At AK Dancewear, we love to support our community and share our vision. Whether it is with a professional company or a local school, we are always committed to doing the most for the dance world through our dancewear values.

Everyone knows the iconic Concerto Barocco costumes: a white pinch leo with a mini skirt. AK dancewear recently had the pleasure of working with Ballet North Texas to design just that, in pursuit of creating a white leotard that the dancers felt confident wearing onstage.

This season, when Artistic Director Nicolina Lawson decided to bring Balanchine’s Concerto Barocco to the stage, she wanted beautiful new custom costumes to fit her dancers perfectly while also holding to the original costumes that Balanchine envisioned.

The Leotard:

We worked with Nicolina and chose the new CAYLA leotard, our AVA leotard without the lace. The CAYLA design has a V-neck with a sleek, round scoop that makes for a refined look. The custom costume is made with our AeraBlend fabric, a compression performance fabric that provides comfort and extra support, enhancing blood circulation, along with antimicrobial and antibacterial technology. The back is a low-cut scoop, which accentuates the dancer’s lines and mimics the original costumes.

To ensure confidence for the dancers while they performed onstage in this challenging repertoire, we lined the leotard only in the front. This way, the dancers were able to feel comfortable while being unrestricted in their movement.

The Skirt:

We added the signature white skirt to the base leotard. It was sewn on to ensure that it stayed in place. The skirt had a slight high-low to create an elegant line for the dancers and add flair and vibrance to their movement. We loved looking into all the details that came up in the designing of these costumes.

It was a pleasure to be a part of Ballet North Texas’s performance of Concerto Barocco, and we were pleased to help the dancers feel confident in a white leotard onstage. All of the dancers were filled with gratitude for their brand-new custom costumes, and we were equally grateful for their trust in our vision. Most of all, we had a great time working together to support Ballet North Texas’s aspiration to create beautiful costumes that dancers felt confident dancing in.

We love sharing our passion for dancewear with our community. If you are interested in custom costumes for your company or school, reach out to collaborate with us!

Blog written by AK Company Dancer Ena Nomoto