For testing... Above the knee? How far above the knee if so. A bit below the knee?

Definitely above the knee - the judges need to see the knee action. If you're going to wear a dance length skirt, it falls somewhere from just above the knee to a few inches above. The back is longer. I've seen people test in freestyle length skirts, though. In my area, the "test uniform" is almost always a black leotard with a black wrap skirt.

Good - my kids are getting ready for their first dance tests and I really didn't want a drawn-out costume design session, lol. Thanks!

Do you think that works for kids in low-level competition events? My girls are doing a Canasta Tango event and I'm not sure what to have them wear.

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I've seen people doing compulsory dances at competition in just a dance dress rather than one specific for the dance.

Agreed. Sometimes there's not enough time to change dresses between the different dances, so you just wear a generic dance dress for all of them.

So would it be okay to just wear a freestyle dress? One with a skirt thats on the longer side?

Sure. They're not judging the dress.

I just didn't want them to look "different." I'd like them to feel like they fit in with the other competitors.

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We used freestyle dresses, albeit not over the top competition ones, for the lower level dances. Once we reached the higher dances (in Canada, the high-test dances are Junior Silver and up, which is the Keats, Harris, American, etc and upwards) - we switched to dance dresses, and attempted to match the "style" of the dance as much as possible, which helped present the dance more effectively. Also helped DD get into the "mood", say, of a tango when we slapped on the makeup and put the red rose in the bun, and pulled the red and black dress out of the dress bag!

What do the other ones in your area wear out of curiosity? I know that here, for a test day, a dance dress for Canasta would be considered over-the-top. But, in a competition setting, then definitely a dance dress appears, and usually one that is in a tango-style. Plus, the stylized entries into the dance, with the additional steps and the elaborate exits. I would think though that it would vary from location to location.

Long 'dance' skirts on little girls look strange to me -- almost wanna be's ---especially for the lower dances when the skill execution is not really at a very high level.

You can't go wrong with a basic black, or red or blue dress ----that you 'tart' up for each dance. So for the Canasta Tango - add a very large dollar store orange flower to a side bun or pony tail....lots of hair glitter and rhinestone twisties etc.......and perhaps an orange velvet choker...pin some smaller orange flower heads on one hip in a mini cluster with perhaps a small serged drippy piece of orange chiffon.

Dutch waltz - can put a large bow made of a couple of shades of chiffon tied with a rhinestone center (make sure the bow has tails that drip down gracefully on the back skirt)

You get the idea....especially for competitions that are over in a minute and then it's on to the next dance. Kids have fun looking the part and you don't have to spend a fortune.

Now if we are talking serious competitive dance - then the dresses tend to have the longer skirts (which I hate because it hides too many errors from the judges ). However, I have noticed a trend by the older skaters ---skirt length seems to be rising back to reasonable levels.

One of the best dresses I had for my dd was a black velvet dress with silver appliques around the top - that had a removable second chiffon skirt which was slightly longer than the first. Very versatile - try a dance test and take off the skirt and you have a freeskate test dress.

Since dd was very young when doing the higher dances, it made her feel more mature and 'grown'up' but still looked age-appropriate. I now lend the dress to my skaters doing their Dutch waltz etc. and they feel great. The dance skirt is just about two inches longer than the freeskate length - so their little legs still show. So cute!

I agree, little itty bitty girls with these legs that are really short to begin with look strange in long skirts. I don't mind slightly longer than a FS skirt (like mid-thigh length) if it's a chiffon, mesh or light material, but any longer than that is too much dress on a little skater.

There is actually a skirt length rule in syncho--the longest part of your skirt (usually the back) cannot be longer than the widest part of the calf (so on me about 2.5" below my knee). I tend to stick with that for dance.

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2010-2011 goals:
Pass Junior MIF test
Don't break anything

Interesting - the coach of our adult synchro team says no skirt below the bottom of the knee (aka top of calf) as he says the ISU rule is "not below top of calf"? I'm asking because we'd like longer if we could get it ... our legs aren't what they should be!!

The ISU rule only really applies to novice/junior/senior teams competing internationally. Beyond that, countries are free to do what they want with other levels or teams that don't compete internationally. So the actual ISU rule may differ, or the rule may have changed (I haven't skated on a team since '08). But the dresses from my last year (first year there actually was a skirt length rule) were just past our knees in the front and slightly longer in the back.

__________________
2010-2011 goals:
Pass Junior MIF test
Don't break anything

The ISU rule only really applies to novice/junior/senior teams competing internationally. Beyond that, countries are free to do what they want with other levels or teams that don't compete internationally. So the actual ISU rule may differ, the ISU rule countries follow may have changed (I haven't skated on a team since '08), or your federation may have its own rule. But our dresses from my last year (first year there was a rule in place) covered our knees in the front and were slightly longer in the back.

ETA: I'm watching our nationals live online now, and the one junior team (who competes internationally) has skirts on that def go past their knees in the front and the back.

__________________
2010-2011 goals:
Pass Junior MIF test
Don't break anything

Thanks! We don't compete internationally (ha ha!!)

But your federation may either follow it for all levels, or have a different rule it applies to other levels, so you need to find that out.

__________________
2010-2011 goals:
Pass Junior MIF test
Don't break anything

Here, the kids wear their dresses for testing; usually one for their Compulsories, one for Moves, one for Free and one for their OD. It's all considered part of the presentation, and while you wouldn't pass because you have a nice dress if you didn't skate to standard, I have known a borderline test be failed because the skater hadn't taken care with her dress and her underwear was showing.

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Mrs Redboots
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Ice dancers have lovely big curves!