October 27-November 1 is wear-a-costume week at Turning Pointe Dance! Sure, it’s a colorful way to add some fun to your classes between fall and Christmas Peek Weeks, but did you know there’s even more purpose behind it? Yes, it certainly is fun. But it’s also so much more! Curious? Keep reading for a TP Top 3: Reasons to wear a costume to dance class this week.
1. Celebrate History
Dancers have been performing in costumes since the 5th century BCE. The dramas of Ancient Greece were passed on to the Romans, with several similarly-timed records showing costumed dance performance documented in Europe and India. Soon after, elaborately dressed productions of Shakesphere plays took over the Renaissance period, and the rest, as they say, is history! (Want to learn more? Check out our “Brief History of Dance Costumes” here.)
Did you know? In addition to progressive skill development, the Turning Pointe Dance curriculum includes a “History & Connection” learning target designed to help dancers understand the history of what they’re learning as they connect it to the training we receive in the studio today. Not only does studying this history provide context for modern-day dance, it shows students how dance intertwines with cultural events, and how it intertwines with our faith, creating a deeper understanding of dance as a form of worship throughout history.
This week, we invite students to celebrate that history with costumed classes! Embrace the history of dance as you steward each step for His glory.
2. Practice Your Art
Dance is a performing art. And just like any artform, it requires practice! We practice our steps and technique in class each week, but it’s not that often we get to practice the art of performance, and that includes practicing in costume. Our regular classwear can often feel safe and comfortable, acting as a security blanket of sorts. Challenging yourself to dance in costume can build confidence, test a costume’s effect on your movement, and help you get into character as you perform your steps for your teacher.
Costumes play an important part on the stage, helping to enhance the visual appeal and narrative of a performance. Costumes can be used to convey the mood, style, and theme of a dance, as well as distinguish between different characters or groups within a performance. They are meant to complement the song, scene or piece, and create uniformity among the dancers. Simply put, costumes bring the entire dance to life! (Read more about all of that here.) Handling our steps with all that flare takes practice. Why save it all for recital day?
3. Embrace the Dress Code(s)
Students at Turning Pointe Dance adhere to a strict and modest dress code, enforced in all levels and classes. Why? Dressing in proper dancewear allows your teachers to better see your movements, eliminates distractions, and allows you to move safely and properly through each combination. But as important as it is to embrace the disciplined nuances of practice, it’s also important to embrace the exciting aspects of performance. After all, it’s a big part of what we do!
No, it’s not practical for every week. But this week, as the sun is beginning to set earlier and earlier during classes, with Peek Week behind and recitals still far away, it’s good to start building excitement toward the big picture.
Believe it or not, that big picture is not so far away! Students have been measured for recital costumes over the last few weeks, and your costume fee is due in just a few weeks on December 1. Students opting out of recitals must do so by November 30. (More about all of that here.) So this week, grab your favorite tutu, a costume from recitals past, or anything that makes you feel confident in character. Let’s embrace one of the many things that makes this artform so special!