How to Prepare for Class

​Welcome to Carolina Dance Collaborative, or welcome back! In this blog post, I will be sharing with you some ways to prepare for class. Whether or not this is your first class with us, we thought it would be a good refresher for the start of Quarter 2 next week and to fill you in on why we think it's important to have all of the dance essentials ready for class.

How should a dancer look for class?

• Dancers should have the proper attire for class (see your attire listed below).
• Dancers should have their hair securely fastened away from his/her face BEFORE class begins
• Dancers should have the proper shoes for class.

As dance instructors, we not only want to teach our students dance skills, but also life skills. Some of those skills include; responsibility, preparedness, and etiquette. Here's how we hope our dances will learn those skills by being prepared for dance class.

When a dancer comes to class with all of his/her essentials (leotard, tights, shoes, ponytail holder, etc.) it teaches him/her responsibility for all of his/her items. We all know items get lost. At one point all the dance shoes were in the bag and all of a sudden one is lost and found a couple of weeks later under the bed. :-) Our dancers can learn responsibility by keeping track of all of their dance items. Dancers can learn how to be prepared for class by making sure they have all of our essentials on, or maybe even having extras in our bag, when we get to the classroom. Most importantly, when a dancer comes to class ready to go, with their dance attire on and hair secured tightly out of face (in a bun or ponytail depending on the class), it shows the instructor that the dancer is ready for class and eager to learn. This is one of the many ways a dancer can show etiquette in class (we will discuss more in another post). :-)

And now for a refresher on what your dancer needs for his/her class:

Little Learners 1 and 2:

• Pink or Purple capped or long-sleeved leotard
  • We ask for cap or long-sleeved leotards, because we get some dancers that like to pull down their leotard. :-) If you've already bought a spaghetti strapped leotard that's perfectly okay. Please don't feel the need to go out and buy a new leotard.
• Pink tights
• Pink canvas or leather ballet shoes
  • If you would like, you can tie the ballet shoes in a knot and then cut off the extra string, this keeps them from playing with their strings during class.
• Skirts are optional
  • We ask that if you do have a skirt that it be attached to the leotard. This keeps the dancers from lifting their skirts to around their neck, twisting them around, or taking them on and off.

Ballet 1 and 2 (girls):

• Black or Blue Leotard
  • They don't have to be cap- or long-sleeved, hopefully they won't be pulling down their leotards at this age :-)
• Pink tights
  • These tights should be footed. This means that they should go over the foot. They make convertible tight so that they can come up over the foot. This is a good option for this age in case the instructor wants the dancers to be barefooted for an exercise, or to throw on those flip flops after class.
• Pink leather or canvas ballet shoes
  • If you would like, you can tie the ballet shoes in a knot and then cut off the extra string, this keeps them from having to tie their strings multiple times during class.
• Skirts are optional

Ballet 1 and 2 (boys):

• Black or Blue fitted t-shirt or tank top
• Black pants (preferably fitted or black male tights)
• Black canvas or leather ballet shoes
  • If you would like, you can tie the ballet shoes in a knot and then cut off the extra string, this keeps them from having to tie their strings multiple times during class.

Jazz 1 and 2 (girls and boys):

• Black or Blue fitted shirt (or leotard for girls)
• Black fitted pants:
  • We ask that their attired be fitted so that we can make sure they have proper technique and body placement.
• Black jazz shoes

Where do I find all of this attire?

• Stores:
  • The Sock Basket (on the corner of Lauren's Road and Woodruff - next to Old Time Pottery)
  • Academy Sports
  • Target
  • Wal-Mart (sometimes)
• Online:
  • Amazon
  • Discount Dance Supply
  • DanceWear Solutions

I hope this post has been helpful. If you still have questions regarding attire, please let me know. CDC.YMCA@gmail.com

I look forward to seeing you in class!!

Ms. Sara
YMCA Program Manager