I just really want to know, I personaly don't/won't. But I have a teacher who has recently started to teach in her jeans. I just want to know what most of you feel comfortable in.

I wouldn't be happy with a teacher teaching in jeans as I feel they restrict your movement too much. In fact when new students are coming on trial (we allow them 2 weeks before they have to buy uniform) the one item I tell them NOT to wear is jeans.

I only teach clogging and when I forget my dance pants I'm stuck in jeans.

If I were teaching ballet, then it'd be an issue.

I teach in athletic pants, and I teach ballet.

On occasion I'll just wear my jeans, but I also don't demonstrate. I have no problem with teachers wearing jeans. Some of my best former teachers wore jeans to teach ballet class in.

Jeans? NO!!!!!

There is no way I could teach in jeans when I will not allow my students to wear them.

The only teachers that teach in jeans are my pregnant teachers who are nearing the end of their pregnancy. Usually, they are just sitting in a chair and instructing what to do. Other than that- jeans are a no!

I want my students to follow by example. No jean!

Not even if I am injured, sick and running late for the day.

Yoga pants are the greatest thing ever, I can wear them outside of the studio. They are comfortable and I can hide my monthly bloat when need be.

Honestly, if I could get away with teaching in jeans I would. As someone else said, some of my best teachers taught in jeans and tennis shoes.

Once a year when I'm severly mid winter sick, I wear jeans so I'm not expected to go overboard.

Other than that...NO JEANS. It looks unprofessional and unless an emergency or some special circumstance, I think it's like sitting while teaching, something I don't allow my teachers to do.

JMO

In my opinion, if a dance teacher requres their students to wear proper dance apparel, then so should they. I could not imagine students respecting a teacher who came to class in street clothes. It just seems very unprofessional.

My kids want to do whatever I do and wear whatever I wear. Sure I could just tell them, "Well, I'm the teacher. Do as I say, not as I do" but I don't think it's fair to them. Besides, eventhough they probably wouldn't start coming in jeans, I can guarantee they wouldn't take my dresscode as seriously. I would start seeing t-shirts, baggy sweats, etc.

BunlessinSeattle said she wears jeans but she doesn't demonstrate. I guess I could see that, if you have someone to demonstrate for you, or if you're just coaching a rehearsal where the students are advanced and already know the choreography solid. But most of us have to get up and demo, at least once in a while. And for those of us who have little ones, having the freedom to get down on the floor and jump around with them is a must.I physically don't feel comfortable trying to dance in jeans. I can't imagine trying to dance with my kids, show the correct form, and demonstrate steps while I'm that restricted.

Last year when I taught, I also worked at a dancewear store during the day. One time I forgot my dance pants and had to go straight from the store to teaching - I bought a pair of pants before I left. I'd never teach in jeans!

ok, ok - I lied. I think I have TWICE. Once I was really sick and taught from a chair (yelling and hand motions! lol) and once I woke up 10 minutes AFTER my class had started. I was so freaked out I threw on the first thing I saw - a pair of jeans. Those are the only exceptions. I'd never make a habit out of it. Even my ballet teachers growing up and in college (one was in her 70's, the other in her 80's!) always wore some sort of dance apparel. I'm really big on *looking* the part.

I avoid it whenever humanely possible, but of course if it was one of 'those' days where my boss handed me an 11th hour project 10 minutes before leaving the office, and traffic was bad, and I *just* got to class on time (all of which has happened before) I teach in jeans. But I change into dancepants the first opportunity I get between classes - I find that if I don't, kids rock up in jeans the week after and it is such a pain for things like jazz (less so for things like tap, but still).

EDIT: Plus, jeans always fall down on me. It's like I've got too much tummy, but not enough hip or butt to actually keep the darn things on me

It is in my employee dress code - NO JEANS

Nope no jeans for my staff or me. I can not demonstrate properly if I was not dressed properly. I dance all out with my kids a lot of the time. Especially when I am teaching the choreography.

I have taught in jeans before. It's only been when I'm there rehearsing a solo or something & only if I was only there for about an hour. I HATE IT!! As soon as I start teaching I wish I had some dance pants or something. Now, if I forget my dance clothes I will go buy something to wear vs. wear jeans or my regular clothes. I just hate it...I need to be able to move when I teach! Maybe I could do it if I were only teaching tap or something like that but I teach a lot of ballet, jazz, & lyrical so I can't handle wearing jeans.

I dance too much to wear jeans to class. I have worn jeans to group rehearsals where I would not be dancing but even then if I will be rehearsing for more than two hours, I wear dance/yoga pants. It just feels cooler and easier.

No....I do not teach in jeans. I am either wearing dance clothes or a velour sweat suit (a have them in every color). In the past I hace on ocassion worn jeans to a rehersal where we where just running dances before a competition.....but even then I am usually dresses the part as dance teacher. I don't like to be restricted....plus as others mentioned I like to lead be example.

Rhea Gold wears jeans...

Mostly no. I have never taught a regular class in jeans but I have taught a couple of private lessons in jeans once the routine was finished and the rehearsal was held just for polishing the dance. I had never taught in jeans until this year after I realized that my SO teaches competition rehearsals in jeans once and awhile. She is an amazing teacher with such high work ethic and standards that I guess it made it more acceptable to me.

These conversations always make me laugh, honestly. They make me go back and think about each and every one of my ballet teachers as a high schooler, college student, or even as an adult. The only teachers who wore leotards and tights were the ones who were still dancers themselves and new to teaching, or ones who taught the younger children that same day. The master teachers, the great ones, none of them ever wore dance clothing while teaching...and rarely did they ever demonstrate anything. I don't think anyone of them ever lost our respect as students...and no student would ever dare to wear anything less than the uniform in class. That would just be unthinkable. Our teachers might wear jeans and a polo shirt, but we were students, we had not earned that right.

I've had too many injuries to demonstrate. I'd hurt myself, plus my students would only see how not to do things. If I felt that jeans flattered my body, I'd wear them for every class, but they don't, so I wear athletic pants with my tennis shoes. I am very proud of the fact that I could, were I to choose, just sit in the front of the room and by my voice and hands give them their combinations...and that goes from age 10 and up. I do this on occasion when it hurts too much to walk. My students pick up the combinations just fine, and they are prepared when they get out in the real world for the massive amounts of teachers that do just that.

I have never, ever had one of my students try to wear anything other than their uniform...and no student or teacher has ever questioned my not wearing the ballet uniform. I would laugh at them if they did.

I'm not saying that everyone should wear jeans, but the idea that we, as teachers, should still be expected to look and perform like our students is just asanine. Sure, most of us would like to, but is that a reality? How many of us over the age of thirty have had injuries, babies, have just become too busy with everything else to maintain ourselves as dancers? Should we really be expected to demonstrate fully for our students in order for them to understand what is going on?

Sorry to end up with a vent, I didn't mean it to happen, it just did. I think I 'm just thinking about the teachers who I loved and respected who have turned out so many professional dancers over their careers and the thought that anyone might think that they were not doing their job well simply because they wore jeans...well, that just irks me.

BunlessinSeattle wrote:

These conversations always make me laugh, honestly. They make me go back and think about each and every one of my ballet teachers as a high schooler, college student, or even as an adult. The only teachers who wore leotards and tights were the ones who were still dancers themselves and new to teaching, or ones who taught the younger children that same day. The master teachers, the great ones, none of them ever wore dance clothing while teaching...and rarely did they ever demonstrate anything. I don't think anyone of them ever lost our respect as students...and no student would ever dare to wear anything less than the uniform in class. That would just be unthinkable. Our teachers might wear jeans and a polo shirt, but we were students, we had not earned that right.

I've had too many injuries to demonstrate. I'd hurt myself, plus my students would only see how not to do things. If I felt that jeans flattered my body, I'd wear them for every class, but they don't, so I wear athletic pants with my tennis shoes. I am very proud of the fact that I could, were I to choose, just sit in the front of the room and by my voice and hands give them their combinations...and that goes from age 10 and up. I do this on occasion when it hurts too much to walk. My students pick up the combinations just fine, and they are prepared when they get out in the real world for the massive amounts of teachers that do just that.

I have never, ever had one of my students try to wear anything other than their uniform...and no student or teacher has ever questioned my not wearing the ballet uniform. I would laugh at them if they did.

I'm not saying that everyone should wear jeans, but the idea that we, as teachers, should still be expected to look and perform like our students is just asanine. Sure, most of us would like to, but is that a reality? How many of us over the age of thirty have had injuries, babies, have just become too busy with everything else to maintain ourselves as dancers? Should we really be expected to demonstrate fully for our students in order for them to understand what is going on?

Sorry to end up with a vent, I didn't mean it to happen, it just did. I think I 'm just thinking about the teachers who I loved and respected who have turned out so many professional dancers over their careers and the thought that anyone might think that they were not doing their job well simply because they wore jeans...well, that just irks me.

Amen!

I've had so many amazing teachers that never wore dance clothing. Ever watched a video of a class at the Vaganova Academy? None of the teachers wear dance clothing.

I usually wear yoga type clothes, mainly for comfort, but if I'm teaching the older students I might wear my regular clothes ie. jeans, sometimes it's just nice to feel like a fashionable adult. I've spent the majority of my life in a leotard and tights, I'm retired from dancing now....I just want to wear normal clothes sometimes

DRESS CODE = Leotard, Tights & Shoes for Class...... Just Like The Kids!