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There's nothing better than a fresh box of apparel, and since it only happens a couple times a year, celebrate it! Make the most out of your purchase by opening your box and checking your order right away.  If something isn't quite right, the last thing you want to do is scramble to fix it the day before competition.  Here are five tips for what to do when your dance costumes arrive. 

Competition season has wrapped up, your team's hard work has paid off, and it's already time to begin planning for next season.

Starting early on your custom dance costume design can save you time, stress, and money, but one of the main constraints we hear is, "I don't have my team or money yet!" 

No worries, there may be a solve for you! There are ways to get started even without your team assembled OR your funds in place for the year. Read on to find out how.

Behind the scenes at one of our recent photo shoots at Steve Lucas Photography

Once fall rolls around, we know the first thing on the to-do list as a newly formed dance team is pictures!  When it comes to photoshoots, TLU has definitely had lots of practice.  With over 8 photoshoots a year, we've got things down to a science!  

And we don't do it alone either!  With a little help from the experts below, we've compiled some of our best tips for getting your best photos as a dance team. Read on to hear what the experts have to say.

• Pam Gleason - Our photoshoot choreographer, Pam, is a master at creative posing!  When not working at The Line Up, she's also an instructor at Dance Arts Centre and co-founder of Matrixx Pro.

• Steve Lucas - We've been working with Steve Lucas Photography for over 10 years, and with his 20+ years of experience, he has perfected the art of capturing the perfect dance action shot!  

• Dawn Ruschmeyer - Our resident photo editor and Photoshop Wizard, Dawn is also Steve Lucas's assistant and photo editor.

We know the importance of building a strong team. But we also know that there is a lot of advice out there on team building activities that are so lame!  It's important for your team to mesh together nicely, but a new season and a new team can be intimidating both for coaches and the team members. To help with transition, we've compiled a list of 9 Team Building Ideas you can implement with your new team this fall! 

This February, directors for NFL's prestigious cheer and dance teams got their 2018 season off to a start at the NFL Director's Conference in Philadelphia! We were able to chat with a few of our coaching friends while attending the event, and asked them if they had any advice for fellow coaches.  Here's what these experienced and talented women had to say!

We've asked some of our coaching friends to share their unique insights with you for this new series: EXPERT COACHING TIPS. In case you missed it, last week we talked about how to create the best practice!

This week, we're talking about planning for the season. We know that coaching a dance team involves A LOT of coordination and details. From tryouts to practices to designing costumes... there's a ton to keep track of and get organized. To help, see what these expert dance team coaches had to say about staying on top of planning!

We know that planning for an upcoming season can be a challenging yet exciting time!  When it comes to your team's dance costumes, there are many questions. Where do you start?  What information do you need!  Luckily it's pretty simple.  All you need to get started with designing a dance costume are these four things: budget, time frame, quantity, and concept.  Read on to learn more!!

Planning for your performance requires thought, preparation and plenty of time.   Your artistic expression starts with selecting the theme and music, which is then complimented with the perfect dance costume.  It takes time to find the right look, make sure it flatters everyone, and arrives in plenty of time for your first dance competition.  This is not an overnight endeavor!   

If you are ready to get serious about ordering your dance costume, one piece of advice we can offer is this: the key is to plan ahead!  Dance costumes have a surprisingly long lead time, up to 18 weeks depending on the time of year or option you choose!  Whether you are in a crunch or are thinking ahead, here are some great options for dance costumes based on your planning schedule!

Western Michigan Dancers reordered their 2015 gameday top (left) in 2016 (right).  Photo credit: WMU Dance Team.

A new season means new team members - Yeah!!  What are they going to wear? If you're like many teams on a budget, you're likely going to re-use last year's dance costumes, but will need to order a few more. Maybe you need a few more of a popular size. Or you just accepted more members than the year before. Either way, a good costume company will be able to help accommodate your dance costume re-order needs!

Here are 6 tips on planning for your next uniform reorder:

It’s that quiet time of year for high school dance and skate teams right now … competitions have drawn to a close, but next year’s team hasn’t been formed yet. And while it’s the perfect time to take a much needed break from the season’s hectic activities and practice schedules, it’s also the perfect time to start planning for next year! We know, we know, “early bird gets the worm”, blah, blah, blah.

But,  planning ahead is the best way to save money and stress on your next custom dance costume or skate dress! And better yet, you don't even need your team roster to get started!

Here are a few good reasons why planning ahead can benefit your team: