At Joy of Dance, we believe that adhering to a dress code gives students a sense of belonging to our family as well as creating an identity for our studio in the greater community. Dance is a discipline and that begins with the way a dancer dresses for class.
Instructors need to be able to see students’ arms, legs, hip and knee joints, and muscles to ensure proper movements are being made, to prevent injury, and to give proper correction to form. Dance styles have different dress codes to bring out the best in that dance style. Instructors have permission to make changes to the dress code as they feel necessary through the year.
Our dress code also:
- Encourages discipline
- Increases a sense of belonging and school pride
- Promotes an accepting and positive environment
Therefore, it is very important for dancers to follow dress code.
-Hair neatly up in a ponytail, out of dancer’s face
-No jewelry should be worn to class except stud earrings in pierced ears.
-Ballet shoes should have a stretch binding, eliminating the need for the drawstring. If a drawstring is used, please pull it out of the shoe. This helps to avoid dancers tripping on elastics and teachers spending time on tying them.
-All dancers must bring a water bottle with them to class.
*Dancers should wear the dress code they associate with.
You can order your dance wear needs with us here:
You can also find all items you need at the two local dance stores listed below:
- Twinkle Toes: 80 Lafayette Rd, Hampton Falls, NH 03844
- Brixham Dancewear: 5 Punkintown Rd, South Berwick, ME 02908
Shoes can also be found here:
- Reds Shoe Barn, 35 Broadway, Dover, NH 03820
Please ensure all parts of your child’s dancewear are clearly labeled – individual shoes, socks, underpants… You’ll be amazed at the amount of lost property we find!
Style-specific dress code requirements are as follows:
- Male for Ballet/Tap/Jazz- Black pants or shorts with a white, grey, or black t-shirt and black ballet/black tap/black jazz shoes.
- Male for Hip Hop- Comfortable clothes, and black sneakers with white soles (clean shoes only please!)
- Dance With Me: Any color leotard, pink tights, pink canvas ballet shoes with a stretch binding, or with drawstrings cut off. These young dancers may also wear leggings and tank tops if that is more comfortable for them.
- Tiny Stars: Any color leotard, pink tights, pink canvas ballet shoes with a stretch binding, or with drawstrings cut off, and black tap shoes with velcro
- Shooting Stars Ballet/Jazz 1-3: Any color leotard, pink tights, pink canvas ballet shoes with a stretch binding, or with drawstrings cut off, and tan slip-on jazz shoes (no ties).
- Shooting Stars Tap/Pop-Hop 1-3: Any color leotard, pink or tan tights, black tap shoes with velcro, and black sneakers with white soles (clean shoes only please!). Dancers have the option of wearing leggings for this class if they wish.
- Acro: Leotard, leggings or capris. No shoes or socks.
Classes for 2nd grade & older
- Ballet: Any color leotard, pink or tan tights, pink canvas split soled ballet shoes. Black shorts (no leggings) or a ballet skirt may be worn over the leotard and tights. No shirts are to be worn over leotards for ballet class in order to aid with corrections. Dancers may wish to wear a ballet sweater and/or leg warmers in the wintertime. Hair must be in a bun for all Workshop ballet levels. This includes hairpins and and a hairnet.
- Pointe: Same requirements as ballet, but dancers MUST wear convertible/footed tights with Pointe shoes to assist with proper technique.
- Jazz, Performance Teams, & Musical Theatre: Any color leotard, pink or tan tights, and tan jazz shoes. A form-fitting top, black shorts, or leggings may be worn over the leotard and tights. Sometimes character shoes are required for Musical Theatre or Team.
- Contemporary Modern & Lyrical: Any color leotard, tights, foot paws, or barefoot. Shirts, shorts, or leggings may be worn over the leotard and tights.
- Tap: Comfortable clothes, black lace-up tap shoes. At this level, the lace-up taps shoes, rather than the single tie used in low levels of tap, are required for more stability in class. While a leotard is not required, tops should extend full length past the hips. This is to help extend the dancer’s line, make the class more uniform and aid the teacher when making corrections.
- Acro: Leotard, leggings or capris. No shoes or socks.
- Hip Hop and Hip Hop Troupe: Comfortable clothes, and black sneakers with white soles (clean shoes only please!). While a leotard is not required, tops should extend full length past the hips. This is to help extend the dancer’s line, make the class more uniform and aid the teacher when making corrections.
Joy of Dance is a place where children become dancers and dancers become family! Here at Joy of Dance, we embrace dancers of all shapes, sizes, and ages, from the young to the young at heart. This is a studio where creativity, individuality, and self-expression are encouraged and we have a community of teachers, students and families who are passionate about performing arts.