Dance skirt style guidelines

There are many styles of dance skirts out there, and many of them are used for multiple styles of dance.  In this post, I will go trough the styles that I am familiar with, describe them, and tell which styles of dance primarily use them.

Wrap skirt
Wrap skirts are generally made of light, slightly transparent chiffon fabric (also called georgette).  These skirts are one long rectangular piece of fabric sewn onto a ribbon or binding, which wraps around the waist and ties.  The skirts come in a variety of lengths ranging from barely covering the bottom to mid-thigh.  Wrap skirts are most common in ballet.








Pull-on skirt
Pull-on skirts are made of a variety of fabrics, including chiffon, jersey cotton, and nylon/spandex.  Some pull on skirts are "faux wraps" (they look like wrap skirts, but with waistband instead of a tie), and others are solid fabric like the one shown.  Pull-on skirts come in various lengths, but to avoid blending into other styles, I define them as falling above the knee.  Pull-on skirts are common in ballet and jazz, and sometimes in styles like Irish dance and tap.






Rehearsal skirt
This skirt is a chiffon wrap or pull on skirt that falls slightly below the knee.  This style is usually worn in rehearsals for ballets where the dancers will be wearing some kind of longer skirt or tutu when it comes time for the stage.  Sometimes taller or curvier adult ballet students will wear rehearsal skirts for class.  This style of skirt is usually just for ballet.









Teaching skirt

As the name suggests, this style is usually worn by teachers.  The skirt is usually a wrap (sometimes a pull-on) that is made of heavier opaque fabric and hits right at the knee.  Ballet teachers favor this style, but teachers of other genres like tap sometimes wear them as well.









Character skirt (aka circle skirt)

A character skirt (or circle skirt) can be worn for numerous styles where a knee length or nearly ankle length skirt is called for (this style usually comes in two lengths, 25 and 35 inches, which hit at the knee and ankle, respectively).  In ballet, dancers wear these skirts for rehearsals when they will be wearing long dresses on stage (like party girls in the Nutcracker).  Jazz, tap, and broadway dancers do the same thing.  Beginning flamenco dancers often use ankle length circle skirts in their classes as well.  Additionally, long circle skirts can be worn for standard ballroom classes.  Knee length ones can be used for rhythm dances like swing.




Latin skirt


For latin ballroom, shorter ruffled skirts are more appropriate.  The ruffles fan out during turns for a flirty vibe.  This style of skirt can also transition to jazz and burlesque styles.











Flamenco skirt

 For serious flamenco dancers, a traditional flamenco skirt is a must.  These skirts are more bell-shaped than the circle skirt.  They have a fitted top and flared bottom.  Flamenco skirts also usually have ruffles on the bottom for a fancy touch that flies between the dancer's feet when she unleashes her fast footwork.








Look for a whole post about tutus later.  I know a lot about them!

What kind of dance skirts do you wear?  Leave a comment!