When Pacific Northwest Ballet principal dancer Elizabeth Murphy takes her final bow on June 7, it may be the end of her 20-year performance career, but she isn’t leaving the ballet world. This summer Murphy will continue her work with LABL Active, a company she founded more than a decade ago as Label Dancewear and […]

When it comes to in-studio dancewear, the pros know that the right style, piece or material can mean the difference between a confident and comfortable day and a day that feels just plain out of sorts. With so much time spent honing their craft in dance clothes, choosing those items takes equal parts strategy, creativity […]

Catalyzed by the national reckoning on racial injustice last summer, much of the dance world began to ponder some tough questions, one being: “Who does traditional dancewear leave out?” Brands heard the growing calls for a greater range of options and have begun producing and promoting new lines of flesh-tone shoes and tights. Meanwhile, dance […]

Almost a year later and…yep, we’re still in a global pandemic. As COVID-19 drags on, your pre-pandemic footwear is probably on its last legs by now (if it was ever up to dancing all day on floors that aren’t sprung). And even when we do finally return to the stage, dancing in non-traditional spaces is […]

What’s the best way to extend the life of your favorite leotard or piece of workout wear? Aside from fabric quality, it largely comes down to what you do on laundry day. We spoke with Erin Rollins, costume shop manager at BalletMet, for her top tips on keeping your beloved dancewear in rotation for years […]

Implicit bias and racial stereotyping are rampant in the dance world . That’s a fact dancers of color have always known. But the anti-racism protests sparked by the murder of George Floyd—protests whose effects have reverberated through a myriad of industries—are bringing new attention to the problem. Though dance has been heavily influenced by Black […]

Launching a dancewear line seems like a great way for professional dancers to flex new artistic muscles and make side money. Several direct-to-consumer brands founded by current or former professional dancers, like Elevé and Luckleo, currently compete with bigger retailers, like Capezio. But turning your brand into the next Yumiko is more challenging than some […]

Cloud & Victory gets dancers. The dancewear brand’s social media drools over Roberto Bolle’s abs, sets classical variations to Beyoncé and moans over Mondays and long adagios. And it all comes from the mind of founder Tan Li Min, the boss lady who takes on everything from designs to inventory to shipping orders. Known simply […]