Dance Competition Packing List
The 10 things never to forget
- Every costume, with every piece that goes with it
- Tights for each routine, and a spare pair
- The right shoes for each routine
- Hair pieces and accessories: headpieces, bows, earrings
- Bobby pins, hair elastics, gel and hairspray
- Makeup, including lashes and lash glue
- The schedule, with your dancer’s entry numbers and call times
- Safety pins and fashion tape
- Water and snacks
- A phone charger or battery pack
The packing list, by category
Tick each item as it goes in. Your studio’s own notes come first: if it asks for a particular tights color, lipstick shade or hairstyle, that is the one to pack.
Costumes and tights
- Each costume on its own hanger, in a garment bag
- The accessories for each costume, in a labeled pouch on its hanger
- Tights for each routine, in the color and style the studio asked for
- A spare pair of every kind of tights
- Undergarments the studio asked for (nude leotard, dance briefs)
- Shoes for each routine, and foot thongs or half-soles if used
- The studio warm-up or jacket
- A cover-up or robe to wear over a costume between routines
- Slip-on shoes for walking around in costume
Hair
- Brush and comb
- Bobby pins in your dancer’s hair color, more than you think
- Hair elastics
- Bun nets, and a bun form if your dancer uses one
- Gel and hairspray
- Hair pieces for each routine: headpiece, bow, scrunchie, clips
- Curling iron or hot rollers, if a routine’s look calls for curls
Makeup
- Foundation and powder in your dancer’s shade
- Blush, eyeshadow and eyeliner as the studio specifies
- Mascara
- False lashes and lash glue
- The studio’s lipstick shade, and lip liner
- Brushes and sponges
- Makeup remover wipes and cotton swabs
- A small mirror
Quick-change kit
- Safety pins in several sizes
- Fashion tape
- A small sewing kit, with thread in your costume colors
- Small scissors
- Clear nail polish, to stop a run in tights
- A stain stick
- Fabric glue for a loose rhinestone
- A lint roller
- Spare earring backs
- A towel or mat to stand on while changing
Emergency kit
- Bandages and blister pads
- Toe tape
- The pain reliever your family uses
- Any medicine your dancer takes
- An instant ice pack
- Tissues and hand sanitizer
- Period products
- Deodorant
Food and water
- Water bottles, more than one
- Snacks that don’t crumble or stain: crackers, pretzels, granola bars, cheese sticks
- Easy fruit: bananas, grapes, apple slices
- A simple lunch, for a long day
- Straws, so your dancer can drink without smudging lipstick
- A small cooler
- Napkins and wet wipes
Parent bag
- Phone, charger and a battery pack
- The schedule, printed or saved on your phone
- Cash, for parking or vendors
- Any tickets or wristbands you were sent
- A sweater: dressing areas and auditoriums can be cold
- A folding chair or blanket, where the dressing area allows it
- Something to read, and snacks for siblings
- A marker and labels
Pack per routine, not per category
The list above is how to check that nothing is missing. It is not how to pack. Backstage, you need one routine’s whole look in your hands at once, so pack by routine:
- One bag per routine. The costume on its hanger, with its tights, shoes, hair piece and accessories in the same garment bag or a pouch hung on it.
- Label it. The routine’s name, and the entry number once the schedule is out.
- Put a photo of the finished look in the bag, or keep one on your phone, so whoever dresses your dancer knows exactly what goes where.
- Pack the bags in performance order, so the first routine is on top.
- Keep shared things shared. Hair, makeup, the quick-change kit and the emergency kit each live in one case that goes everywhere your dancer goes.
| Bag | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| A routine’s bag | That routine’s costume, tights, shoes, hair piece, accessories, and a photo of the look |
| Hair and makeup case | Everything on the hair and makeup lists, shared by every routine |
| Quick-change and emergency kit | Pins, tape, sewing kit, stain stick, bandages, medicine |
| Food bag or cooler | Water, snacks, lunch, straws, wipes |
| Parent bag | Phone, charger, schedule, cash, a sweater |
If two routines are close together on the schedule, keep the second routine’s bag right beside your dancer, unzipped, with the costume ready to step into. The guide to organizing costumes and quick changes goes further.
Convention add-ons
A convention weekend is mostly classes, so add class clothes to the competition list. If conventions are new to you, start with what a dance convention is.
- Several class outfits: fitted dancewear your dancer can move in all day
- Shoes for every style on the class grid: jazz shoes, ballet slippers, sneakers for hip hop
- Knee pads, if your dancer uses them for floor work
- A layer for between classes
- Lunch and extra water: breaks between classes can be short
- A small notebook for combinations and corrections
The printable checklist
The whole list, with a box beside every item and a table to write in each routine’s entry number and times, on two pages: download the dance competition packing list (PDF). Print one for each competition, or keep it on your phone. Printing this page from your browser prints the same checklist.
Let the list build itself
If you use Ovation, the dance family planner for iPhone, the packing list comes from your dancer’s routines. In the week before a competition, its card on Home shows a Competition Checklist: under each dancer, every routine’s look (costume, shoes, hair, makeup, accessories and notes), and a General bag for the family.
The General bag starts with this list’s essentials, from spare tights and bobby pins to the schedule, safety pins, snacks and cash. Add your own items, tap a suggestion from the rest of this list, or take off what you don’t need, and your next competition starts from the bag you built.
You tick items as you pack, the card shows how much is packed, and with reminders on Ovation reminds you 3 days before and the night before each day. After the competition, you can reset it for the next one.
