Public ticket sales now open

Dressing for the Show

Costumes

Managing Costumes at the Show

Dancers with multiple costumes need to protect their costumes from the elements and from the production. Please make sure you travel with your costumes neatly and flat in a garment bag or other protective covering. Dancers and families will be responsible for keeping track of all costume accessories and shoes.

PLEASE LABEL EVERYTHING!

Young children (Little Movers, Tiny Tots, Tots 2, Pre-Ballet and Tap, Dance Basics, Dance Beginnings, Level 1, and Level 2) must arrive at the show in their costumes unless they will dance in more than one costume.
Tights are worn onstage as undergarments and in lieu of underwear. If your child is uncomfortable with this, please purchase flesh -colored underwear so that the underwear does not show onstage.
Parents, please go over all of your dancer’s costume pieces, tights, shoes, and accessories before leaving for the show to make sure everything is accounted for. Discuss with your child how the pieces are worn and how to put them on independently.
In May, you will receive an email with an attachment that outlines the order your child will perform each of their dances in each show. Organize your child's costumes in this order and send this with your child to the shows with their dance bags and costumes so that our parent volunteers and your child can efficiently dress and prepare for the show.

Dressing at the show

There are 3 major dressing spaces at the Theater and students are assigned to different spaces in a way that our Stage Manager and Performer Care Manager can easily find dancers for their performances.

Dressing Space Rules:

Absolutely no photos in the dressing room spaces. Phones and other recording devices may not be used during the show and will be confiscated if we see them being used.
Dancers are responsible for cleaning up after themselves and keeping the dressing rooms organized.
Food and Drink (other than water) are prohibited in the dressing rooms to protect everyone's costumes and personal effects.
Dancers should never share makeup and are responsible for providing their own. We do not recommend that children in Level 2 or under bring makeup with them; often we find them "overapplying" their makeup by themselves.
Dancers must be fully clothed when they leave the dressing rooms.
Dancers must not ever touch another dancer's things.

Tights and Shoes

Tight Colors and Styles

Male students will not wear tights; they will need black dress socks to wear with their ballet and tap shoes.
Female students will wear tights with their jazz and ballet costumes.
- - Jazz and tap: Skin tone Footed or Convertible Tights - If you are unsure of the color to choose for your child, please stop by the front desk during business hours to view the different colors of tights and make your selection.
  - Ballet and Pointe: Classic Pink Footed tights
  - Lyrical/Contemporary: All students in Level 3, 4, 5, and 6 will wear tights for their contemporary or lyrical dance. Students will need a pair of skin- colored stirrup or convertible tights for these pieces. If you are unsure of the color to choose for your child, please stop by the front desk during business hours to view the different colors of tights and make your selection.
Ballet and Jazz costumes purchased through Lake Shore Dance are delivered with a free pair of tights to wear for pictures and the show.
- Free tights are a specific color/style. Exchanges may be made for the same style and color tights if the tights are unopened and unworn.
- We recommend having two pairs of each tight color just in case they run during the performance

All tights must be Revolution Brand for color and quality consistency. We proudly sell Revolution Dancewear tights and shoes at Lake Shore Dance.
- Orders are placed on the 1st and 15th of each month
- Our client care specialists are available to assist you with your order during regular business hours.
- Orders are delivered to your studio location for pick-up.
We may not be able to have tights available for purchase at the theater - please plan ahead by purchasing an extra pair of tights and packing those tights in your student's dance bag.

Shoes for Ballet Dances

Female students will wear pink ballet shoes for their performance.
- Tuck drawstrings into the shoe for a clean line.
- You can gently clean your student's shoes with a damp cloth if they appear dirty.
Male students will wear black ballet shoes for their performance.

Shoes for Tap Dances

All students will wear their class black tap shoes for their performance.

Shoes for Jazz Dances

All students will perform in tan (flesh-colored) Jazz shoes.
Leather jazz shoes can be gently cleaned with a damp cloth if they appear dirty.
Level 1 and Level 2 classes will perform a jazz dance in the show. This is an exciting addition to their dance journey and to celebrate, your child will need tan jazz shoes for class and the show. We have used and new shoes available for purchase or order at the studio. You can also join our" Lake Shore Dance Buy, Sell, Trade Group" and post that you are looking for jazz shoes for your child.

Shoes for Lyrical/Contemporary

Dancers may perform barefoot, with "Dance paws" (available for order and in stock at the studio) or "Turners" (available for order and in stock at the studio).

Join our Facebook Buy Sell Trade Group

Simply Scan this image to be directed to the group and request to join!

🌟 Performance Hair, Makeup & Theater Guidelines

💄 Hair & Makeup Guidelines

Children’s Division

Little Movers, Tiny Tots, Tots 2, Pre‑Ballet & Tap, Dance Basics, Dance Beginnings, Level 1, Level 2

Makeup is optional for both picture day and the show.
Please make sure your dancer’s hair is pulled back and out of their face.
A high bun is preferred for all dancers in this division.

Training Division

Level 3 and above

To help dancers look their best under bright stage lights, we ask Training Division dancers to wear simple, age‑appropriate stage makeup:

Foundation and powder
Black mascara
Blush
Red lipstick
Eyeshadow

Hair:

Long hair should be styled in a neat bun.
Because of limited time backstage, full hairstyle changes between dances are usually not possible.

Jewelry:

May only be worn if approved by your child’s teacher.

A link to stage makeup instructions is provided separately.

Click here for directions for applying stage makeup

Costumes by Location and by Class

S8 Supplementary Costume 2026

🌟 Getting Ready to Perform: Costuming

Children’s Classes, Ballet Classes, and Jazz Classes

Families in these classes purchase their dancer’s costume through Lake Shore Dance. This ensures a consistent, professional presentation onstage and creates a memorable experience for your child.

Please reserve all costumes—and the included pair of tights—for picture day and the show only. After the performance, the costumes are yours to keep and enjoy. Many families save costumes as keepsakes, while others let their dancers use them for dress‑up and imaginative play. The choice is entirely yours.

👗 Multiple‑Look Costumes (Levels 1–9)

Female students in Levels 1–9 may have a costume designed with multiple looks for different techniques. Typically, this includes:

A base costume (leotard or unitard)
One or two bottoms, such as skirts or shorts

General guidelines:

The longest or fullest skirt is usually worn for ballet.
Shorts or a shorter skirt (half skirt) are typically worn for tap.
For jazz, dancers may wear the shorts/shorter skirt or simply the base costume if it includes shorts.

Your child’s teacher will make the final decision and communicate it to the costume helpers at the show.

Students in Level 3 and higher may have alternate tap costumes or additional tap‑specific pieces. These details are outlined in the costume document.

🌈 Supplementary & Advanced Class Costumes

What Counts as a Supplementary Class?

Supplementary classes are those outside the three core techniques (ballet, tap, and jazz) and are designed to enrich your dancer’s training. These include:

Lyrical/Contemporary
Pointe
Performance Skills

Pointe, Tap, Lyrical/Contemporary/Modern

Dancers enrolled in supplementary classes will assemble costumes based on their teacher’s design. Teachers aim to select pieces your dancer may already own or items they can reuse in the future. In some cases, the studio may lend costume pieces from our inventory.

If a costume piece needs to be ordered, a link will be sent by email, and a pdf uploaded to the documents section of the app.

Dancers in Levels 7, 8, and 9 may also need to assemble costumes for their tap and jazz classes.

Please watch for the email from your teachers regarding costuming for supplementary classes.

Additional Notes for Supplementary Class Costumes

Borrowed pieces from the studio will be distributed at check‑in and must be returned at check‑out on both picture day and show day.
Please have your dancer’s costume ready by picture day. Teachers may request that dancers bring costumes to class beforehand to ensure everyone has what they need.
For class‑specific costume questions, please contact the instructor. For general questions, our front desk staff at any location is happy to help.

Find costume details for all classes on the Spring Show website.

🎒 Managing Costumes at the Show

Dancers with multiple costumes should protect them from the weather and wear. Please transport costumes neatly and flat in a garment bag or other protective covering.

Families are responsible for keeping track of all costume accessories and shoes.

PLEASE LABEL EVERYTHING.

Arrival Guidelines

Young dancers—Little Movers, Tiny Tots, Tots 2, Pre‑Ballet and Tap, Dance Basics, Dance Beginnings, Level 1, and Level 2—should arrive at the show in their costumes, unless they are performing in more than one look.

Tights & Undergarments

Tights serve as both onstage undergarments and in place of underwear.

If your child is uncomfortable with this, please purchase flesh‑colored underwear so it does not show under stage lighting.

Helping Your Dancer Prepare for the Performance

Before the show:

Ensure all costume pieces, tights, shoes, and accessories are accounted for.
Review with your dancer how each piece is worn and how to put it on independently.

In May, the lineups for each show will be posted on the Spring Show Website. The lineup lists the order of your dancer’s routines. Please organize your child’s costumes in lineup order and send them to the show with their dance bag and costume pieces. This helps our parent volunteers support your dancer efficiently and keeps the backstage environment calm.

**Important! In dance performance, often “quick changes” are required to maintain the flow of the show. A “Quick Change” is when a dancer has 3 or fewer numbers to change their costumes before they go onstage. Quick changes happen backstage; students set up their costumes and shoes in the portable changing rooms at the beginning of the show and change there during the show. Dancers cannot go back to the dressing room to change if they have less than three numbers before going back onstage.

Please review the lineups for “Quick Changes” and help your dancer plan for this change.

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse