Unitec Dance students: Jess Crompton, Kereana Mosen and Oli Mathiesen
The Unitec Dance programme has announced a change to their dress code, including moving away from traditional attire in ballet classes.
Students are now free to choose what they wear to their ballet class (within a set of guidelines), rather than wearing the pink or black tights and leotard commonly associated with practising ballet. The move, reflecting the value of Ngākau Māhaki – Respect, was made to support students to reflect their gender diversity and cultural identity through their clothes.
Paul Young, Dance Lecturer in our School of Creative Industries, said that the traditional gendered ballet uniform reflects a view of binary gender, doesn’t adequately accommodate people of colour and can be uncomfortable for students who don’t have a background in ballet.
“The change in our dress code, which was made in response to feedback from students and discussion amongst our teachers, is intended to support and improve our dance students’ practice holistically, by removing the distraction of the traditional ballet uniform. We support our students to reflect their gender diversity and cultural identity through the clothes they wear. We’re giving our students the choice to wear what they would like to, within a set of guidelines, ultimately making them more comfortable to bring their full selves to class.”
Second year contemporary dance student Kereana Mosen said choosing what to wear makes her feel more at ease in class.
“I haven’t grown up in a dance environment, so it was hard having to wear a leotard! The traditional ballet uniform and practises are not designed for people of colour and I never really felt comfortable. I feel better about myself when I’m wearing something I feel suits my body and I appreciate the change to a more accommodating class environment.”
Jess Crompton and Oli Mathiesen, third year Contemporary Dance students agree, saying that most students have decided to change to the new dress code.
“Ballet supports our contemporary dance practice, along with other forms like Haka Toi Aotearoa and capoeira. Ballet is dance form which adheres strongly to tradition, where contemporary dance provides opportunity to be more progressive, and it makes sense that we can learn ballet to support our contemporary dance while not having to adhere all the traditions around it,” said Oli.
“Traditional ballet uniforms help to create a persona – and that has usually been traditional Western constructs of culture, gender and sexuality. The change in dress code is one small but important step to dismantling these restrictions. It was great to be offered the choice, without us having to fight for change.”
Oli says dancers are often already their own worst critics, so what he wears can affect his performance.
“Dance is all up in the head; wearing a great outfit can help me to dance better.”
With the current Alert Level 3 lockdown, the dance programme has shifted to online learning, which Paul says offers a unique set of challenges, but also opportunities.
“Some students have struggled with isolation, lack of space, and without the synergy generated by dancing with one’s peers. Other students have relished the chance to work at their own pace in their own time and have blossomed without the pressure of constant scrutiny. We will certainly be continuing with some of the innovations that have proved to be more efficient such as the submission of digital portfolios, however our primary interest remains live art. We are all dying to get back on the floor to share our practice in real time and space again.”
The new dress code is optional for semester 2 and will be compulsory from semester 1, 2021.