Thread: Fun Topic: Who "Dresses Up" For Class?

I attend classes in two separate communities. In one community, virtually everyone wears "whatever" to class - workout clothes and a hip/coin scarf and not anything particularly costumey. The other community about 2/3rds of the students wear something a little more upscale - certainly not a full-up bedlah, but maybe Melodias or something from Sharifwear.

I'm curious - what do you do? What's the norm in your community? Discuss.

Whatever my little hands pull from the drawer. Sometimes I'm bright and funky, others I'm drab and blah.
We weren't allowed to dress up b/c we would stand around oggling one anothers costumes INSTEAD of learn.

i dress up. when i first started taking classes one of my teachers suggested it to everyone - to get us in "the zone" - and i believe that it helps. i don't always wear something like sharifwear but even if i'm wearing workout clothes, they're form-fitting, ironed, coordinating and cute with a hipscarf. i wear "bellydance earrings" and wear light makeup (if i have time and know that it's not one of those workshops where it'll sweat off 5 minutes later!).

curious to hear what others say...

in terms of clothes most of the ladies in the classes I go to fall under the workout wear / not "dressed up" side ... ranging from standard workout pants/t-shirts to unitard/leotard/leggings w/ hip scarves ... though I've noticed many of the ladies (probably half, I'd say) do wear 'bellydancer type' jewelry to class (coin necklaces/anklets/etc) ... personally, i wear leggings and fitted camisole and hipscarf ... it's not exactly dressed up, but to me it is because it says dance class ... and it's functional - comfortable, moveable, and fitted so the teacher (and me) can see exactly what my body is doing

i go to class to sweat, so nothing TOO cute, usually in formfitting pants and top, sometimes a hip scarf so the teacher can see my alignment and body

i ask the same of my students

Everyone in my class wears a coin scarf. As for clothes - it ranges from street clothes to work out clothes to sharifwear. Whatever makes folks comfortable. I'm a t-shirt and shorts gal myself. I'm not one for baring my mid-drift. No one wants to see the the road map of the United States my children gave me.

It's not uncommon around here to see both teachers and students wearing hairpieces, flowers, glitter, layered hip scarves, skirts, and fancy tops and lots of bling for class.

As a noob I used to bust out my fancy earrings for class, to feel more in 'the zone" as dancingstar put it, but now I just go in tank, yoga pants, and my 24-hour jewelry when either taking or teaching.

I have felt inclined to wear a bit more makeup when teaching. Eyeliner makes me official. Ahem. Been debating on the hairpiece...

Fashionable dance togs are fine, but I dislike dress-up stuff in class -- my class is a real dance class, dammit! I wear tights, dance shorts, and some kind of form-fitting top. sometimes I wear something at the hip and sometimes not.

I really like to see student's knees and feet, so I encourage them not to wear long skirts, or pants that are not tight at the knee and/or dragging the ground. I don't mind the students wearing a coin scarf. But I have been in dance classes where the students show up 15 mins early just to start piling on the skirts, vests, 10 lbs of tribal jewelry, coin belts, etc. That just seems silly to me -- like putting on a tuxedo or evening gown to go to a music lesson, or wearing a tutu to ballet class.

People tend to follow the lead of what the teacher is wearing, in my experience. I like to look decent, but I don't get too dolled up and sometimes find it distracting when others do. We work hard and sweat hard and do part of our warm-up on the floor, so I can't stand to wear anything that interferes with that or restricts my range of movement or makes me want to fiddle with it. For me this translates to:

Yoga pants or occasionally Sharifwear flares.
A wrap top with or without a tank or leotard underneath; sometimes just a fitted studio t-shirt instead if I'm in a hurry.
Lipstick if I think of it, usually not. A little more makeup if I'm teaching, but nothing dramatic.
No jewelry that I have to think about -- yes to smallish hoop earrings, no to chandeliers.
Always a hip scarf, rarely a jingly one.
Sometimes ballet or jazz shoes.

Melodias, usually a short tie top, and hip scarf. Sometimes a long skirt, tie top, and hip scarf. When I started I wore big baggy t shirts and leggings but as I felt more like a dancer I started to dress more like one - IMO.

I have a pair of leafy melo-phoenixes that I love to wear, with either a black leotard or a green choli and sports bra.

I also lucked into a big sale at a local dancewear store. I got 3 (yes 3) different catsuits for $10 each (regularly $80-$100 apiece) and 2 leotards for $5 each. I'll wear these with a coin scarf (to cab class) or a fringed scarf (to tribal class).

So, I guess I usually look quite dressed up, but only because I didn't have to spend a lot (except on the melos).

Our dance classes tend to be no-nonsense in the sense that we wear comfy workout gear, but we are GIRLS, so we like to be seen in clean, good-repair clothing. Yoga pants, camisoles, fitted t's. Often with "belly dancer" on them or from workshops we've attended with Aziza or Mira Betz and the like.

One thing I did notice, though, was when I moved from junior (intermediate 1) to senior (intermediate 2/advanced) class, the coins disappeared. Not because it was a rule, but just because it's not "in fashion" among the group. We wear paillettes or fringe but no coins.

And then we started a new session this fall and a couple of new girls joined us from the junior class. And they're wearing coins. And last night I found myself annoyed by the noise!

Not to the point that I resent the new girls, but it just hit home with me how our troupe had found its trend and now someone who wasn't following the trend stuck out.

This is an interesting thread. I'd like to hear more.

I wear the same old workout wear to class every week - a particular pair of black sweatpants, some t-shirt (this is the only thing that varies), and the same old coin hipscarf that I bought shortly after I first started classes. I typically remove my jewelry before class.

i teach in leotard and tights

I don't see how it is comfy to wear fancy gear in class. I wear a tank, leggings and a fringed hip scarf. Because one of my classes is at a University, there are usually a few that show up way not prepared for a dance class. In jeans, short skirts (not okay when doing floor warm ups thank you). I think that they are young and excited about bellydance and think that they should be coming in full gear. For the most part tho they are just in work out gear.

I tend to coordinate my hip scarf with my top. Or my top with my pants if they are funky - I have a odd pair of Melos, black with a print skirt. Turquoise sports bra and a black tank that says "Princess" on it! The bomb! The type of dance shoes are dependent on what type of dance I am anticipating we'll do. Also the teacher. With fahteim you can never go wrong with heels. most other teachers, some kind of flats.

Lipstick is a must, though. It is the only time you'll see me in civvies and lipstick!

{{{HUGS}}}

I wear clothes I can comfortably stretch on the floor in, sometimes a scarf (usually no coins), sometimes not. My Suhaila scrunchy pants are probably my favorites for cool weather, and a pair of dance capris with a little skirt on them from Athleta my favorite for warm weather. Top is some kind of choli as appropriate for the temperature. Jewelry and makeup is whatever I happened to have been wearing that day, as I generally go straight from work to class. I take pretty much the same approach for workshops.

I'm all for comfort.

More often than not, I'll wear my Melodias, with a rose hips skirt (short, above the knee) or with a sparkly, non coined hipscarf.
I wear long tank tops with a wrap top over, because I'm uncomfortable baring my belly at this point in my life (I really need to eat better!).

Generally speaking for me, "dressing up" for class means putting on make up. ;) I've been dancing with this troupe for over a year, and I'm VERY comfortable being au natural with them.

When I teach however, starting at the end of next month, I will be in similar clothes, but I will make sure that my knees and ankles can be seen, and I will wear make up and maybe some fun earrings. ;)

I reassure my beginners that they don't need special clothes for class -- when they ask, I say 'comfortable exercise wear that lets me see what you're doing' and tell them I usually wear yoga pants and a tank.

By level 2, pretty much everyone has a hip scarf. At levels 3 and 4, I encourage some kind of footwear (ballet slippers, dance paws). My rep group members each have their own totally unique style, from paint-spattered T-shirts to glitzy faux-melos and eye candy to flannel PJ pants with penguins on them. I love that about this class!

I wear an LRose outfit, pants and some sort of top (half top, choli, halter) when I teach and usually when I take. Sometimes I wear yoga pants and a sports bra when I take. I usually don't wear a hip scarf other than some knitted ones my Mom made me.

Those LRose clothes can take a lickin'. I machine wash and dry everything after I wear them and they hold up fine. I have had some for 4 years and the only problem is the knees are a little worn, but not bad.

I like it when my students "dress up" a little, but most of them don't. I don't tell them they need anything special but I request form fitting things that let me see what they are doing.

I always wear make up when I teach, but not when I take.

Oops, I have to change my answer a little!

Most nights, I teach both yoga and bellydance, so I wear yoga pants and a yoga tank (usually something from Marika.com). I wear a little makeup, but I have to balance my BD look with my fresh-face yoga look.

On Wednesdays, though, I *only* teach BD, levels 1 and 4. Then I have more fun, with flaired, swishy bellbottoms or palazzo pants and a nicer top. I wear a little more makeup on Wednesdays.

On Saturday mornings I meet with my rep group at 10am and we all come in looking like crap. Well, most of us. Bleary eyed, no makeup, clutching cups of coffee -- we look bad but work hard. These same dancers just saw me all cuted up on Wednesday!

The last class of the session is dress-up night, when people are encouraged to wear their bling, but for the most part I wear Melo or Suhaila pants, some kind of fringey fabric hip scarf (coins are discouraged--too noisey), a Melo top or tank, and dance paws. I usually add a touch of make-up and jewelry, especially when I'm teaching.

It's a funny shift though. I remember how after my first Suhaila weeklong I was all about tank tops and jazz pants and the rest of the tribal world was still wearing cholis and big skirts to class. I actually got told once by Paulette (of Gypsy Caravan) to please go put on a skirt! Nowadays around our neck of the woods the pared-down workout clothes (although still with some funky flavor) are the norm and the cholis and skirts are the exception.

Well way back when, I used to wear a skirt and/or harem pants, half top of some type and a belt of some type to every class. It made me feel dancerish and the instructors I took from were always decked out to the nines in costumes.

When I started to teach I would dress up because that was what I had always seen from the student point of view. However I figured out fairly quickly that students were having a hard time understanding the tecnicals of movement because harem pants and skirts obscured their view of what I was doing. It had never occured to me as a student that might have been the reason I struggled so much with some moves. How the teachers had dressed ment I couldn't really see how the move was being done. Talk about a lightbulb kind of moment...lol. I moved on to wearing sugarpetals unitards and hip scarves for the longest time. Now it's a unitard or top of some sort (tie, twisty, halter, cholie) and melodias and a hip scarf of some sort. The melos allow my students to see all of my body line, I can tie up the ends at the knee so students can see my feet if need be, and I still feel dressed up. I do usually wear jewlery, anything from a pair of earings to the whole nine yards and more often than not have my hair done up with flowers, feathers, bling, funky colored clip ins, whatever suits my mood and color sceme for the day. I typically will dress up in more of a costume or occasionally do the whole costume route for the last class of a session just so the gals can see how costume and dance all come together. Plus its an excuse to wear my fancies...lol.

I encourage my students to wear whatever they feel comfortable in so they show up in anything from full costumes to what they wore to work that day to workout clothes of some type. I do enjoy when they dress up. I may have to work a little harder to see if their tecnique is right, but there is a special something that you can see in their faces and attitudes as they make that switch from everyday to dancer that is so much fun as a teacher to see.

Leggings or dance pants, sports bra or crop top, overskirt or hip scarf or both, ballet shoes. Students tend to wear leggings or dance pants, t-shirt or crop top, hip scarf of some kind. Coin scarves are quite popular. Nobody's really into heavy dress-ups in our school unless you count dressups as a working dancer. Tribal students do wear the pantaloons in class though. (Personally I couldn't stand having a class full of balloon legs - I can spot a locked knee pretty well even in a skirt sometimes but those pants hide everything.)

In my tribal days we all dressed up to the hilt for class. Now days, I'm the plane jane, in Suhaila's scrunchy butt pants and a tank top. I want my instructors to see my feet and legs.

I forgot to answer my own question!

I wear a pair of fairly ugly, but very rugged harem pants (cool, and not tight fitting), and a Dancewear tank top that I have tied up to help stay cool. Coin scarf where allowed ("grungy" community allows/encourages them; "fancy" community disallows/discourages them). Never a skirt unless we're specifically doing skirtwork - instructor can't see and they're hot too. About my only concession to dress up is a pair of large earrings - but then I usually wear those anyways. If it starts getting too hot, sometimes I'll clip my hair up - crude but effective. Always barefoot - my preference and the majority of my dance sisters in both communities do also.

The good stuff is just too expen$ive to sweat in every day - although I've been casting an increasingly covetous eye on the Melodia and Sharifwear dance pants lately...

Kelsnasim kind of answered for me on what my students wear. My only hard and fast rules are no skirts and no shoes (unless they're dance shoes like ballet slippers).

As for me, I usually wear yoga pants or jazz pants, or when it's really hot I have some gaucho pants that I wear. On top, I either wear a sports bra, or a tank/short sleeve baby t-shirt that's twisted up under my bra so the students can see my entire torso. I like wearing BD related tops, like the Sharifwear "Belly Dancer" blinged out ones, or my Jim Boz "Got Hips?" tank.

I like wearing the fun tanks too. Amira, my teacher, sells these great little tops that say "I am a dancer" in Arabic!

I also have a couple that just say "dance" in bling" and tops from events and touring teachers too. :)

I usually wear leggings or yoga pants(which ever first grabbed from drawer) a tank top and ballet shoes and a hip scarf. I usually don't match and wear little makeup eyeliner and thats it. maybe put my hair up if hot. I keep it simple cause it can get crowded in the changing room in some workshops

Alrana

I always wear the same thing:
My faux-melos (cause they are the most comfy pants I own)
a tank top (just plain, I can't seem to find belly dance ones :-( )
And a non-jingly belt

I'm very against the jingly belt cause if you get too many people shimmying, the noise is horrible! So I try to do my part by wearing the quiet belt. As for my class mates...well...I seem to be the only one who thinks that way.