuated by their name) are usually worn for specific character parts (like party parents in Nutcracker—see more about character parts here).  In general, teachers and directors will tell dancers if they need character shoes.  They are not normally necessary for beginning classes in ballet, jazz, and Broadway styles.

g.       Modern footwear (AKA footwear for modern, contemporary, and lyrical dance styles)

Correct: (This is complicated, see below) modern shoes, contemporary shoes, lyrical shoes, dance paws, foot undies (undeez), pirouette shoes, half shoes, Twylas

Incorrect: ballet shoes, jazz shoes, footies (though most dance store workers will know what you’re talking about if you use this term)

When I get right down to it, there is no real, overarching name that refers to all modern footwear (besides, well, modern footwear).  Every brand that sells an option for modern footwear uses a different name to refer to the item, and that combined with regional terms has resulted in a whole host of possibilities of names for things modern dancers wear on their feet.  The main characteristic different options for modern footwear share is that they usually do not cover the whole foot.  This provides a barefoot look and feel while protecting dancers’ feet from abrasions or splinters. 

If your teacher says you need a specific type of modern footwear for class, make sure you know the brand, the product name, and what it looks like before shopping.  If you are allowed to get any kind of modern footwear you like, it’s usually best to see what your local dance store offers (ask for all modern footwear options) before making a decision as to what you like best. 

Ballet shoes and jazz shoes (usually in skin-matching colors) are commonly used for modern dance as well.  That’s totally fine.  It’s fine if you prefer to dance in ballet or jazz shoes when you do modern.  However, when you go into the dance store to buy ballet or jazz shoes to wear for modern dance, be sure to ask for ballet or jazz shoes, not modern footwear.

h.      Dance sneakers

Correct: dance sneakers, hip-hop shoes, Zumba shoes, cheer shoes (specific subtype of dance sneakers)

Incorrect: running shoes, regular shoes

Dance sneakers are sort of a hybrid between street-shoe sneakers and jazz shoes.  They usually have a soft fabric, mesh, or leather upper and a suede or plastic/rubber sole that provides little traction on a hard floor.  Dance sneakers are used for hip-hop, some dance teams, some jazz classes, and dance exercise like Zumba and LaBlast.  Cheerleading shoes are a specific subtype of dance sneakers (ask for cheer shoes if that’s what you’re after; they will probably be displayed with dance sneakers at your local store). 

Dance sneakers may look like regular athletic sneakers, but they are engineered differently.  Most athletic shoes are too “sticky” to perform well as dance shoes.  Similarly, most dance sneakers do not perform well outside the studio.  They generally lack support necessary for jogging, and they can be dangerously slippery on wet surfaces.

i.        Ballroom shoes

Correct: ballroom shoes, ballroom heels, women’s/men’s ballroom shoes, practice/performance ballroom shoes, smooth/standard/rhythm/Latin ballroom shoes (though most dance store workers do not know the difference—hence why you should always use the term “ballroom” even if it feels redundant)

Incorrect: heels, fancy shoes, dress shoes

Depending on the dress code at the studio, jazz shoes, character shoes, dance sneakers, and ballroom shoes are all appropriate choices for ballroom dance.  It’s most important that the shoe has a suede or leather sole that slides easily on the studio floor.  If you are very dedicated to learning a specific style under the ballroom umbrella and/or performing or competing, it’s important to have ballroom shoes appropriate to your style.  I’m a ballroom beginner, but as I understand it, a simple way to tell the difference with women’s ballroom shoes are the toes.  Smooth shoes are closed-toed (like pumps), rhythm shoes are closed-toed, but have open sides, and Latin shoes are open-toed. 

Surviving recitals like a pro

If your child is in a dance recital, you may be feeling a mix of emotions.  Recitals are exciting opportunities to see talented dancers.  They are also sometimes quite boring and tedious.  Here are some tips for surviving recital like a pro.

1.      Make your child feel special.  Whether your performer is 3 years old or nearer to 30, make recital day a special day (especially if he or she doesn't perform very often).  Help set the scene for a good day with a good night's sleep the night before, a healthy breakfast, and fun activities that are not too tiring.  Most recitals are in the afternoon or evening, so it's necessary to keep excited children busy, but prevent them from overexerting.  For little ones, it can be really fun to set the theme for the day by baking yummy treats to eat after the show and watching dance-themed movies like Barbie Swan Lake.

2.      Get your child ready according to the performance guidelines.  If the little one needs to wear her white leotard and have her hair in a bun with no accessories, that's what needs to happen.  Never dress your child in clothing other than what's specified, even if you think it looks better.  This really annoys teachers and directors.  If children are dropped off with bows in their hair or wearing the incorrect costume, backstage assistants will re-do and re-dress.  In addition to respecting the director and dance program, you teach your child to follow directions and standards when you help them obey the rules.

3.      Always attend the performance, even if you're not super excited about it.  Like I said, recitals are sometimes not fun to sit through.  Your child is likely only in one or two of the pieces, and recitals can go on as long as two or three hours.  Think of a recital kind of like a graduation.  Every performer and every piece is important to someone, even if it's not important to you.  Some pieces will be danced by little kids who forget the steps, and others will show teens being dramatic and overly showy.  Even if a piece isn't entertaining or done well, it's that dancer's opportunity to show their skills.  The fact that the dancer was brave enough to get on stage and try is worth applauding, even if the execution isn't so good.

4.      Be kind to everyone and follow the performance rules.  Try to keep your attitude about the performance positive, especially around your child.  Encourage other family members to do the same.  It's never appropriate for your child to hear you saying their performance is a hassle or not fun for the audience.  When you get to the theater for the show, drop your child off where he or she is supposed to be at the proper time.  If only dancers are allowed backstage, you must follow this rule.  There will be trusted adults and teen assistants to help your child finish getting ready.  When you take your seat in the audience, be sensitive to others and don't talk during the show, clap or shout at inappropriate times, or take video/photos if it's not allowed.  Do not leave your seat during the show unless it is an emergency.

5.      After the show, congratulate your child.  For little kids, they just accomplished something huge and deserve tons of praise and a reward.  Even if your child had trouble with the dance, he or she performed on stage just like a professional dancer.  It's as if your child just played a baseball game in a professional stadium.  You don't have to go overboard with gifts and royal treatment, but hugs, kisses, and kind words are a must.  It's traditional to give dancers flowers, but other small gifts like cards or sweets are also appropriate.  If you can, it's great to celebrate after the show with dinner at a restaurant or special treats at home.

What are compression sleeves?

Compression sleeves are tight tubes of stretchy fabric that put pressure on muscles that are prone to cramping and soreness (usually the calves for dancers).  The tight fabric holds and compresses muscles in a similar way to a massage or rolling out.  This prevents muscle cramps and alleviates lactic acid buildup, which overall contributes to happier, healthier muscles. 

If you experience bad muscle cramps, slather on some muscle pain relief cream like Icy Hot before sliding on your compression sleeve.  The combination is great for providing quick relief, especially when you are trying to rest.

Practical Modern Dance Wardrobe

If your modern dance curriculum includes aspects like floorwork, contact improv, or acro or yoga-inspired elements, you might notice that many dancewear items marketed to modern/contemporary dancers fall short when it comes to functionality.  Bra tops and bootie shorts look cute (and they’re often good for auditions or performances where you want the lines of your body to be visible), but they leave your body vulnerable to floorburn.  Similarly, drapey shirts and loose pants give a nice vibe, but are impractical and even dangerous when they flap over your eyes or get caught under your partner’s body.  Here’s a list of some tried and true pieces that really do the job for modern dance.

1.       Cycling shorts

I wear cycling shorts all the time—casually, in the gym, and in the studio.  They tend to have a modest inseam of 4 to 6 inches in women’s styles (longer in men’s), and they don’t ride up to start looking more like briefs than shorts.  Because they’re tight to the leg, there’s no gaping or possibility of flashing your friends while doing a fan kick (this is a problem with basketball-style and looser running shorts).

2.       Tight-fitting workout tanks

Racerback tanks made of stretchy sports bra-like material are a lot more practical than bra tops.  Most are long enough to cling to the hips, and this combined with comfortable snugness results in a garment that rarely rides up past the waist, even during floorwork and partnering. 

3.       Long-sleeved leotards

When contact with the floor and other people is at its greatest, it’s best to cover as much of your body as possible with close-fitting clothing.  Long-sleeved full-back leotards like the Yumiko Jessica (with sleeves) are your best bet for no ride-up and easy glide against the floor and other dancers.

4.       Leggings

Athletic leggings are perfect sliding across the floor when you’re working on choreography that has you on your knees and shins.  You’re also guaranteed not to have pants sliding up to your knees during a handstand or dragging cuffs that get stepped on.

5.       Bombas Socks

Some choreography is meant to be done barefoot, but when it’s allowable, wearing socks will protect your feet from floorburn (which hurts a lot and is especially prone to happen on the tops of feet and near the ankle bone).  However, a lot of socks aren’t tight enough on narrow feet, and they end up riding down and even slipping off while dancing.  Bombas socks are engineered to never slip down (they really work) and stay tight to the foot.  They also come in a low athletic cut, a quarter cut, and a crew so you can choose the height that works best for you.

6.       Scrunchies

90s fashion may still be trending, but these thick, soft hair ties are much more than just accessories.  If you are doing contact improve that involves lifts and rolls with a partner, it is dangerous to have hair loose or in a ponytail.  Your hair can get under a partner’s body, which puts strain on your scalp, head, and neck.  Long hair should bebunned for modern, and it’s best to choose a super-high or low bun so you can comfortably place your head on the ground without balancing on your bun.  Bobby pins are not spectacular for partnering and floorwork because they can slip out or stab you when you’re moving, so fashioning a bun with a big, soft scrunchie is a really good option.

Dance Literacy and age level expectations

Learning a style of dance is a lot like learning a language.  It comes much more easily to some people than others, and there are very different expectations for dancers of different ages.  A high school English class is structured nothing like a kindergarten reading lesson.  Thus, a pre-ballet class is very dissimilar to advanced pre-professional ballet.

Young children must learn the alphabet before they learn to read, and their young minds learn best through repetition and fun activities.  They are not expected to memorize complex sequences or execute movements with precision.  Dance steps are often taught in the context of games and imagination exercises.  The main goal is to set a base of fundamental knowledge of dance movements that can be expanded with further education.

Older elementary aged children who have the basics of reading begin to work on comprehension.  School lessons heavily feature activities for identifying and retelling parts of stories.  In dance, these students usually know their basic steps and are now learning to put them together and memorize them in new combinations.  Just as school children read longer and more complicated stories as they age, dance students learn more difficult, faster, and longer chains of steps as well.

When students reach high school, they are able to fluently read long and challenging passages like Shakespeare's plays.  The focus of English class is no longer getting through the text, but analyzing the meaning behind it.  Dance students in their teens with many years of training behind them usually spend their class time developing artistry.  They have already learned their steps, so they work on tiny aspects of technique that allow them to emulate a choreographer's vision or a character's emotion.

For adults beginning a new style of dance, the process is more like a person who is already fluent in reading and speaking English choosing to learn a new language, like Japanese.  The student already understands the way alphabet builds language, but they still need to learn the letters and sounds before they can begin to read.  Adult minds can handle structured lessons that require memorization, so even though beginning adult ballet students learn the same steps as little children, their classes are set up differently (often more like older elementary age level classes).  Just as there is no expectation for a native English speaker to know any Japanese at the beginning of a language course, there isn't an expectation for a new adult dancer to know any of the basics.  However, adult dancers are able to remember and execute steps with more precision than young children, and their classes often move quickly.

Regarding prodigies and extremely talented child dancers (such as young Misty Copeland and Maddie Ziegler), they are very similar to children gifted in academic areas.  Some kids read fluently at age 4, and some 5th graders easily understand college-level physics.  It's pretty uncommon, but sometimes children excel far beyond what's expected for their age.  All child prodigies should work at the upper limit of their abilities some of the time.  It's acceptable and good for an amazingly talented 10-year-old to dance in the same class with high school seniors if she can perform at that level.  It's also a good thing for such children to work with others their age sometimes.  Even a prodigy needs to wait until her feet are strong and developed enough before starting pointe.  Always working at such a high level can be exhausting for children, and sometimes there's a disparity between what the body and mind are capable of.  Balancing time among ability-appropriate and age-appropriate classes helps build a well-rounded dancer.

No-Fuss Healthy Meals

When you're first learning to cook for yourself, meal planning can be tricky.  It your schedule is too hectic to prepare in-depth recipes, there's nothing wrong with falling back on quick and easy choices as long as they're healthy.

For a breakfast before you run out the door, cereal is just fine as long as you dress it up to meet your nutritional needs.  Choose a whole grain option without added sugar and eat it with milk (dairy or nut based) and fresh fruit, plus a protein boost like hemp seeds.

Sandwiches make great on-the-go lunches.  Assemble yours with whole-grain bread, quality organic meat and cheese, natural peanut butter and sugar-free fruit spread, or avocado with hommus and veggies.  Add a side of fresh fruit or veggies or something denser like trail mix.

For dinner, a handful of greens with dressing makes a nice simple salad.  Pair it with a protein, like chicken, scrambled eggs, or beans for optimal nutrition after a long day.  Sliced fresh fruit with nuts and honey is a perfect dessert.

You don't have to out of your way to prepare intricate meals when following a healthy eating plan.  As long as your ingredients are high-quality, simple combinations are wonderful choices.

Developing a character for performance

When performing in a dance production, it can be challenging to really understand your role, especially if you are not in the lead.  Corps parts rarely have individual names, let alone personalities.  It can be a lot of work to develop your character, but it's great chance to be creative, and it will help you give a more enthusiastic performance.
Four corps parts I've done in the past couple of years are Sea Snake in Little Mermaid, Snow in Nutcracker, Garland Girl in Coppelia, and a corps dancer in Gypsies of Esmerelda.  I've approached the roles differently, but I did come up with an individual story for each, and the ways in which I developed my characters illustrate the four main ways in which this can be done.

For Sea Snake, I was dancing the part of an animal.  From my time in rehearsal, I knew my choreography and how my character fit in the overall story.  However, I didn't receive a ton of direction on the personality I should exude on stage.  For that, I turned to YouTube.  I looked up videos (such as the Crocodile Hunter) that showed sea snakes in the wild.  I watched how the animals moved and tried to incorporate that into the way I moved on stage.

For all animal roles, I recommend doing some research and trying to see that animal (in a video or in real life).  Go to the pet store, go to the zoo, or look up a video clip.  It sounds silly, but finding real animal inspiration is really helpful in tying up the loose ends with an animal character.  After watching the snake videos, I was able to perform with situations playing in my head like "I am a snake protecting my den" or "I am a snake investigating something new."   (Note: For pure animal parts, your character development can stop here.  For more anthropomorphic parts, combine this with the next section.)

When I danced as a Garland Girl (my director and friends often called my specific part "purple girl") in Coppelia, my part was one of many different types of townspeople that made up the corps de ballet.  Again, while the steps were provided, individual personality was left up to me.

Since I knew the basics of the story (19th century Germany, rural town, everyone knows everyone), I wrote myself a character that fit in.  I started with a name (Alice, pronounced Elise) and came up with a sort of Facebook profile to provide a simple personality.  Alice is 15 years old, likes flowers and dolls, and dislikes arguing and relationship drama.  Having this little profile as guidance helped me pantomime happiness during the dancing doll scenes and show an angry reaction when characters are fighting.

For Snow in Nutcracker, I was dancing the representation of an inanimate object.  With roles like this, there is no person for which to create a personality.  There's the thing, its essence, and the way it plays into the ballet's story.  In Nutcracker, Snow is a transitional scene, and most of the time it's joyous.  My body language needed to be happy as I performed the choreography.  This is where it helped to have a developed character.

Inanimate objects are tricky because, well, they don't have personalities.  I started thinking about different ways I'd seen snow before, and most of what I came up with was from movies and TV.  Snow is beautifully animated in the movie The Polar Express, and it plays a big part in Game of Thrones.  When I danced, I imagined myself as a little ice crystal in the snow blowing around a train, or falling around fantasy characters' galloping horses.  It helped me stay full of energy through the long and challenging section of fast-moving choreography, and it was pleasant to think about (helped me keep my smile).  If you're portraying a part like a jewel or a flower, think of a representation of that object and how you could apply that to your dancing.

When I danced in the corps of Gypsies of Esmerelda, the director frequently reminded the cast that this ballet is sassy and sexy.  The choreography was a combination of technical/classical and character steps, and some sections involved interacting with other dancers and the audience.  Since I'm naturally a rather shy and quiet person, it was a lot harder to think up a character for this part than it was for Coppelia.  I started thinking about different characters from books and movies in search of a strong, sexy, uninhibited person I could use as inspiration.  I chose Harley Quinn from Suicide Squad.

I didn't want to exactly emulate Harley's mannerisms, but I did use her as a reference.  How would Harley hold her head when watching others dance?  What kind of energy would she exude when running across the stage?  Since the sassy, sexy persona is very different to me, it was extremely helpful to have a fully formed character to pull from when performing my choreography with energy and personality.

To review, the four major methods I use for developing characters are (for animals) look at how the animal actually behaves and apply it to your dancing, (for inanimate objects) look at how that object is portrayed in real life or in media and apply it to your dancing, and (for people) either write your own character or use an established character as a reference.  Regardless of what character you are dancing and how much time you have on stage, an informed and deliberate character will add a lot to the quality of your performance.