What Do You Need For Dance Class? It’s Back To Dance Season!

It’s “Back To Dance” season and as a dancewear store, it’s our busiest time of the year! If you are a new dance parent or a seasoned dance parent who’s back to dance shopping experiences in the past haven’t been great, here are some tips to make your shopping experience the best possible!

The best way to make sure you’re getting the right stuff for dance class is to visit a dancewear store. Dancewear stores (usually) have relationships with the studios in the area. They will know exactly what you need and the staff will help you get the proper fit in your shoes. 

If we had a dollar for every parent who’s ordered online, shipped back and forth trying to figure out the right size, gave up and came into the store to get fit, then told us they should’ve just come to us in the first place because it was “so easy”, we could retire!

August-September is insanely busy as everyone is getting their supplies to start dance classes. Shopping in-store can be overwhelming if you’re not prepared. Keep reading for all the tips to make your in-store shopping experience as smooth as possible!

Come Prepared With A Shopping List:

If you come into the store and say you dance at XYZ Studio, we’ll probably know what you need. However, if you have a list of exactly what you need, the process will be quicker. There also won’t be any questions as to if you purchased the right stuff. I’m talking, specific brand, style, and color of all shoes, tight color, if you have a uniform leotard, you’ll want the color/style of that too. The more specific, the better!

Check The Store’s Hours and Policies Prior To Shopping:

Different stores have different policies. If you need pointe shoes, check their fitting policy. If you are guessing on sizes because the dancer can’t make it into the store (which we don’t recommend doing), check the return policy.

Dance stores are small businesses so the hours aren’t set like Target. Check the hours before heading to the store to make sure they’re open at the time you want to shop.

All of this information is available on the store’s website. 

If You Need Pointe Shoes & The Store Has Appointments, BOOK AN APPOINTMENT:

Not all stores take appointments for pointe shoe fittings, but we do! Back to dance season means our pointe shoe fittings get booked up! If you need pointe shoes, do not expect to walk in and get fit. At our shop, appointments take priority over walk-in’s and there are days where every pointe shoe appointment slot is booked. We’ve had dancers wait for hours for a walk-in fitting. To avoid being one of them, make your life easier and book an appointment.

If you need regular ballet shoes, DO NOT BOOK A POINTE SHOE FITTING! Every fall, we always get that new dance parent that books a pointe shoe fitting for their new dancer. This takes an appointment away from a dancer who actually needs pointe shoes. We do have a fee for pointe shoe appointments that do not purchase pointe shoes. If you book a pointe shoe fitting for any other shoe, you will be charged the fee.

Be Prepared To Wait To Be Helped:

Part of coming to the store is the personal experience. Having staff fit you in the proper shoes, getting help finding the right leotard, being able to ask the staff questions about different products and sizing are some of the perks of shopping in-store. We never want to have any customer not get proper help because we’re too busy running around like a chicken with our head cut off!

Due to this, you may have to wait to be helped. However, once it’s your turn, you will have a staff member personally helping you…not just handing you a box of shoes and walking away. We sit with you, bring out different shoes for you to try on, we make sure they fit properly, we answer any questions you may have, we pick the correct tights for you, etc.

If You Insist On Ordering Online, Order Through A Small Dance Shop:

We love to see our customers in-store, but we understand sometimes you need things delivered to your door. As a small business, we appreciate all business, so ordering through our website is supporting a local family instead of a big company. Also, if you need help or have any questions about what to purchase online through our website, give us a call and we can walk you through ordering and answer any questions you may have!

Did we cover it all? What tips do you have for back to dance shopping? Leave them in the comments!