Our new, inclusive, and sustainable recommended examination uniform.
Introducing our new recommended examination uniform, designed in partnership with Dansez to create a sustainable, inclusive and quality uniform range that allows for personal expression alongside practical pieces.
ISTD members have a 20% discount on RRP, which can be found on MyISTD.
The concept behind the collection is to create a truly inclusive capsule kit, with items that can be mixed and matched according to the individuals’ tastes and the genres’ examination requirements.
Our collection is designed to support and enhance every movement a dancer makes. The fabric offers exceptional elasticity and resilience ensuring that dancers can perform with confidence and ease.
The collection hasn’t forgotten our teachers, and we have been developing a range that our teachers will be proud to wear in class and at events.
This is the recommended examination uniform for theatre genres (with Classical Indian, Ballroom, Latin and Sequence will follow early in 2025). The uniform is not mandatory, as we know that affordability is an important consideration for parents and teachers alike, but we hope that the range will offer flexibility to work for your school and students.
ISTD members have a 20% discount on RRP, which can be found on MyISTD. To find out more ways you could benefit, visit our Membership page.
Our ambition to be a truly inclusive Society for all and encourage diversity in our dance community was our motivation to review and update the recommended ISTD examination uniform.
To help us achieve this aim, we appointed the dancewear company Dansez to work with us to create a sustainable, inclusive, and quality uniform range that offers flexibility and good value.
“It was so exciting to see the months of collaborative development with ISTD come to life and with the dancers simply beaming with delight when they wore the new designs during the shoot.”
- Samantha Carney, Managing Director of Dansez.
The design process was a true collaboration between the creative team at Dansez, lead by Managing Director Samantha Carney and our members representing Theatre and Disco, Freestyle and Rock n Roll faculties.
They carefully reviewed the needs of our students, their parents and our teachers. Looking at the function of each item, how it is worn for class and for examinations, the team considered the needs of each age group and genre.
The designs have also been reviewed by the faculty committees to consider suitability for examination wear – and all this feedback has been crucial to make sure that our designs are not only beautiful but also practical.
Full details on examination wear can be found in each syllabus/specification:
The collection is available in three colour ways and is designed with the progression of the dancer in mind.
ISTD's iconic Rich Blue is complemented with two adjacent colours, Rich Green and Rich Pink.
We used variations in tones to demonstrate dancer development. The youngest dancers in our brightest tones, all the way to adult dancers in the more sophisticated darker colours.
“it’s made with fabric that complements all sizes and looks stunning”
- Parent of model
The new ISTD uniforms use ECONYL®, a regenerated fibre made from nylon waste, including fishing nets, carpet flooring and industrial plastic, whilst supporting the Healthy Seas Initiative.
Healthy Seas, a charity established in 2013, addresses ghost fishing, which causes unnecessary marine animal deaths. Recovered fishing nets are processed through Aquafil's ECONYL® regeneration system, turning nylon waste into high-quality material. This regenerated nylon is equivalent to virgin nylon, infinitely recyclable, offering endless opportunities for designers and consumers.
All garments are made in the UK and each item comes with a full repair guarantee. We are hoping to establish a preloved initiative, that will enable uniforms to be returned and passed on.
We were thrilled to invite 90 students of every age, ability, background, and body type to showcase our brand-new ISTD exam uniform at our photoshoot for the uniform. We believe in celebrating diversity and inclusion within our dance community, and creating a uniform that helps dancers to embrace their unique style while being functional was important in our process.
Our new, inclusive, and sustainable recommended examination uniform, in collaboration with Dansez - wear it your way.
The Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England, no. UA-20377677-1 and registered charity no. 250397.
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