Allie:  What I love in your post is that you don't want lack of money to keep any kids left out!  More power to you!!

 

Some may find my suggestion strange, but I've spent many years immersed in BOTH "art" music and entertainment, sometimes at the same time, and I mean every word of it.

 

Quality performance is primary and will gain you the reputation you want to establish right from the start.  Glitz is nice, but it's an add-on and not the reason for starting a show choir.  By all means start with jeans and shirts, but come up with something cheap but distinctive to tie things together.  Maybe a scarf for the girls, that could be worn on the hair, around the neck, or around the waist to provide color coordination.  Maybe a beret for the boys.  (I'm no costume designer so these are just a couple of things that come imediately to mind.)

 

There's no question that dancing is more beautiful in skirts--especially dance skirts that can be almost full circle--so that might be your next step after jeans.  And at some point you'll have to decide whether to require dance shoes.  But I'd REALLY suggest concentrating on music and presentation first and glitz only when you can afford it or get outside sponsorship.

 

Just my immediate thoughts.  All the best,

 

John

 

 

 Allie, 

 

I agree with John it's about the performance, not the glitzy costumes. If you don't want to go as casual as jeans & shirt...maybe go the more traditional route of black bottoms white tops (skirts & blouses for girls, dress slacks & shirts for the boys)...or maybe something in the school colours, that could be purchased inexpensively...or...sticking with the black & white but incorporating the school colours in scarves for the girls and ties for the boys.  Keeping the costumes simple and the performance top-notch is the most important thing. Of course, the costume could depend on what the choir is performing. If they're performing a more modern repertoire, jeans & colourful t-shirts may be just the thing!

 

Good luck...and have fun! (and make sure the kids have fun, too!)

 

Mary

One further thought (and I hope it isn't considered in bad taste to mention it!).

 

If your girls are going to dance in skirts--especially dance skirts that are full or partial circles--you have to deal with the question of underwear.  Moms are not going to appreciate their daughters flashing the audience with their underpants.  The answer is dance tights--not the full-length things but basically panties that are guaranteed opaque and not excessively revealing.  And since they're going to be seen anyway, matching colors is a VERY good idea so the audience doesn't wonder what they're seeing.  (Remember that most performances are on a raised stage!)

 

My college girls took it a step further, insisting on having "French cut" tights that give a longer and more attractive leg line.  (Dancers think this way; moms may not!)

 

We had the same problem with the smock-like costumes our orphans wore in "Annie," and it was solved with biker shorts--not authentic for the early '30s, but acceptable to all concerned.

 

All the best,

John

 

 

When I started a "Broadway" show choir several years ago, the kids all wore black pants and long-sleeved black tops that they already had.  We then "accessorized" by getting some "sparkly" fabric and cutting strips about 4" wide.  The girls wore them as ties around their waists/hips, and narrower ones as headbands in their hair.  The guys just wore all black.

 

After two or three years of only having to purchase a bit of fabric, we moved to purchasing black jazz pants and black canvas jazz shoes, and a matching color top.  This spring we did our first big "production" number, and did a medley from "Phantom of the Opera".  The guys wore black dress pants and black dress shirts with red ties, and the girls wore their black jazz pants, a red cami and a ruffly white blouse.  It was very striking.  Since they had all of the black "stuff", all they had to buy was the red tie/cami and the girls also had to buy the blouse.  We found them at WalMart for $9.50 each.  Not too bad!  In subsequent years, we'll just purchase a new "top" each fall and work with it for the rest of the year - accessorizing in different ways to spend as little as possible and look as different as possible!

 

I guess I'm just confirming what John and Mary say, that the quality of the performance is more important than the costumes.  Plain black with a few colorful or "sparkly" accents is subtle and doesn't draw attention away from that which is the most important - the music!

 

Hope this helps,

Sally

 

When I was in showchoir I recall we had to pay for our own dresses as well as our own way on the spring tour, but we had ample fundraising opportunities throughout the year to assist with those expenses; we each had the opportunity to work as hard or as little as we wanted to raise funds.  Nobody in our group ever went without due to lack of money.

A few thoughts:

1.  Proper undergarments are a must.  We had to get supportive upper-garments as well as proper lower garments.

2.  Proper dancing shoes are a must.  I suggest selecting a neutral shoe color that girls could wear every year.  I think we had black some years and neutral others, depending on the color of our tights (neutral shoes over black tights is not so good!)

3.  Of the 4 years I was in show choir, 3 of those years we had either a custom-made outfit, or a dress that was not intended to be a showchoir dress.  Only my senior year did we have a dress that was actually made for a show choir, and boy did we notice the difference!  Just because a dress is pretty does not mean that it will wear will through choreography.  I can recall one year in particular that we had dresses which were worn off-the-shoulder.  Every time the girls would face the back of the stage during our choregraphy we would be hiking our dresses up.

 

Julie

I started with the same problem as you did this year.  I walked into a program with the show choir and decided that they needed some outfits.  I found some dresses at Target for 20 dollars each, and had the parent boosters help with the cost.  After it was said and done, the girls hated the dresses, too plain for them, that they decided that they are going to purchase the ones for this year.  If you have some costumes from the years previous, I might think about charging a $30 dollar fee for cleaning.  That will allow you to save up over the next few years for new outfits for the choir. 

 

I would still have to agree with the previous comments that the focus needs to be on the music.  Maybe just have them by some matching shirts or have them buy black shirts(tear them up) and have them wear a colored tank top underneath to add the pop of color. 

 

Good Luck!,

Will

We just bought some new show choir uniforms this year, so I'm feeling your pain. We decided to have two different show choirs, as I have about 20 girls, and 6 boys, so we split the groups, and a couple of girls were in both. We needed a second outfit, so we went with velvet blue dresses from Rivars (a great place to look). These were about $50 each, and looked GREAT onstage. We added a beautiful silver sequin belt for the glitz part for $10. Our other dresses are red with all sequins. Both outfits were beautiful, and very classy, but in different ways. The boys were black pants, white shirt (choir uniform clothes), and add a vest, which this year we got from our church for FREE! Blue and black swirled with silver, matching bowtie.

 

All that being said, a little glitz does go a LONG WAY! Those belts were inexpensive, and added a ton. Stretchy too, so they were very easy to dance in. Add a sparkly tie for the boys for $8 at most, and you are all set. Those things I got from Formal Fashions. I would have them all get black, and add a little sparkle to start with. Even though the clothes do add a lot, it is not the reason you have a show choir.

 

I would also like to say that even though the dancing part is what makes it a show choir, always remember that it is a CHOIR first. Don't compromise on the singing so that the dancing can be flashier. Singing should always come first. I've even had judges (every time we've competed, actually), say that they appreciate how we have kept the integrity of the singing first, and made the dancing complement the singing, and not the other way around.

 

Good luck on your new venture! Let the kids have fun, and also let them have a little say in the costume choices. They will appreciate it more, and enjoy wearing it more. I gave my students/parents the choir of fund raising the entire amount of the uniform or paying for it outright or a combination of both. AND we keep the costumes for future years. I like the idea of a uniform fee every year, so that you can replace them periodically, as those sequins do wear out somewhat quickly.

 

Geneva