Many dance school owners find themselves pulling their hair come recital time because there's not enough money in the budget for costumes. In today's economic climate parents may not want to pay too much extra for an outfit that their little dancer will wear two or three times only. Luckily with some creative thinking it is possible to create beautiful professional-looking dance recital costumes without breaking the bank.
The first thing you need to do is to choose the themes for the different dances. This will determine what your dancers will eventually wear. Think carefully about the theme. If it is too complicated, your dancers' outfits will probably have to be complicated and expensive too. For example, a mermaid theme sounds wonderful until you realize just how difficult it can be to make a mermaid tail that looks great and is still practical enough for a dancer to move in. In contrast, a famous ballet like 'Company B' uses khaki chinos and shirts that are available from any budget clothing store and that provide dancers with enough freedom of movement.
Once you have chosen a theme for a particular piece, scour the cheaper clothing stores and fabric shops for ideas. Remember that the dancers don't have to wear realistic outfits. The idea is after all that they portray their characters through movement, not through what they are wearing. With good choreography, a dancer can wear only a green leotard and portray anything from a tree to a caterpillar.
It will save you a lot of money if you frequent bargain clothing shops throughout the year and not only a few weeks before the recital. In this way you can take advantage of special offers and bulk buying. Some of the items that you should stock up on are one-piece bathing suits and T-shirts. Bathing suits in one color make good leotards and you can always jazz them up a little with some sequins or rhinestones. T-shirts can be transformed into a huge variety of pieces, even into leotards.
You can also save on the type of fabric that you buy. Tulle and satin look great, but for the right piece, you can go for a cheaper fabric instead. For example, muslin cheesecloth is light and floaty. It also dyes extremely well so that you can turn it into any color you want or even into rainbow colors. If you want sparkle and shine, there is nothing tat a few sequins can't fix. The best is that it is an inexpensive fabric.
Fabric paints and haberdashery can also change any plain outfit into something spectacular. For example, a simple dancing skirt can become something beautiful resembling butterfly wings or flames with the application of fabric paint. Sequins, rhinestones and ribbons can also work wonders to transform any piece of clothing.
Accessories and props are also indispensable items in creating a budget wardrobe. The party store is a great place to look for low-priced hats, masks, tiaras and even wigs. Learning how to do papier mache will serve you extremely well too. Once again you can get the dancers, especially the younger ones, to help you make their own props.
Once you are making the dance recital costumes, remember that they don't have to be perfect. Stage lights are very forgiving of flaws. Besides, if the dancers are well prepared, nobody will look at the costumes anyway.
The first thing you need to do is to choose the themes for the different dances. This will determine what your dancers will eventually wear. Think carefully about the theme. If it is too complicated, your dancers' outfits will probably have to be complicated and expensive too. For example, a mermaid theme sounds wonderful until you realize just how difficult it can be to make a mermaid tail that looks great and is still practical enough for a dancer to move in. In contrast, a famous ballet like 'Company B' uses khaki chinos and shirts that are available from any budget clothing store and that provide dancers with enough freedom of movement.
Once you have chosen a theme for a particular piece, scour the cheaper clothing stores and fabric shops for ideas. Remember that the dancers don't have to wear realistic outfits. The idea is after all that they portray their characters through movement, not through what they are wearing. With good choreography, a dancer can wear only a green leotard and portray anything from a tree to a caterpillar.
It will save you a lot of money if you frequent bargain clothing shops throughout the year and not only a few weeks before the recital. In this way you can take advantage of special offers and bulk buying. Some of the items that you should stock up on are one-piece bathing suits and T-shirts. Bathing suits in one color make good leotards and you can always jazz them up a little with some sequins or rhinestones. T-shirts can be transformed into a huge variety of pieces, even into leotards.
You can also save on the type of fabric that you buy. Tulle and satin look great, but for the right piece, you can go for a cheaper fabric instead. For example, muslin cheesecloth is light and floaty. It also dyes extremely well so that you can turn it into any color you want or even into rainbow colors. If you want sparkle and shine, there is nothing tat a few sequins can't fix. The best is that it is an inexpensive fabric.
Fabric paints and haberdashery can also change any plain outfit into something spectacular. For example, a simple dancing skirt can become something beautiful resembling butterfly wings or flames with the application of fabric paint. Sequins, rhinestones and ribbons can also work wonders to transform any piece of clothing.
Accessories and props are also indispensable items in creating a budget wardrobe. The party store is a great place to look for low-priced hats, masks, tiaras and even wigs. Learning how to do papier mache will serve you extremely well too. Once again you can get the dancers, especially the younger ones, to help you make their own props.
Once you are making the dance recital costumes, remember that they don't have to be perfect. Stage lights are very forgiving of flaws. Besides, if the dancers are well prepared, nobody will look at the costumes anyway.
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