Excitement is in the air this week as the dancers receive their recital costumes! Did you ever wonder about the process of costuming? There’s more to it than meets the eye.
Picking Costumes
There is a whole world of preparation that goes into picking costumes for each class. After each recital dance song is selected, Miss Kate pores over dance costume catalogs to pick just the right costume for each dance. She takes into consideration many things, such as the style of dance, the mood of the song, and age appropriateness for each costume.
At Liberty Dance Center, we believe everybody has a dancing body. No matter a dancer’s size or shape, we choose costumes that will be comfortable and flattering to everyone!
After the costumes are ordered, it takes several months for the costume companies to process and prepare our order. We have hundreds of students and many of those students perform in multiple dances. That is a lot of beautiful costumes that get sent our way!
Once the costumes arrive at our studio, the amazing Miss Michelle (with the help of Miss Stacy this year) sorts and organizes all of them! That’s a lot of boxes and a lot of sorting…it takes up quite a bit of the lobby during that process.
Everything is Fixable
Once the costumes are organized, the truly fun part comes… handing them out to the dancers! Dancers’ costumes are passed out in class and we have them try them all on. All of the teachers, with the help of our fabulous assistant teachers, work together to make the process smooth.
We are checking to make sure everyone has the hairpieces and all accessories for their costume, as well as for appropriate fit. If something needs adjusting, our motto is that “everything is fixable!”
After dancers have tried their costumes on, some will need alterations. That’s where the ultra-talented Miss Jan (Miss Kate’s mom) comes in! She graciously performs alterations for any and all dancers who need them! She’s a whiz with her sewing machine (and her sewing hands) and our dancers have her to thank for helping them look their absolute best on recital day.
Last but not least, the costumes go home with dancers. But not for dress up just yet! Keep those babies safe for recital time. Come dress rehearsal week, get ready to bust them out and wear them to perform! We can’t wait to see everyone sparkle and shine in their special costumes this year!
