Dance Attire
Below are guidelines for appropriate dress for your child(ren)’s dance classes. Our main goal is to make sure our dance students are comfortable and are able to move freely in their classes.
Tommie Shaw & Company does not require formal dance attire in any dance class we provide. We believe it is the dancer, not the outfit that is important.
Hip Hop, Breakdance, Cheer, Pom Dance, Jazz, Modern and Creative Movement
- Tennis or Athletic shoes that lace, tie or velcro are required. (Crocs, flip flops, sandals, etc. are not recommended and often fall off or cause the student to fall during class.
- Comfortable pants and shirts are recommended for both boys and girls.
- Skirts and dresses are not allowed for girls taking a Breakdance or Cheer class unless they are wearing pants or shorts underneath.
- Skirts and dresses are not recommended for girls due to a variety of kicks and movement on the floor which can include slides and spins.
- Tennis or Athletic shoes are not required for Modern Dance Classes.
Ballet and Pre-Ballet
- We strongly recommend that all ballet students wear traditional soft ballet shoes during ballet class. Pink ballet shoes for girls and black or white ballet shoes for boys should be worn during ballet class. The ballet shoes can be made of either leather or canvas material. Leather is likely better because leather stretches a little as their foot grows. If purchasing soft ballet traditional ballet shoes is not possible, short white or pink sox will suffice for ballet class.
- If students want to wear the complete ballet outfit, we recommend that girls wear traditional pink ballet tights for legs and (any style) black leotard for the body, along with pink, soft ballet shoes. Note – TSC suggests that girls wear their pink tights to school under a skirt, dress, or pants on the day of ballet class. This will allow for trips to the restroom during the school day. Then, right before ballet class starts, in the restroom, girls can put on their leotard on top of the tights they wore to school and remove their dress or skirt. This will allow for a quick change after school before the ballet class begins. Girls may also dance in their pink tights and the skirt or dress they wore on top of the tights to school that day, which will eliminate the need to change clothes; they will only need to change into their ballet shoes at the beginning of class. We recommend that boys wear traditional black ballet tights for legs and a white, short sleeve T-shirt for the body, along with black or white, soft ballet shoes. Note – TSC suggests that boys wear their black tights and white T-shirt to school under their jeans, pants, and outer shirt, on the day of ballet class so they will only need to remove their outer clothing; they will only need to change into their ballet shoes at the beginning of class.
- It is not a requirement for our younger ballet students to wear leotards and tights, but pink ballet shoes for girls and black or white ballet shoes for boys are strongly recommended.
- For girls and boys, if pants are worn to ballet class, the pants should not be too stiff or restrict movement (like tight jeans). Leggings, tights, sweatpants, track pants or other pants that are not baggy are recommended. Also, shirts should not be too baggy so that posture and arm positions can be determined.
We look forward to a great session teaching your children dance. If you have questions, do not hesitate to contact us.
