A Dad's Guide to Buying Supplies for Preschool Ballet and Tap Class

You've enrolled your little preschool angel in dance class and it is time to go shopping. If you're like I was you will have no idea where to start. Normally we'd like to make this a "Mom thing" but sometimes we're on our own. Never fear, the guide below will help you keep your "Daddy Hero" title intact.

Determine what you need

Your new dance school will let you know exactly what you need when you register. If you forget don't panic, it is almost always on their website as well. Most dance schools use a combination of ballet and tap for their preschool curriculum which means you will need:

• A solid colored leotard
• Tights
• A dance bag to carry all the dance gear
• Ballet shoes
• Tap shoes

Most schools won't want her wearing any type of tutu or skirt during normal dance classes. You also won't need "Pointe Shoes" at this point. Those are the shoes they wear when the do a lot of dancing on their toes. You won't need those for a couple of years, don't buy them until the dance school tells you to.

Getting the basics

You can buy everything online or anywhere else you want but the shoes are a special case. All of the basic dancewear and dance gear is sized the same as their normal clothing so you are usually safe buying things online. You will quickly find that there are plenty of online dancewear retailers to choose from so be sure to compare prices and shipping.

If you want to make sure that everything fits you can find dancewear at a wide variety of local stores. There are always specialty dancewear stores but don't be afraid to look at places like Wal-Mart and Target. They both carry all of the basic items you will need.

Like I said this is girl stuff so you won't be as familiar with it. Here are a few things to keep in mind.

Tights aren't like your old football socks. She isn't going to want to wear the same pair all year without washing them. She is also going to get runs in them. Don't be cheap, buy extras. Three or four is probably enough to start with. An extra leotard would hurt either.

She will most likely have to carry her dance bag into the dance studio. It needs to be big enough to hold both her dance shoes, small enough for her to carry it, and cute enough for her to want to carry it. If possible let her pick it out.

Dance Shoes

Dance shoes are much more complicated than normal shoes and you will even have to get her fitted. Resist the temptation to skip this step; this is your little girl's feet after all. There is only one place to do this right, a local dancewear store.

Your wallet will probably start twitching when you enter the dancewear store for the first time. Mine twitched so hard I barely even noticed the usual uncomfortable feeling I get while buying girl stuff. I really started getting worried when we went to the fitting area. It was decorated nicer than my living room! Normal chairs simply weren't good enough. They had loveseats to sit in, ranging from full size to tiny ones just for the preschool customers.

You'll be relieved to find that the fitting will usually go quick and easy and the prices for preschooler's dance shoes really aren't that bad. I left with a pair of ballet shoes and a pair of tap shoes for less that $50.

It is possible to buy dance shoes online once you have been fitted but at this age there isn't much benefit. If you don't buy your dance shoes at the time of the fitting most dancewear stores will charge a fitting fee. Preschool dance shoes are already pretty inexpensive so the fitting fee will quickly eat up any potential online savings.