Help! My dance bag is really heavy!

Dance bags can easily get weighed down and become super bulky if they are not regularly cleaned out and organized.  This post will give you some ideas of how to par down.

First, what kind of dance bag do you have?  Sometimes thick canvas, plastic, or leather bags can be heavy all by themselves.  Nylon is a bit lighter weight, and usually smaller bags are lighter too.  Refrain from putting too many key chains or other decorations on your bag; they can also add to weight.

After you have chosen your bag, lay out everything you absolutely need every time you go to class.  You may be surprised at how little this is.  For most dancers, shoes and footwear are all that is absolutely 100% necessary.

 If you only do one style of dance, like jazz, you will only need one pair of jazz shoes in your bag.  If you have an extra pair or a pair you reserve for performances, keep them at home and put them in your dance bag only when you need them.

If you do ballet with pointe, put one pair of flat technique shoes in your bag, and up to 2 pairs of pointe shoes.  Advanced dancers should alternate pointe shoes so they will last longer.  Do not carry more than two pairs of pointe shoes at a time.  Replace them as they become soft. 

If you do several styles of dance (like ballet, tap, and jazz), pack only the shoes you will need for each day’s worth of classes.  If you have just tap on Monday, pack only your tap shoes when you’re getting ready for Monday’s class.  If you have ballet followed by jazz on Tuesday, pack both your ballet and jazz shoes when you’re getting ready for Tuesday’s class.  Be sure to take yesterday’s shoes out of your bag before you pack today’s shoes.  This will make your bag a lot lighter and give you much more space.

If there are items you consistently use during most classes, leave them in your dance bag as well.  If you usually wear a wrap skirt, pack one.  If you get frequent blisters, pack some Band-Aids.  If you do resistance band exercises before class, leave your exercise band in your bag.  The key with these items is not to pack duplicates.  If you wore a black skirt yesterday and want to wear a white one today, take yesterday’s skirt out of your bag before packing today’s.

Some things like hand sanitizer, bobby pins, chapstick, and Tylenol are good to have on hand, but are not 100% necessary every day.  If you take a purse to dance class and it already has some of these things in it, you don’t need to pack them in your dance bag too.  If you don’t carry a purse, pack the items you use most in your dance bag (and leave them there all the time).  If you find that you are not using some of these items, take them out and save the space and weight in your bag.  (If you can’t remember how often you use your hand sanitizer, chapstick, or other items, try putting a small sticker on each item when you use it.  After a month or two, the items without stickers are definitely not getting used often enough to justify carrying them around.)

It’s also very helpful to repackage some bulkier items like Tylenol, lotion, or Second Skin squares into smaller containers.  You don’t need a whole bottle of lotion or medication, and Second Skin comes in such a large container that it takes months to use up.  Small Tupperware containers, travel toiletry bottles, and recycled Altoids tins all work well to hold portable portions of your favorite products.

If you wear warm-ups or street clothes over your dancewear on your way to class, you probably shove clothing items in your bag as you take them off.  I like my dance bag to have plenty of extra space to hold my jacket, leggings, socks, etc.  These items are usually really bulky and add a lot of weight to a dance bag.  Make sure you put your warm-ups or clothes back on before you leave the studio, or at least take them out of your bag when you get home.  It can be hard to fit today’s sweatshirt in your dance bag if yesterday’s hoodie is still crammed inside.  (Follow the same guidelines for water bottles.  Pack one each day, and make sure you remove or refill yesterday’s rather than just tossing in another one.)

Clean out your bag at least once every couple of weeks.  It’s really easy to lose a sock or toe pad in the depths of your bag, and sometimes small items (papers, coins, makeup, etc.) collect at the bottom and add sneaky bulk and weight.