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COSTUMES FOR CONCERT ARE A VERY COMPLEX MATTER.
There is SO MUCH to discuss, talk about and unpack about costumes in the context of making a continuous effort to be inclusive, respectful and responsible, that we could create a whole series. In fact, let's!
In this issue, let's start with our preschoolers, since they will be the first ones doing their concert, coming up on Sunday 18 August. While it all starts with an innocent idea for a concert theme that simply "sounds like it would be fun", suddenly a lot of issues starts to pop up here and there about how to make this idea come to life (besides the awesome dancing that happens on stage, of course). Costuming is a huge one. It tends to come hand in hand with some " inappropriateness potential", whether cultural, age, or identity related in general. This part applies to all ages equally.
We all agree that there are certain expectations around dance genres and what costumes are associated with them. That, in fact, is part of dance culture, history or tradition, which we also want to honor and respect, so it is safe to assume that Ballet dancers will have some form of tutu, Hip Hop dancers will wear some sort of "street dance" look, and so on.
It is also safe to say (AND SAD) that most of the dancers needing a costume will be girls. So what happens when you have a student or two of a different gender? To explain this in a simple way, let's use Ballet and Jazz as our dance genres, since they provide a clear example.
Leaving our actual values and efforts aside for a moment, let us tell you what the dance costume market looks like:
- GIRLS: All the tutus, flowy tunics and sparkly dresses in all the colours.
- BOYS: Black or white pants to pair with whatever colour vest matches the girls' tutu/dress.
The market has not caught up with diversity and inclusion, which presents a huge challenge for us when sourcing costumes for people of all genders. Also, and more importantly, we can simply not assume that a girl, because it's a girl, will want a tutu or a boy won't want one. And what happens with people who don't identify with any of these genders?
For a couple of years now, we have implemented the following approach with a very positive result: we removed gender completely from our costume options and simply presented an OPTION A and OPTION B for our preschoolers and they choose the one they want to dance in. We actually had to order these to be custom-made to bridge that existing gap in the market.
Children are VERY CLEAR about what they want to wear, so we encourage families to make their little dancer a part of this decision to avoid disappointment. They actually don't even get involved in questions of identity.
The stage is just a fancy playground and they will simply gravitate towards joy.
At this point we've had it all: boys in a tutu because it's fun with no impact on how they identify, girls in shorts and sparkly top with a tiara because why not, everyone dressed exactly the same in a group... And we celebrate that.
THERE IS ONLY ONE THING ALL PRESCHOOLERS SHOULD BE WEARING ON STAGE: THEIR SMILE.
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