Colours of Dance Uniform may be found through a wide array of suppliers. Please check your CoD account for details of any discounts that apply. There is a lot of choice out there, so please ensure you review these notes carefully before you buy, as it is your responsibility to provide the required items.
Please also note that parents kindly donate items back to the school to pass on to other children. Just ask if there's anything you need, and we'll check what we are currently holding - this will reduce your costs and ensure you get the right item!
If anyone is interested in buying some off cut flooring for their children to dance on at home, please get in touch. We have flooring available at 2m x 1m = £17.50, 2m x 2m = £34.00. We can arrange a contactless collection time.
Classical Ballet Hair Kits For Sale at the Studio - just ask!

A neat classical style that keeps the hair pinned or braided close to the head is advised for our ballet students, so we put together some hair kits to help make things easier. Each kit includes instructions and all the required hair accessories and can be purchased from the office for just £2.50. A bun or other classical style is required for every lesson for girls and boys attending ballet classes at Grade 2 level and above.
For ballet exams the requirement is the same. Most of our students have long hair that is most easily captured into a ponytail-based bun to look part of their classical costume. However there are all types of hair cuts and hair types and we will work with each individual to create an appropriate classical look for their exam.
Therabands
It is important to keep the strength in your feet and other muscles, and we use therabands in class for body conditioning exercises from Grade 2 and above. One way to do this is to use a theraband. You can buy these from us or in dancwear shops.
Flesh/Skin Tone Coloured Tights, Socks & Shoes for Ballet 
We would be upset if someone were put off dance by a uniform in which they are uncomfortable for ethnic, racial or religious reasons. For example, the standard/traditional female ballet tights and shoe colour is a 'flesh' pink, but this represents a pale or Caucasian skin tone. If you would prefer to wear a colour of socks or ballet shoes that match your own skin tone more closely, we would live this. For advice or access to other tones of shoes and tights, please speak to our supplier at Attitude Dancewear, as they will be able advice, help and supply items for you, or look online. If there are other items of the uniform which pose a problem for you or your child, then please come and speak to any of us, who will warmly welcome your questions and discussion and help you find a suitable alternative that works both for the training and for the dancer (whatever their age).
This photo is of Misty Copeland, Principal Dancer with American Ballet Theatre.
Warming Up & Cooling Down
It is really important that dance students learn about warming up and cooling down in ways that protect and care for their bodies, given the exercise that they do. These are the same principles they will hopefully learn in school sports lessons, but we are particularly careful of as dancers.
At the start of the lesson, students may wish to wear an extra layer on top of their dance clothes to help them stay warm, as they start their classes (and because they will walk into an airconditioned room), and in winter we particularly recommend this. As the class starts, they will do warming up exercises and after these, they will either want to take off their 'warm-ups' or will be asked to by the teacher. This is at the point where it is safe for the student to remove those layers and also because at this point the teaching becomes more focused on technique and more of the body needs to be seen for fine adjustment.
There is no uniform for 'warm-ups', but there are clothes that for reasons of safety or shape/fabric are simply not suitable. So below are listed a sample of permitted warmups, although this is not exhaustive. Please ask before you buy if you're in any doubt.
Permitted Warm-up items - all grades - any colour
- legwarmers
- knitted or cotton crossover wrap or knitted vest/close-fitting sweater for boys
- knitted shorts
- knitted all-in-one
- t-shirt that is fitted in style tucked into the waistband (long-sleeved t-shirts are particularly suitable for ballet boys, as they don't look 'girly')
There is a huge range of warm-up stuff about these days - it's hugely diverse and fun, so there's plenty to choose from!