Motionwear LLC || Dance Blog

Summer Study Guide 2012: Beyond Technique

Admin — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:20:29 +0000

It’s that time of year again: summer program audition season!

Here’s a great article from Dance Magazine.

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Are Dancing Shows Increasing Popularity of Dance Studios?

Kathe Jones — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 17:00:54 +0000

With the influences of “So You Think You Can Dance,” and “Dancing with the Stars,” we’re starting to hear about increases in attendance from some of our friends who own dance studios. These surges usually happen at dance studios after popular shows feature some form of dance. Just like gymnastics classes experience a big surge after every Olympics, adult dance classes fill up after dancing shows.

Ballroom dancing has become a hot commodity for adults because of these shows, as well as competitive ballroom dancing on public television. Most times when a new dance show comes to television, we have also seen a rise in popularity of those specific dances, as well as who is interested in learning. Even though the growth in ballroom dancing is more for adults than children, there are other areas that are becoming more popular for kids and the younger audiences.

Hip-hop dance has become a very popular form of dance for a younger audience. While most of the influence comes from the street, there are some shows on television, like “America’s Best Dance Crew,” which has an influence on the type of dance these younger audiences want to learn. However, younger hip-hop dancers are getting more of their influence from sources other than television, including online videos.

Because hip-hop is a newer, more informal style of dance, they aren’t bound by the traditions and expectations of ballet and jazz. So they can choose their own outfits. In hip-hop, the outfit is important, but is more or less influenced by the music and the type of dance. It is not leotards or articles of clothing like that, it is more loose pants and cut shirts. The influence is very urban. With the urban culture, dance is just becoming another form of expression.

However, as they grow older, we’re also seeing a number of dancers move from hip-hop dance to other more formal styles, like modern dance, which is increasing that art form’s popularity as well.

Photo: Andrew J. Ferguson

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Creating Custom Orders at MotionWear

Bob Wilson — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 17:00:56 +0000

One of the great things about MotionWear’s flexibility and design department is that we have the ability to customize any order. We’re able to create any uniform, leotard, or dancewear or gymnastics wear a customer needs.

One of the benefits is that this lets the customer be the designer. We have the staffing and ability to give a customer a very top-notch experience when ordering. We will consult with you on the type of fabric, the sequins and beading as well as the care of the costume. We want you to know how to best take care of your costumes. The process starts with a consult between the designer and the team representative, and ends when the customer has exactly what they want.

For example, we can make — but aren’t limited to — dresses, unitards, long sleeves to short sleeves, or short sleeves to long sleeves, tuxedo style leotards, and many other ideas. If you see an outfit in a magazine, and it is the perfect costume for your team or routine, we can make something just like it, customized specifically to the needs of your dance team. Our orders are all made with the same care and consideration we give our regular items. We know dancers, we know the hard wear and tear they can dish out to their dancewear and leos, and we make sure they can take it.

The one thing that we cannot do is customized fabrics. However, it really isn’t necessary since we carry an enormous variety of fabrics in house. We carry fabrics that are all high quality, and are made specifically for dancers. The fabrics are made to move with the dancer and are expected to be both sweated in, and to get a vigorous workout, so they have to be durable and long-lasting.

We just want to make the customer happy and create the order they want, no matter how difficult or outlandish it may be considered. The sky is the limit when it comes to possibilities for customization. If you can dream it, imagine it, or envision it, we can make it for you.

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What to Consider When Buying Team Dance Uniforms

Kathe Jones — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 17:00:28 +0000

When buying team dance costumes or uniforms, there are several things to consider before making the purchase. It’s important to think beyond the first performance. If your uniforms are going to be used more than once — which they should be — you need to think about their care and maintenance.

Are they easy to care for or will you need to iron them between each use? Does the fabric move with the dancer? Are the colors likely to bleed or fade after washing? How do you launder the uniforms? Do they need to be hand washed, dry cleaned, or can you just throw it in the washing machine with all of your other laundry?

Of course, the routine being performed and the venue where the routine is performed are also considerations to keep in mind, but there are plenty of good-looking uniforms out there. The biggest question should be one of durability and quality.

Durability is a key consideration. No one wants a wardrobe malfunction, so it’s important to make sure the item is stitched up properly and securely. Are there sequins and beads sewn on the costume? If so are they secure so they won’t come off, fall on the floor and cause yourself or another dancer to slip and fall? You do not want to cause an accident because you have something that could fall off or swing around and hit another team member.

You also want to make sure that the fabric is as simple to take care of as possible. You do not want to have to steam clean it or iron it before each performance, especially if you have to wear it more than once a day. Dancers change their outfits several times during the day; the costume gets bunched up and thrown into a bag until it is time to wear it again. If the fabric wrinkles easily, you end up wasting a lot of time ironing. You also want to make sure that the fabric is flexible. You want major durability with each costume for flexibility and comfort with the dancers, if it doesn’t have either of those characteristics then reconsider buying that costume.

Not all costumes and uniforms are high quality pieces, there are some that are just quickly stitched together which may fall apart with the rigorous movements required in team dancing. Make sure you buy the highest quality costumes to get the most wear out of them. What you spend upfront might just save you a lot of time and money down the line.

Photo: Kevin Coles

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Different Styles of Team Dancing

Kathe Jones — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 17:00:07 +0000

Team dancing has many different styles. It really depends on the choreographer and what kind of dance style they are most comfortable teaching and performing. While all styles of team dancing have a few things in common such as dance uniforms, dance costumes, and all members of the team basically performing the same movements, there are some notable differences between the different styles of team dancing. If you or your children are interested in team dancing, it’s important to know the differences when scouting out some of the different schools and teachers.

Lyrical Jazz Team Dancing is a style that blends ballet with jazz movements. The songs or music the dance team moves to tend to be slower and more ballet like. The dance team uniforms tend to be designed in the ballet fashion. The movements are slower and flowing.
Prop Team Dancing is just what it sounds like. The dancers use props in their performance. The props can range from books to stuffed animals, or whatever the routine might call for to illustrate the vision the choreographer wants to showcase.
Pom Team Dancing is more like the standard cheerleading most people think of, using pom poms to accentuate the moves the dancers make.
Hip Hop Team Dancing is an exciting routine that incorporates not only hip hop dance movements to fast-paced songs, but also the dancers dress in urban street clothes rather than traditional dance costumes. The movements are raw and synchronized at the same time. The music is loud, has a deep bass beat, and gets everyone fired up.
Modern Team Dancing is a form of team dancing that incorporates modern dance into its routines. The dancers move in an often chaotic pattern. The dance uniforms can be wild or outrageous depending on the routine. There really is no form to modern dance, so this team dance has the most variety to it.
Novelty Team Dancing is similar to prop dancing, there is a theme to the dance and often exaggerated costumes are used to illustrate the change from standard team dancing. Think of a routine that uses country line dancing with the team members wearing jeans, cowboy hats and button down shirts, clothing dancer don’t usually wear except when there is a theme to showcase.

Today, dance teams incorporate many of these different styles of team dancing in to their routines. It depends on the choreographer to put it all together into a performance the dance team is able to perform, and the audience is most likely to enjoy watching. There is no set in stone style that must be used. It is simply the preference of the team and choreographer.

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Why Costumes Are Important in Team Dancing?

Kathe Jones — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 17:00:13 +0000

Team dancing costumes and other articles of teamwear clothing are not necessarily uniforms. Oftentimes, they’re more than that. Just depending on the event, or what the team is looking for in their teamwear, will often define what a dancer will wear.

It’s important to remember that these costumes will be performed in many times, they are not a one-time deal, like many traditional dance costumes. When ordering uniforms, use a catalog specifically for teamwear. There are costume catalogs and uniform catalogs. Make sure you know which catalog you are ordering from. If you need a uniform order from a uniform catalog, if you need a costume make sure you are getting it from a costume catalog.

Many uniforms and even practice wear are very flexible when it comes to adding and subtracting other articles and accessories. There are many styles of both, but durability is important when choosing performance costumes. That’s why many teams and schools will purchase practice wear and convert it to costumes: because the outfits have to last well beyond the first or second performance, usually for more than one year.

Motionwear dancewear is built to last from one year to the next. The colors don’t bleed or fade and the pieces can be used interchangeably. For instance a team might purchase a pair of black pants and zebra patterned spandex top for one routine, the next routine might require a leopard print spandex top and therefore only the tops need to be changed. The pants can be used for both costumes. So our dancewear has to be able to handle the versatility and the extra workload.

Costumes are all about the mood that is set either by a song in the routine or by the type of routine performed. Uniformity is important, all the dancers need to look the same, but this does not mean the costume is a uniform.

In addition to being durable, costumes must be flexible enough for the dancer to move and at the same time snug enough to show off the dancers fit physique. Costumes must breathe so the dancer is as comfortable as possible. Team dancing is an extremely physical sport, obviously the dancer sweats when performing such a physically challenging routine, it is imperative that the costumes that are chosen allow the dancer to move as freely as possible and without causing the performer to overheat.

Photo: Doug Waliing

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What is Team Dancing?

Kathe Jones — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 17:00:23 +0000

If you have never participated in team dancing or seen it performed, you might assume that team dancing is the same thing as cheerleading. While both are very challenging sports, there are several key differences between the two.

Like other forms of dance, team dancing is something you have to train for. It is a very competitive area of dance and you have to have experience. There are tryouts, and the dancers are expected to have knowledge of dance, and to know what it takes to become a team dancer. There are many things that are required for a person to know in order to be considered for a spot on a team.

People who participate in team dancing usually have many years of dance training under their belt. Team dancing is not a sport you just decide to try out for one day and get picked to join the team. Team dancers have been practicing their art since they were children, just like hockey, golf or any other sport.

It’s actually quite easy to tell the difference between cheerleading and team dancing, once you know what to look for. For example, team dancing has heavy jazz and hip-hop influences. In cheerleading, there are more flips and cheers. Ultimately, it really depends on the choreographer and whether they were influenced by dance or cheerleading. The Boston Celtics have dancers and not cheerleaders while the Dallas Cowboys have a cheerleading squad.

There are specific schools and teams that focus solely on dance or cheerleading, and different philosophies and outlooks for each sport. Team dancing is a team sport, and is never about an individual, everything is about unison. With cheerleading, there are opportunities to express your talents individually. It really depends on what style a person is looking for.

So the next time you’re watching a game on TV, and the cheerleaders take to the floor or field, pay particular attention to what they’re doing. Are they dancing? Are they doing flips and kicks? You’ll be able to say with confidence what that squad is actually doing.

Photo: ZenMama

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Are there different types of dancewear for different dance styles?

Bob Wilson — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 14:30:26 +0000

Are there differences in what dancers wear for the different types of dance? Are the fabrics and materials the same?

In a word, yes. First and foremost the footwear for each class (ballet, jazz, hip hop, etc.) is going to be different. As for the dancewear itself, it usually boils down to style rather than, say, fabric or fit.

For example, Motionwear might use the same fabrics for a jazz leotard as a ballet leotard, but the look of those two leotards is going to be markedly different.

So, what are the different types of dancewear “looks” for the three big styles of dance?

Ballet

Ballerinas are conservative. Partly because it’s a strict requirement of their school and partly because that’s just the style. Ballet is an old form of dance steeped in tradition and part of that tradition is the dress. So, you’ll typically see ballerinas wearing either pink or black leotards (unless their school dictates otherwise) with tights. There isn’t a lot of wiggle room in ballet (pardon the pun) for personal expression through attire.

Jazz

Jazz, like the art form itself, definitely tends to be a lot more “free” in its dancewear choices. Here at Motionwear, we sell a lot of tanks, booty shorts and bra tops for jazz dancers. They tend to like the flexibility of separate pieces that are both comfortable and versatile along with the range of colors and prints.

Hip Hop

A big part of hip hop dance is the attitude and part of that attitude is personal expression. Personal expression includes dancewear and in hip hop, almost anything goes.

Depending on your studio, you could probably get away with wearing jeans to class if you wanted to (after one sweaty sesssion, you’d probably never want to do it again, but still). So, hip hop dancers don’t tend to snatch up the leotards and instead will gravitate towards the more colorful and modern separates.

A dancer could wear the same leotard to every dance class, but they don’t usually. Instead, they opt to wear clothing styles that fit the style of dance they’re practicing at that time.

Photo: Lieven SOTE

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Why should dance companies use a practice leotard to make dance costumes?

Bob Wilson — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 17:00:04 +0000

When you have a long dance season and put on repeated performances of the same show, using the same costume, it’s important that your costume is held together with more than safety pins and prayers. Because of that, many dancers will turn practice leotards into dance costumes for a long performance season.

This buying option leaves them plenty of room for creativity. These imaginative performers convert and embellish their dancing garment on their own. While we can put custom rhinestones on practice leotards, some dancers and designers add more embellishments such as feathers themselves. The benefit that performers can gain from buying Motionwear practice leotards is that they’re very durable and last for a very long time.

There are certain types of dance where Motionwear leotards can be worn as costumes without any embellishment, such as jazz or ballet. Our company even has a “teen catalog” that performers can get costumes from. Sometimes people tend to think of it as a costume catalogue but it’s really not. It is primarily created for teen and dance team competitions.

When performers want to create a different look on their dance outfit, our company can help them do it by introducing them to gymnastics wear fabric. This fabric is normally brighter than dancewear fabric, which lets dancers get a completely different look and feel to their outfits.

As mentioned earlier, the company doesn’t really do any excessive beading on our practice leotards. It is because we would rather stay with what we do best and it obviously is our style and the fit of our garment. We focus on the performance fabric that can be converted into a costume or something different.

A lot of performers and dance companies are turning to Motionwear practice dancewear for their costumes. The leotards can be worn multiple times, and are not going to break down on the performers, unlike some traditional costumes that can fall apart after just a couple weeks of wearing them.

Our customers are very pleased with our products and their quality. They know we produce durable and wearable dancewear, and that this year’s costume can be next year’s costume wear as well. For those creative types, they can make a whole new costume just by adding different shorts, or pairing a skirt with their current leotards. It’s fun and doesn’t cost a whole lot of money. This idea has become very useful for everybody in this economy. We have seen a lot of people starting to cut back and becoming more mindful of their costume budget, and reusing some of their costumes the following year.

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Things parents should consider when choosing a dance school

Bob Wilson — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 14:30:39 +0000

Location and price aside, these are the things parents should always look for when choosing a dance school:

The studio owner

Try to find out where the studio owner is from and where his or her foundation is based. Did they just graduate college? Do they have their major in dance? Did they travel with a troupe? Were they part of a company?

Getting a good understanding of a studio owner’s background lets you know where they’re coming from and how much experience they have. Many parents choose someone who was with a well-known company. They feel that gives them the experience of being both a student and a performer.

The teachers

Look for a variety of teachers. When a dance school is diverse, I see it as more opportunity for a student to branch out and learn new styles and techniques. For example, a great studio may have a teacher who’s incredible at ballet, another who’s into hip hop, and yet another who’s a phenomenal modern dancer.

Diversity in the staff leads to diversity in the dancer.

Presence in the community

The best experience you can give a dance student is performance experience. That’s why I recommend looking for a dance school that’s active in the local community and performing locally.

A few recitals a year isn’t enough to build up that performance experience. But if a dance school is running performances at local events, it’s a great opportunity for students to really find their stage legs.

Inspiration factor

This one is all about personal preference, but look for a dance studio that’s going to inspire your children. If you go in and the ceiling’s leaking and half the flickering fluorescent lights are broken, they may not be inspired as an artist (and you won’t be inspired as a parent). So, always take a tour of the studio before you enroll your kids. Make sure it’s a welcoming environment that brings out the dancer in your child.

Photo: Bisgovuk