Dance is the activity where the gear list is the most style-specific. A ballerina, a hip-hop kid, and a tap dancer have almost zero gear in common.
Most studios will give you a list at registration that tells you exactly what to buy and where. Use that list. Dance shoes are tricky to fit and the studio’s recommended supplier (often a local dancewear shop) saves you the return runs.
The annual surprise is the recital costume bill. Plan for it. It’s coming.
Universal items (every style, every age)
A few things every dance kid needs regardless of style:
A dance bag
A medium-size duffel that holds shoes, water bottle, snacks, and the day’s outfits. Most studios have a recommended size or brand.
Cost range: $25–60.
A water bottle
Yes. Same rule.
Cost range: $15–35.
Hair stuff
Dance hair is a category. Bobby pins, hair gel, hair nets, hair ties, hairspray. Plan on a small kit kept in the dance bag at all times.
Cost range: $20–40 to start; replenish as needed.
Tights
Pink or beige tights are standard for ballet, jazz, and contemporary. Most studios specify a brand and color.
Cost range: $10–25 a pair. Buy 3 to 5 pairs.
Leotards
Most studios have a dress code that specifies leotard color, neckline, and brand. Buy 3 to 5 leotards in the studio’s specified colors.
Cost range: $20–60 each.
Style-specific items
The shoes are where dance gets style-specific. Most kids do multiple styles, which means multiple shoe types.
Ballet
Ballet slippers. Canvas or leather, drawstring style. Pre-sewn elastic is fine for kids under 11.
How to choose: try them on with the kid’s tights. They should fit snug, like a sock. The drawstring at the toe should be tied snugly without bunching. As the kid grows, the slipper stretches.
Cost range: $20–40 a pair.
Pointe shoes (advanced ballet, age 11+ only)
Pointe shoes require a fitting from a certified pointe shoe fitter. Do not buy these online. The fitting can take an hour or more and matters for the rest of your kid’s ballet career.
Pointe shoes are also a consumable. Serious dancers go through a pair every 3 to 8 weeks. Recreational dancers might go a season per pair.
Cost range: $90–180 a pair, plus $20 to $40 for elastics, ribbons, and toe pads. Plus the fitting time, which is sacred.
Jazz
Jazz shoes are slip-on or lace-up, usually leather or canvas, with a flexible sole and a small heel for spinning.
How to choose: snug at the toe, no slipping at the heel. The split-sole vs. full-sole choice is mostly preference; split-sole is more flexible.
Cost range: $25–60 a pair.
Tap
Tap shoes have metal tap plates on the toe and heel. The tap plates are loud on purpose.
How to choose: tap shoes should fit like a slightly-snug street shoe. Some kids need 1 to 2 sizes smaller than their street shoe. The heel should not slip.
Cost range: $30–80 a pair. Plus a tap board for home practice ($40 to $80) so the kid can practice without ruining your kitchen floor.
Hip-hop
Hip-hop shoes are usually clean white sneakers, often a specific brand the studio recommends. Some studios are flexible; some require a specific shoe.
How to choose: the studio will tell you what’s required. Often it’s a basic Nike or Adidas indoor shoe.
Cost range: $40–100.
Contemporary / Modern / Lyrical
Most contemporary dancers wear half-soles (small leather pads on the ball of the foot, with elastic to keep them in place) or go barefoot. Some studios specify foot undeez (similar to half-soles).
Cost range: $15–40 for half-soles; $20 to $35 for foot undeez.
Ballroom and Latin
Ballroom shoes have specific suede soles for sliding on competition floors. Specialty shoes that you only buy when your kid is committed to the discipline.
Cost range: $80–200 for kids’ ballroom shoes.
Ages 5–7 (Starter dance)
Most studios run a “creative movement” or “pre-ballet” class at this age. The gear list is very small.
- Pink ballet slippers
- Pink tights, 2-3 pairs
- A leotard, any color the studio allows
Total: $80 to $150.
Ages 8–10 (Combo classes and serious starters)
Most kids at this age take 2-3 classes a week (ballet, jazz, and maybe tap or hip-hop). The gear list grows.
- Ballet slippers
- Jazz shoes
- Tap shoes (if taking tap)
- Tights, 4-5 pairs in different colors
- Leotards, 3-5 in studio-specified colors
- A dance bag
Total: $200 to $400.
Ages 11–12 (Pre-pointe and competition)
Pointe shoes start to enter the picture for ballet kids who are ready (this is a teacher’s call, not a parent’s call). Competition dance gets serious for kids who go that route.
- Pointe shoes (if applicable, $100 to $180)
- Replacement ballet slippers
- Replacement jazz/tap shoes
- More leotards (kids’ bodies change rapidly at this age)
- Foot undeez or half-soles
Total: $400 to $800 a year.
Competition fees (if applicable)
Competition dance: $200 to $500 a competition, 4 to 8 competitions a season, plus costumes ($75 to $200 each) for each routine.
Ages 13–14 (Pre-teen company)
Most serious dancers are in a “company” or “elite” track by this age. Multiple styles, multiple weekly classes, intensive technique work.
- Multiple pairs of pointe shoes (1 to 2 a month for serious dancers)
- Style-specific gear for whatever they’re focused on
- Costumes for company numbers ($100 to $300 each)
- Convention fees for dance conventions ($300 to $700 each)
Annual cost: $1,000 to $3,000 in dancewear and accessories alone.
Ages 15+ (High school dance and pre-professional)
This is when the kids who are going for it really go for it. Pre-professional programs, summer intensives at major ballet companies, college dance auditions.
Summer intensives
Major ballet and modern dance programs run intensives in summer: $1,500 to $5,000 a session, plus housing if it’s residential.
College auditions
Dance majors audition like music majors. $50 to $150 a school, often requiring travel.
The recital costume bill (the surprise every June)
Recital costumes are the budget item nobody warns you about. Each routine your kid is in requires a costume. If your kid is in 3 to 5 routines, that’s 3 to 5 costumes.
Costumes are typically $75 to $200 each. They are non-negotiable; the studio orders them in November and you pay then.
Plan on $300 to $1,000 in recital costume bills every spring.
How to choose dance shoes (the universal test)
Three rules across every style:
One. Try them on with the right hosiery. Pointe shoes with pointe shoe tights. Ballet slippers with ballet tights. Don’t try in socks.
Two. The shoe should fit like skin. No bunching, no extra room at the toe (your kid’s toes will hit the front during pointed work), no heel slippage.
Three. Get them at the studio’s recommended store. Online dance shoe shopping is a hard way to get the wrong fit.
A few honest notes
Dance shoes wear out. Kids outgrow them. Plan on replacing the most-used shoes (ballet slippers, jazz shoes) twice a year.
Most local dance shops have a used-shoe rack. Pre-pointe shoes that have been worn for 2 weeks by another kid are perfectly fine for the next kid for the season.
The studio dress code is not a suggestion. Most studios are strict. Read it carefully when you register and stock up.
If your kid is doing competition dance, expect the budget to triple compared to recreational dance. The costumes, the conventions, the travel, the privates. Plan accordingly.
— Maren