The dress code.
Four reasons we ask.
Safety
Ill-fitting clothes catch on turnout, snag on aerial silks, and hide the alignment teachers need to spot before it becomes an injury.
Technique
Teachers correct what they can see. Fitted dancewear reveals alignment; oversized street clothes hide it. Corrections make dancers better.
Focus
Kids who aren't tugging at hair or fidgeting with a sparkly outfit are kids who are dancing. Uniform dress code takes wardrobe off the table.
Uniformity
When everyone looks like a dancer, everyone acts like a dancer. It's the same principle as a sports uniform — the mindset follows the outfit.
For every class.
Do —
- Pull hair back off the face. Bun for ballet, ponytail is fine for everything else.
- Wear fitted dancewear teachers can see the torso through.
- Bring a labeled water bottle.
- Change into dance shoes at the studio, not at home.
- Only wear small stud earrings during class.
- Ask the front desk if you're unsure — no judgement, we help every family sort it out the first week.
Don't —
- Wear dance shoes outside — they lose their grip and track dirt onto our sprung floors.
- Show up in jeans, play clothes, or costume dress-ups.
- Wear bracelets, rings, or dangly earrings (especially on aerial days — it's a safety issue).
- Have bare midriffs for dancers ages 12 and under.
- Wear a sports bra as your only top layer — layer a leotard, dance top, or fitted tank over it.
- Assume a shoe from Walmart or Amazon will work — real dance shoes have different sole material.
By the style.
Ballet & Pointe
- Solid-color leotard + pink tights
- Ballet skirt permitted (not required)
- Pink split-sole ballet shoes (leather or canvas)
- Pointe class: fitted pointe shoes, ribbons + elastic properly sewn
- Hair in a neat bun. Non-negotiable for ballet.
Ballet/Tap Combo (2 – 5)
- Any color leotard + tan or pink tights
- Tutu optional (they love it)
- Ballet shoes + black tap shoes (Velcro or elastic, no ribbons)
- Hair pulled back — ponytail is fine at this age
Tap
- Fitted leotard, tank, or dance top
- Leggings or dance shorts — no baggy pants
- Black lace-up oxford tap shoes preferred
- Elastic laces for young dancers (no long ties)
- Hair in ponytail or bun
Jazz
- Fitted leotard, dance top, or tank
- Leggings, jazz pants, or dance shorts
- No mesh, no excessive logos
- Tan or black slip-on jazz shoes
- Hair in ponytail or bun
Lyrical / Contemporary
- Leotard, dance top, or fitted tank
- Footless tights, leggings, or dance shorts
- Barefoot or foot-undeez / half shoes (ask your teacher)
- Hair in a high ponytail — off the neck for floor work
Hip Hop / Breakdance
- Comfortable athletic wear — t-shirt or tank
- Joggers, leggings, or athletic shorts
- Clean "studio only" tennis shoes (never worn outside)
- No street shoes, no jeans
- Hair off the face
Acrobatics
- Fitted leotard or tight tank
- Dance shorts or leggings
- Nothing that rides up during inversions
- Bare feet
- Secured bun (loose ponytails don't mix with floor work)
Aerial Silks
- Fitted long sleeves + full-length leggings
- No zippers, buckles, or exposed skin above the waist
- Bare feet
- Tight bun. Absolutely no loose hair.
- No jewelry of any kind — including small studs
Buy dance shoes
from a dance store.
Real dance shoes have specific sole materials engineered for grip and pivot. The lookalike shoes on Amazon, Walmart, or Target often look identical but slip on sprung floors — which is exactly when a dancer gets hurt.
- Discount Dance Supply — reliable sizing, real quality, ships to Florida in days
- Any local dedicated dancewear store
- Our front desk keeps a small stock of the most-requested items for last-minute needs
- Avoid ballet shoes from Walmart, Target, or Amazon marketplace listings
Not sure? Ask.
Every new family gets a little confused their first week — Ballet or ballet-and-tap? Split-sole or full-sole? Tan tights or pink? Our front desk has helped hundreds of new families sort this out. It takes about ninety seconds.