Where's a good cheap place to get "dance" stuff for my DD3?

[moopdog]

She has her first class on Friday and I was told she needs to arrive in tights, a leotard and ballet shoes. They don't care about certain styles or colors. Someone told me Target was a good place to look, but what about KidsRus or Payless or other places? Just trying to have a 2nd and 3rd place to look in case we don't find what we need.

Also: I know so little abou this stuff!! Do the tights, leotards and shoes usually all match eachother (same color) or just the tights & leotards, or neither??

Thanks.

 

[MariDisney]

Oh your DD will have SO much fun! Target is probably your best bet. My understanding is that Kids R Us no longer exists (but maybe that's just local to here). At Payless you can get the ballet slippers and tights, but I've never seen leotards. Kohl's generally has a good selection of leotards. Our local thrift/consignment shops usually have tons of dancing gear. Usually, the little girls wear pink or white tights with a pastel colored leotard. Some of the leotards have little skirts attached...very cute. One word of warning, the ballet slippers at Target aren't "real". They're literally slippers. If your DD will have a recital at the end of the year, they probably won't get the OK from the teacher. So, get those at Payless or Stride Rite or a dance store. She will probably need pink, although they're also generally available in white and black.

Completely off topic--I see you're from NE PE. I was supposed to head up that way today to pick up my cameras that DH left at his mom's house on New Year's Eve. We are originally from Scranton (me) and Dunmore (him). So, how's the snow? I need to get my cameras before leave Sunday morning, and it's not looking good. Pity party for me!!

 

[LisaNJ25]

I get my daughters tights, leotard and skirt at walmart. She needs tap and jazz shoes so those I had to buy through the school. I know my neigbor gets her
daughters ballet shoes at payless.

 

[elgerber]

You can get jazz, ballet and tap shoes at Payless. Walmart or Target are good bets for leotards. Walmart seems to have better tights though. Kids R Us used to carry it, don't know if they still do or not. I know they are no longer a free standing store, but they are still in our TRU stores. As far as matching our school requires white ballet shoes, so they match pretty much anything.

 

[ceecee]

Walmart is probably best for tights at that age (I think they carry ballet shoes too). If she starts going through tights fast, just invest in the dance tights from a Dance store. My DD was fine until 7 and then every two weeks she would run her tights. We switched and one pair will last most of the year now (she now does 4 classes a week).

 

[cepmom]

I buy my DD5 ballet and tap shoes at Payless...you can get buy one/get one 1/2 off sometimes. I get her leotards and skirts at Walmart usually, but the tights I get at a dance supply store. They are so much better than the cheap ones and lst much longer. Bloch tights are very nice. www.discountdancesupply.com is a great place to order dance wear too. This is where I usually order dance supplies for my older girls (8 and 16)

 

[Mom2Ashli]

I just got DD some new Jazz shoes at Walmart. Great price also. She just got new ballet and tap shoes so I didn't notice the price on the the other things.

 

[CinderellaIam]

All the suggestions here are great. I would go with regular dance tights though, from Capezio, you can get them at a dance store. Regular tights just run too quickly. At this age, you may only have to buy two pair a year of the Capezios.

A great catalog/on-line source for Dance supplies is www.discountdance.com
You can request a catalog from the website. They have EVERYTHING and very, very reasonable prices.

 

[utahkennedys]

Since your dd is 3, if she is like my dd3, it is hard to find tights especially that fit in the discount stores. Check around for local dance stores and hopefully they carry the smallest size of tights. Sometimes mine runs out and has to order them. Although they are about $8, they last FOREVER as opposed to cheaper tights. Even leotards were hard to find that fit and I ended up getting the higher end stuff to get a smaller size. Just a heads up.

 

[luckey-lasvegas]

The capezio online store is also good if she keeps going.It's Dancefactory.com.

 

[moopdog]

Completely off topic--I see you're from NE PE. I was supposed to head up that way today to pick up my cameras that DH left at his mom's house on New Year's Eve. We are originally from Scranton (me) and Dunmore (him). So, how's the snow? I need to get my cameras before leave Sunday morning, and it's not looking good. Pity party for me!!

Well - Scranton is exactly where I WAS heading today (Target), but the snow kept me home. I do wish I had gone after all because the kids ended up just having a delay and the snow is almost all melted off the roads now - after the sun sets will be a different story, it'll probably get icy again. Should've gone when I first got up!! Nice to see a fellow NEPA native.

 

[momxx5]

Walmart - best prices for ballet shoes
- great deals on leotards and skirts

Target - a great selection on various types of dancewear. Super cute Disney princess dance leotards with attaced skirts. (Some styles were on clearance for 50% off)

Payless Shoes - good source to find ballet shoes


Please make sure that you try on the ballet shoes, they tend to run small. The leotards run small also, so a 3 yr old may wear a size 4-5.

She'll love dancing.

 

[momxx5]

Oh, and check out consignment stores.....last fall I took a ton of dance stuff there.

For a 3 yr old, I wouldn't fuss too much about the tights. A cheap pair or two from Walmart will work just fine.

 

[java]

Walmart is actually cheaper than the Target around here for dance stuff. There is also a Danskin outlet- but that stuff is more expensive than Walmart prices- but better quality if she really gets into it. I also don't recall seeing the shoes at Target- but Walmart did have them.

 

[ntink]

You might have some luck with one of my favorite discount shopping sites http://www.kidsurplus.com/ they had a lot of ballet outfits and tights recently. Also, at out dance studio you can trade in your shoes. It is on the honor system but basically they have a big box of each ballet, tap and jazz shoes and they ask that you donate your old ones before taking a pair. This has been a lifesaver at least two times when my daughter had a major foot growth towards the end of the year.

 

[DebMcDonald]

Walmart actually has very nice dance clothes and I've always gotten my girls shoes at payless and my oldest has been dancing for 9 years.

 

[Minnie116]

I have to agree with some of the other posts regarding the walmart and target tights. My dd started dance at 3 years old and the walmart tights lasted 2 classes if I was lucky. Stick to the Capezio tights, I go through 1-2 pair of those per year. Also I did not have a great experience with Discount dance, the tights that we ordered from there literally had 2 left feet, no matter wich way we put them on my dd one heel was always in the front. As for shoes, We are still using Walmart ballet shoes for DD (6), We did invest in Capezio tap shoes this year. I got DD leotard this year at Marshall's for $5.99, She is required to wear Black leotard and Pink tights, Pink Ballet shoes and Black Tap shoes. Hope this helps you.

 

[CinderellaIam]

So sorry you had a bad experience with Discount Dance, My daughter has been dancing for 16 years and we've been ordering from them for about 5 years without any problems. She takes 10 classes a week and now teaches 6 pre-school classes per week, so she has many pairs of shoes and goes through tons of tights each year.

Did you contact them about this problem??

 

[UMTerp]

We use Dance Distributors. I've ordered from the catalog and on-line a number of times and have always been satisfied. They have lots of brand names and their own brand items.

http://www.dancedistributors.com/

UMTerp