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University of Michigan Dance Team in the Jupela! (Photo via m.goblue.com)

If you're a member of the dance community, we have a feeling you (like us!) were live streaming UDA College Nationals this weekend! We were blown away by all the incredible talent - technique, skills, precision, and costume design get more and more impressive every year!! 

UDA College Nationals are always a source of inspiration for choreography and costumes, and we find the trends for high school dance line usually start here!  While we watched, we made note of a few repeating themes in regards to costume design.  We can't take credit for all of these costumes and trends, but here are a few of our favorites!!

Team: Valley City Hi-Lites
Coach: Megan Gilbertson
Location: Valley City, North Dakota
Style: High School Dance Team

Team: Fargo South Bruinkix Dance Team
Director/Head Coach: Mariah Tweeton
Location: Fargo, North Dakota
Style: High School Danceline

Coach Stephanie Kutter and the Hutchinson Showstoppers Dance Team celebrating at a competition.

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 time we talked about planning for the upcoming season!

This week, we're talking about most important lessons learned. From working with parents to finding a balance of support and discipline... the coaches we talked to have a lot of experience in what works and what doesn't. See what these expert dance team coaches had to share!

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!

The best part of our jobs is working with extremely talented dance, skate and cheer coaches. They play an integral role in supporting the team - through motivation, encouragement, and wisdom. We know that coaching can be a challenging yet very rewarding job!

We've asked some of our coaching friends to share their unique insights with you for this new series: EXPERT COACHING TIPS. This week, we're talking about practice. See what some of these expert dance team coaches had to say, below!

Prescott High School selling cotton candy to fundraise for their dance team

When it comes to dance costume budget tips, the best advice we can offer is to contribute more to your team's budget with fundraising!  It’s a great way to help pay for your team’s expenses, and a little goes a long way.

Have your team work together to plan and run their fundraising efforts for ultimate team bonding! Plus, there are always a few great life lessons along the way like teamwork, customer service, and budgeting.  Here are 18 fundraising ideas for your dance team's next event.

The makeup and hair completely transformed this Victorian Gothic themed high kick costume from Frazee High School! 

30 Dance Costumes & Skate Dresses Perfect for Halloween 

It's hard not to get in the Halloween spirit when you work at a custom costume company!  And if you're anything like us, your closet is probably stuffed full of old dance or skating costumes just begging to see some light.  Which makes dressing up for Halloween super easy and fun.  Sometimes all it takes is a wig and a little makeup to transform a look!

In honor of Halloween, here are 30 dance costumes and skate dresses with a dark theme that could easily be repurposed as festive Halloween looks! From girly to creepy, there's bound to be something here to get your Halloween costume ideas going!

Character costumes - perhaps some of the most fun costumes out there - can be used for so many different types of routines: tap, high kick, jazz, hip hop, synchronized skating, you name it! If you're getting ready to pick your team's theme, take a look at this list of our top 10 favorite trends for theme dance costumes and skating dresses!!!

Whether you dance in a studio, on a football field, or on a gym floor, odds are you are working hard to plan for your competition season. One key element to any performance is, of course, the Score Card. While every competition has different scoring standards, there are several aspects of competition dance that are consistent across the board. Take a look at these six common mistakes that will zap your dance competition score and decide for yourself if they apply to your team!