Can't get students to wear proper dance wear!?

I know i have already asked this question and i recieved some great answers... but.. i have added more.I currently teach Acro, Jazz, and dance theatre. Some of the students I have been teaching always wear bodysuits. They always come to class prepared...Ex. hair in ponytail etc. and others, not so much. I love dancing, and i love to teach, but sometimes its hard expecially in acro. When kids dont wear their bodysuit to class or their hair back they are always fidigiting. They tend to wear baggy clothing, that makes it hard for me to help them. Their either fixing their shirt cuz its going up which would not happen if they wore a bodysuit!. When they are trying to do back walkovers i hate helping the girls who are not wearing their bodysuit because i have to make sure i dont grab their shirt if they were to fall.





Any help on how i can get my students and parents to understand how important it is to have proper dance wear. (bodysuit and ponytail). I make an announcement at the beginning of the year that all students MUST wear a body suit and have their hair tied back 1. because if i need to help them with something i need to be able to see their body to make sure they are doing the move correctly, and if i need to spot them i dont want to drop them on their head basically, and if they wear baggy clothing i cant do that. I also make it clear that wearing a bodysuit might not be the most comfortable thing to wear and i understand that (but it is not different than a bathingsuit,) some students dont feel comfortable in them but they are allowed to wear short or pants over top as long as they are stretchy!!! Also that it helps with students selfesteem expecially when it comes to recital time with costumes...





NEW** As some of the answers i had recieved before gave some suggestions of rules etc.


(Im a new teacher at this studio this year)


1. Hair= There is a big container of hair elastics that the girls can use when they do not bring one that the studio supplies.... the box has been empty for a while now and i have been bringing some in myself. more and more girl show up without hair elastics every day.


2. Bodysuit= also at the begining for the year along with my announcement of what is manditory for them to wear is written on a form to the kids to take home. I call the parents/guardians in and directly hand them the notice and say what they do and do not need.


3. Also at the front of the studio they have a dance wear store. where bodysuits are displayed, jazz shoes etc. all the dancing accorsies you can think of. the sizes go up to a ladies XL so its not like the bodysuit wouldnt fit, cuz they would fit me!


4. The studio itself isnt very strict, its more for fun. I unfortunately dont know how much pull i have at the studio, but i know they said if i ever had a problem they would help me out with it, blah blah blah, well...they did help me out with this issue and it helped for a couple of weeks,but now its just gone back down.





Any more suggestions would be greatly appricated!


Also note * Dance year is sept. to June and its May now, theres 2 months left, should i bother to act on anyhting this year or should i wait till next year?Can't get students to wear proper dance wear!?
OK- since there is only 2 months left, there's probably not a lot of point enforcing rules right now but it is a good time to let the parents and students know that you plan to establish some new ones.





Since you're not the studio owner, you're going to have to discuss it with the owner to get a blanket rule regarding dress code- if they aren't enforcing the correct dance wear rule in other classes it's going to be a real pain to try to get them to wear it in yours- and I know how difficult it is to teach acro (particularly when you are just starting out) when the kids aren't doing the right thing.





There needs to be more than a ';talk'; and a form about what is expected- the studio owner needs to put the rules regarding the dress code IN WRITING and get the parents to SIGN off on it- I really liked the suggestion made before about an ';agreement';. When you tell people something, it goes in one ear and out the other often enough- and if you put it in a note, then sometimes it doesn't even make it to the parent or the parent might not even read it. If you make it so the parent HAS to sign it, then they will definitely read it to make sure they aren't ';signing their soul away'; sort of thing. It doesn't matter if this is a studio ';for fun';, you're not trying to take the fun away you just want them to be SAFE, so you really need to emphasize the safety issue to the parents- even if you have to do so in graphic detail! parents WANT their kids to be safe- you just have to show them that that is what you want as well.





I don't want to cause any controversy here, but when you write a notice or give a talk to parents you have to assume that at least one person in the room is a complete idiot- so make sure your notes and speeches cater to that specific person. (And even then you are going to get some people who will STILL do the wrong thing) It's worth while sending a warning note home every second month or so about how studio dress code will be enforced if you aren't getting an effective response. If the student for instance is wearing something that you feel compromises the safety of that student, feel free to call the parents direct and say so right there and then. If you continually call attention to it in a big way, you are not going to have to do it for long- because remember, all you are concerned about is the kids safety- you can't let them wear something unsafe can you!





Regarding the hair- when I mentioned it before I forgot to mention that use of the studio hair box isn't free! We charge a small fee for use of the box- we keep a record book and add the fees to their bills. The charge for use of the hair box is itemized on the bill so parents are aware that that is the reason there is an extra charge. At the other studio I worked for there was also a ';laundry charge for use of the ';spare uniform';. Just a few dollars- less than a cup of coffee, but when it happens a lot it does add up and parents clue up fairly quickly if their child is a serial offender. :)





It doesn't hurt with younger students to have some sort of ';reward'; for turning up in correct clothing and it gets them in good habits. A ';star'; chart with inexpensive rewards for so many days in correct clothing could be effective- kids hate to miss out on their ';stars'; and they will whine to their parents when their dance clothes aren't out of the washing machine on time!





If you decide with the studio owner that there should be some ';punishment'; for inappropriate clothing, be it a fine or not being alowed to partcipate in the class that day or whatever- you MUST carry through with it and accept no excuses. If you let just one single person slide and someone else finds out it will be ';but you allowed them to do it';. It's much better to be thought of as a bit strict than unfair.





Hope this is a bit better help than last time- feel free to email me if you need to discuss something with another teacher at anytime.