Stand Still for Two Seconds
A how-to on how to measure for dance costumes.
There are some things in dance costuming that are exciting: choosing colours, seeing the embroidery come together; opening that costume bag for the first time. Taking measurements is not one of them.
But it might be one of the most important.
We made this little video because, after years of creating costumes, we have learned just how much can go wrong from one measuring tape being held in slightly the wrong place. A centimetre here, a couple there, and suddenly we are all wondering why something that looked perfect on paper does not fit the dancer standing in front of us.
A little context before you press play.
We filmed this in Kyiv during a particularly difficult stretch, when the city was facing some pretty relentless incoming attacks. It was during one of those periods when air raid alerts, interrupted sleep, and carrying on regardless had simply become part of the rhythm of the day. And somewhere in the middle of all that, we decided it was a good time to make a video about measuring dancers. ))
So, here we are, measuring tape in hand.
If you are a dance teacher, a dance mum, a costume coordinator, or simply the person who has been handed a measuring tape and a measurement sheet and told, “You do it,” this is for you. We walk through where and how to take the measurements we need so that what arrives back from our makers has the best possible chance of fitting exactly as it should.
Because beautiful costumes start long before the first stitch. Sometimes they start in Kyiv, between air raids, with a measuring tape and someone saying, “Stand still for two seconds!”
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