Skip to main content

How to make your dancer’s dance bag less of a horror story. By Katie Behrens



What could be scarier than Halloween in the month of October? Well quite possibly the smell of your dancers dance bag. Have you ever wondered to yourself, “how could such pretty little feet make that smell ?”......

Here are some tried and true tricks to keep your dancers dance bag smelling fresh in between classes.

  1. Should be obvious, but take out dirty leotards and tights and wash them.
  2. Smelly shoes the problem? You can make shoe dehumidifiers by using old worn out tights. Simply cut off the feet of the tights, fill with dry rice, you can also add a few drops of peppermint oil to the rice. The rice will absorb moisture and the peppermint will leave a pleasant smell.
  3. Place dance shoes in a Ziploc bag and freeze them overnight. Freezing the shoes will kill the bacteria therefore, destroy the odor.
  4. Once a month take everything out of the dance bag and wash it in the washing machine.
  5. Canvas ballet shoes and canvas lyrical shoes can be washed in the washing machine on cold. Then allow them to air dry. Of course, I would suggest trying this with an old pair of shoes. Just because I have had success doesn’t mean you will 😉.
  6. Make sure your dancers toenails are trimmed. Long toenails are a breeding round for smelly bacteria.
  7. Place odor absorbing potpourri sachets in your dancers dance bag.
  8. Make sure leftover food does not get trapped in your dancers dance bag. I once was helping a dancer look for a shoe and found a moldy sandwich in her bag.
Hopefully these tricks will end up being treats for you and your dancer. You are now armed with the power to stop smelly dance bags forever.

Comments

  1. zain8272August 18, 2022 at 1:31 AM

    In case of tears, runs, stains, or excessive sweating, you want to have a backup pair of tights and clean leotard. And as temperatures in studios and theaters are unpredictable and can vary widely, it is important to have warm-up clothes you can layer on top and remove easily
    smellproofguide.com

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Q&A with Miss Geneva - Reflecting on 10 years at DDA

  Miss Geneva with her class at the 2014 DDA Recital   What made you apply for the job at DDA? My husband and I had just moved to Illinois for his job and I was volunteering one day at a cancer center in Geneva teaching dance to kids to bring them some joy through music and movement. The director told me that one of the ladies she worked with had a daughter who had opened up a dance studio in La Fox (the previous location). Well, that was Jenny's mom she was talking about! So, I called right away to see if she was hiring.   Do you remember your first day?   I was actually nervous. I was feeling so out of place moving somewhere that had my first name on buildings (ha!), knowing that my desert blood had no idea how to handle zero degrees, everyone else seemed to have extended family here except me, and driving on roads with one lane was the weirdest thing to me. Those little things made me feel like this was not home. However, I remember walking into DDA being wa...
Post a Comment
Read more

Injury Prevention in Dance - By Katie Behrens

  Dance is a performance art. The dancer uses their body like a carefully sharpened pencil creating the art of the choreographer. Keeping a dancer's body strong and injury free should be one of the top priorities inside and outside the dance class. This can be rather challenging when the dancer is continually pushing to advance their skills or they are in a competitive season. For much of history dancers have been known to grind it out even through injury, however times have changed and that mentality no longer is what is supported.  So, you might question as a parent and definitely as a dancer how can I prevent injury inside and outside of the classroom?  As a certified personal trainer and dancer of 30+ years, I am hoping the information that follows will add insight on how to keep the dancer in tiptop condition all year round. Cross training Shoes Rest Myofascia release techniques Seeking medical advice Cross training: Like any athlete, dancers have seasons. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Black History Month - Artists Who Inspired Me by Kelsey Green

  When I was around 3 years old, my mom signed me up for dance class to help with my confidence, as I was a very shy child. When I was five or six years old I saw Savion Glover on Sesame Street. I was in awe of his tapping and how much joy he emitted while he danced. I knew right then and there that I wanted to share dance with whomever I could in hopes I would bring the same joy into their lives, as he had to mine. I looked for him every time Sesame Street came on TV, and was so happy whenever he was on the show.     Around that same time, I was also highly inspired by Michael Jackson, as so many in my generation were. His movement was unmatched by anyone that preceded him, and I absolutely made it a goal to be able to learn choreography from music videos and put on shows in my living room to whoever was willing to watch (at times it was only my stuffed animals).    I learned to love moving and it became my outlet. Whether I was having the best day or worst day...
Post a Comment
Read more