Patterned and Metallic Costume Ideas

Patterned and Metallic Costume Ideas

By Move Dance on 1st Mar 2018

What Dance Costume Can I Create with Patterns and Metallics?

So, you're here because you need some dance costume inspiration, or you're simply overwhelmed with the amount of costume choice we have and need some starting pointers. We've got an enormous amount of costume choice for you, whether you're a teacher or a dancer, but in this guide we're focusing on our patterned and metallic collection by our own brand Alegra. With over 1400 different Alegra costume combinations, you can literally become any character you can think of for your dance show. We refresh our costume patterns regularly so you’ll always be sure to find fresh new prints for your show. Be sure to check out props and other costume accessories that can complement your look from the links that we'll suggest to you. Here are some different costume theme ideas using patterns and metallics that you can wear for dance, acro and hoop performances.


Patterned Costumes

Circus Costume

A circus themed costume is the perfect attire if you’re planning to do lots of aerials and tricks in your dance routine. Choosing a bold and wacky print will turn the stage into the circus - try something like this diamond print leotard.

Love the leo and the look? We did Belle's circus makeup in-house using our Snazaroo costume makeup collection, which is definitely a must-have during show season! You can also use greasepaint crayons in true circus fashion, but we prefer using paint brushes and makeup palettes for more precision. We’ll soon be releasing a series of how to videos to show you how to achieve our favourite costume makeup looks just like this one. Be sure to send us some suggestions through social media or email if there’s a certain look you’d like help with!

We think that this costume is perfect for a dance show and really finished off with a top hat and ball cane. Everything you see here is available at Move, so click here to check out our range of props now to elevate your dance show. If you want a more colourful head-to-toe approach to your circus costume, why not add a rainbow clown wig? You can have a stage full of menacing, dancing clowns!

Belle is wearing long sleeved Ashlyn leotard in a HAR pattern


Tropical Costume

Pick patterns with bold and bright colours to transport your audience to Bora Bora or Hawaii! Most of our Alegra patterned collection comes in a bright colour to help inject some more energy into your show. A look that we think is great as a base layer for a costume to build upon - or even as a solo item - is this tropical biketard.

Choose pattern BAC for this tropical look

Colour blends and ombres are always on-trend! This biketard is a great onepiece choice for a show because it’s designed for a streamlined fit, which you perhaps wouldn’t get if you’re laying up shorts underneath a costume for coverage. That means if this patterned biketard is worn by itself, the silhouette is bump-free whilst the dancer wearing it remains cool with less layers on under the hot lights. To really take this costume look to Hawaii, add a flower hula leinecklace! It would be a great prop for a dance show opening, and it’s lightweight to be worn during the routine or flung off after the intro.
 

Animal Costumes

With all of our animal print patterned costumes, you don’t have to reserve them just for dressing up as a particular animal. All of our patterned costumes boast fashionable prints, especially like the leopard print, that you may want to wear just for a bold look without being a cat character. You can, however, take your animal look to the next level by pairing patterned costumes with kids’ animal tabards on top.

Check out these animal themed patterned costume ideas...

Leopard Costume

This is the LEP print in an Ashyln style

This unitard is a PLE pattern

Tiger Costume

Belle is wearing Ashlyn in TIG pattern.

Our leopard print costumes are really popular for all kinds of dance shows and allow our dancers to transform into a range of cat-like characters! If you’re looking for a more unique animal dance costume, try our pink leopard print.

This pattern features the same shape of animal print as the leopard pattern, but this time there’s a graffiti style pink paint spray on top of the print.

Add some headband ears or a tail for a head-to-toe animal costume! You can view the range of headbands here.

Snake Costume

This scale pattern is really popular with dancers and aerialists who are hosting jungle themed shows. The scale pattern certainly resembles a snake, which is the perfect pattern for a snake costume or maybe a dance show that involves lots of floors based moves, twists, and turns.

Belle is wearing Ashlyn here in a SCA pattern:

We have a fun scale makeup tutorial that we’re going to release to you in the future that you can use for under-the-sea themed dance costumes.

Now, if you start layering up your look, you’ll really be turning into the animalistic character that you’re trying to portray. Pair animal themed patterns like the tiger and leopard leos with matching patterned leggings or skirts for a complete look.

Are patterned leos and matching leggings too much for you? Try pairing your animal print leotard with some plain coloured leggings or tights from the Alegra shiny leggings range instead. You can choose a colour here.

Patterned Black Costumes

Here are some costume ideas that will make you or your dancers stage-ready for any show - whether you’ve got a theme or not! These brightly coloured prints on a jet black leotard make the print stand out. You can also get these prints in any other of our Alegra costume styles, like costume catsuits and leggings.

Alegra Ashlyn Girls Leotard is in FST pattern here

This pattern features brightly coloured pastel stars with larger stars build up of multicolour floral prints. It looks amazing under the bright stage lights!

This adults' costume leotard is worn in SQU print here

Jasmine is modelling our Alegra cubic print here in a long sleeved high neck leotard style. Blue, yellow and pink squares are layered and printed on top of each other on a black background to make the pattern stand out. It's a classy look for a dance show that still packs a bold print.

Metallic Costumes

Choose metallics like crops and shorts for your dance costume to wear a different look to a leotard. Crop tops come in a variety of styles, so click here to see them all and choose your favourite. You can completely coordinate your metallic costume by wearing a crop top and short matching set. Wear differently coloured metallic leggings and tops for a bold look, or choose a catsuit or leotard for some solo shine. All of our costumes are flexible and optimised to dance in under the hot lights, even our long sleeved catsuits.

For Hoop and Dance



This metallic costume is a streamlined look that really showcases a dancer’s or aerialist’s body.

A metallic catsuit like this Blaine style is a gorgeous aerial hoop costume choice for a hoop show because it highlights every toned muscle in the performer’s body, making an even greater spectacle for the audience. If you are going to wear a metallic costume for your hoop or acro performance, remember that metallics won’t give you the same amount of grip as what you’ll be used to when wearing a skirted leotard.

We’re putting together more costume ideas for you at the moment, so be sure to check back to see some ideas for different types of dance styles! We hope you get a standing ovation with our Alegra metallic and patterned costumes!