A dancer’s holiday gift guide

Story by Valeria Munoz, Editor in Chief

If you have a dancer in your life and have no idea as to what’s trending in the dance world this holiday season, look no further. A dancer can never have too much clothes for practice, I can attest to that. A safe bet is to purchase a Lululemon or Athleta gift card. However, if you want to go the extra step, ImmaBeast and Young Lions are clothing lines that are hot this holiday season. ImmaBeast, started by choreographers Wildabeast and Janelle Ginestra, features cropped hoodies, snapbacks, matching sets which include shirts and sweatpants. Young Lions founded by choreographer Ian Eastwood and his father, Peter Eastwood, has been around for a few years now and is a personal favorite of mine since their designs have evolved over the years. From baseball tees to comfy long sleeves to sweatpants with a lion tail, Eastwood’s line is on the top of dancers’ wish lists to Santa. Other suggestions are flannels, baseball caps, or Adidas sweatpants as well as shirts.

For those dancers that double as audiophiles, headphones are the way to go. This gift can range from cheap to costly depending on the brand. Dancers who are avid freestyles know the struggle of working headphones. In fact, they may break off the flimsy Apple chords during an intense run through of their dance before competition. So a durable set of earphones is highly recommended, you can splurge on some classic black Beats earphones or purchase Samsung ones that also wrap around the dancer’s ear. That way they won’t have to pause mid turn to readjust their headphones.

Water bottles- a necessity in a dancer’s daily schedule but more often than not, plain water bottles are confused between breaks. To avoid swapping spit through a water bottle mix-up, a cute bottle is suggested.  PINK offers a wide array of colorful bottles, Starbucks stock Venti sized bottles for those who need an energy boost before class, and Swell guarantees keeping one’s beverage cold throughout long rehearsals.

The best gift (with the risk of sounding cliché) is the gift of dance. Many studios offer class packages which is essentially a gift card for dance. You could also purchase subscriptions to dance websites such as CliStudios and The Beast Network. Both services offer interactive online dance classes with top choreographers like Kent Boyd, Janelle Ginestra, and Teddy Forance. There is also always the option of a DIY movie packet complete with popcorn and classic dance movies such as the Step Up franchise. Another good pick would be the Believe Dance Tour experience which is an instructional DVD featuring Justin Bieber’s choreographer, Nick Demoura,and main dancers. Dancers are offered a close look behind the scenes of being a tour dancer along with  Bieber’s iconic dance routines broken down step by step by the mastermind behind the moves.

Regardless of which option you choose to gift, the dancer in your life will surely be satisfied and appreciate the thought you put into picking the perfect present.

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