We thought we would put some notes together for our beginner dancers to make suggestions regarding presentation. Please note that these simply suggestions, we are not suggesting that you MUST wear hair a certain way or wear a certain costume. They are simply our thoughts on our preferred presentation for competition.
Essentially we like our dancers to look neat and tidy. Whilst a dancer’s appearance shouldn’t ultimately influence the result it is, after all, a performance art and to this end we like to make sure we have crossed the t’s and dotted the i’s!
GIRLS:-
Costume:-
Our ‘Grade’ level dancers usually wear a little ‘training’ dress or short sleeved slip dress.
For those who don’t own any form of class costume our school colours are RED and BLACK. If dancers have a little black skirt and red top, this would be preferable although any outfit in any combination of red and black is fine.
If dancers do not own anything in Red and Black, a little party dress will suffice!
Underwear for costumes:-
Dancers should have black pants for under costume. We often find that these can be difficult to find for small girls so we suggest you cut the legs off a pair of old black tights and use these!
Hair:-
If dancers are wearing their own hair, we would prefer if they wore it down (or half up, half down). No curls are necessary but you’re welcome to curl your dancers hair if you wish.
A simple red bow will suffice or a traditional hairband.
If dancers choose to wear a bun wig, that’s fine too!
Socks
Dancing socks are also known as ‘Poodle socks’ and can be found either at the feis (there will be a vendor present) or can be purchased in shops such as McEvoys’ in Dundalk. Please do not buy poodle socks for dancers to ‘grow into’. They should be worn short (to finish under the calf muscle) and NOT pulled up to the knee!
For especially little legs, poodle socks can be folded down to create a shorter length.
Shoes
Pomps & heavy shoes should be polished and laces tied neatly. We will have lots of our more advanced dancers on hand to help with tying shoes correctly. Please don’t be afraid to ask for help. Obviously the feet are the most important part of the whole look so we want to make sure they look really neat and tidy! The preferred method is on the right. The photo on the left demonstrates what we don’t want!
Please don’t hesitate to ask for help, either from senior dancers or from teachers who will all be there to help on the day.
BOYS
Costume:-
The boys’ costume is a little easier to put together than the girls!
Boys can wear
White shirt
Red tie
Black trousers
A black waistcoat is preferable if you can find a small one.
Black socks
polished shoes.
Again, we like our boys to look neat and tidy so perhaps a little brush of the hair before they go on stage might work!
The priority for all of us is that the children have fun and enjoy their day. If they look good while they’re at it, even better!