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One of the most important aspects of a performance is how you feel in your dance costume.  The more comfortable and confident you feel, the better you will perform!  A costume that is flattering on the entire team is one way to make sure your dancers look and feel 100%, and elevate your performance.  Here are some tips for designing dance costumes that will look good on the entire team!  

Homecoming for the Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders

Several weekends ago, the Miami Dolphins had their first regular season game, and the homecoming could not have been more rewarding for the team after weeks away from home.  

In the aftermath and recovery from Hurricane Irma, the team's first home game was rescheduled to later this season, and earlier in the season the team traveled across the pond to London, where they took on the Saints as part of the NFL's London Games. 

Along the way, the Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders patiently waited to debut their new signature uniforms this season. Now the team is back on home turf, and looking better than ever!

"Be Happy. Be Bright. Be You." - Kate Spade

As dance teams head into competition season, when the pressure and excitement are at an all time high, everyone could use a little extra motivation and encouragement!  To inspire your team, here are our 10 favorite motivational quotes for dancers:

You have your dance costume concept selected and illustrated-  Now it's time to choose fabrics!

Regardless of the look you are trying to achieve, the best fabrics for dance costumes incorporate spandex.  This ensures that your form fitting garment can MOVE with you when you dance.  The fabric you choose depends a lot on your costume concept - do you want something edgy and futuristic (think hologram accents!), or lightweight and elegant (think sheer mesh!).  

Below, we break down our go-to fabric options that most costume companies have available.  There are plenty of novelty and specialty fabrics out there that make amazing costumes - but here are a few of the tried and true basic favorites that will work for any dance costume!

One of the most common questions we hear is this: how long does it take to get a  custom dance costume?! There are a lot of different factors that can contribute to lead times for dance costumes, but generally speaking a design-from-scratch custom dance costume will take 12-18 weeks from gathering inspiration, to production, and to performance.   

A design-from-scratch custom costume is a great option for teams that want a truly one-of-a-kind look, and have greater flexibility with budget ($250+) and time frame (12-18 weeks). Instead of choosing between pre-stocked and catalog styles, this is your chance to become the designer yourself!

There are other custom options that can save you time, like customizing fabrics on a pre-designed style.  For more resources on costumes with quicker turn around times, check out the related post The Best Costume Options For Your Time Frame. 

If you decide a custom costume is right for you, we've broken down each step with time frames below, along with a few tips for saving time!  

Team: Endicott College Dance Team 
Coach: Nicole Sao Pedro-Welch
Location: Beverly, Massachusetts 
Style: Collegiate Dance Team

 Green Bay South West High School found inspiration for their 2015 pom uniform in a Nike shoe!

Inspiration for your next dance costume can come from anywhere: the runway, your Instagram feed, a sneaker, or that gorgeous peach that's sitting on your desk. Sometimes it can feel overwhelming to narrow down your focus, and create a performance concept that is unique from your competitors.  To help, we've rounded up some of our favorite resources for finding dance costume inspiration, as well as some tips to get it all organized!