barnite, ann arbor: fashion in dance
Every year, Ann Arbor’s most well-known and well-loved nightclub, Necto, hosts an array of talented, student-led dance teams. The event is an opportunity for the teams to showcase their moves to a fresh, eager audience. While the moves were certainly entertaining, we couldn’t help but get distracted by teams’ flashy outfits. It was clear that each team put thought and care into choosing their ensembles, and we couldn’t help but wonder how all of these unique costumes came to be. We pulled a couple dancers aside to find out…
DANCE 2XS MICHIGAN
Omar (pulse interviewer)
Can you introduce your name, what team you're on, and where your team’s from?
Allison (DANCE 2XS member)
I'm Allison. I'm on Dance 2XS Michigan at the University of Michigan.
Omar
Can you describe the outfit that you're performing in tonight?
Allison
I am wearing low rise cargo pants with white booty shorts sticking out of it, kind of like a boxer peeking out look moment. And then a cropped tank top, army green, with a red bra poking out.
Omar
How did your team decide on what outfit you're wearing for this set?
Allison
Well, the theme is 2XStep Up: The Streets, based off the Step Up [2]: The Streets dance movement. So that's the second... movement? Second movie! Second movie of the Step Up franchise. So we watched the movie, as a team, to get the vibes and costume inspo. And it's basically what you would see in the movie.
Omar
In general, what would you say are the best clothes to dance in for you?
Allison
For me, I just love anything baggy. So sweatpants are good, very loose, like cargo pants are good. I love a big T-shirt. But if I'm doing floor work, that's going to be a long sleeve T-shirt. And a hat’s always good too, but a hat wouldn't stay on my head for the set.
Omar
Last question, if you could wear anything you can for a performance, what would be your dream outfit?
Allison
Honestly, what I'd wear to practice. Or I do love a button up shirt, maybe open. I like the movement that that has. But pretty much what I would wear to practice. Baggy, flowy kind of thing.
Omar
Can you introduce your name, what team you're on, and where your team's from?
Amer
My name is Amer. I'm on 2XS Michigan. My team is from Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Omar
Can you describe the outfit that you will be wearing tonight for your performance?
Amer
Absolutely. My outfit was inspired by the Step Up movie. Step Up 2 more specifically, that's what the set theme is. And one of our first practices, we actually all just sat in our classroom and watched the movie. So we were able to get inspo from the movie. My outfit is inspired by one of the characters on the movie, I don't remember his name. If you need that, I’ll let you know later. But fully, he was wearing, it was very like a… they were practicing for a street dance, and it was these Adidas pants, black tank top. So I was like, I'm going to recreate that. Ordered the Adidas pants on Depop and put it all together. And everyone's kind of inspired by that, same outfits they were wearing in the movie.
Omar
What, in your opinion, are the best clothes to dance in?
Amer
Best clothes to dance in? Okay, a lot of people, I think, are going to say comfort. But to me, it's anything that makes you feel good. Not even in your body, but also just makes you feel more confident. Because then you dance confidently in that sense too. Like, jeans aren't the most comfortable thing to dance in. Some people in our team are wearing jeans. Because they like that outfit. And you know, it's like if you’re feeling good in the fit, you'll make it work and stand out. Because of how the clothes make you feel.
Omar
If you could wear anything for a performance, what's your dream performance fit?
Amer
My dream performance fit? I haven't thought about that. Ohh... I don't know! Give me a second!
Omar
We can skip this question.
Amer
Yeah, can we skip that?
DANCE 2XS PURDUE
Omar
Can we start by just introducing your name, what team you're on, and where your team's from?
Ryden
My name is Ryden Dang. I'm on Purdue 2XS, and we are from West Lafayette, Indiana.
Omar
Can you describe the outfit that you're going to wear for tonight's performance?
Ryden
For tonight's performance, I am wearing a 1/4 zip with a hoodie that is red, and it's actually from a school in my area. And so for our theme, it is 2XO. And so we're supposed to wear red or pink. And I like red a lot, so I wore this to really... I love that it’s like fire burning. So red is always my go-to. And then I love baggy jeans, and I found these while I was thrifting. And I like the big rip in them. Like, some people don't like rips in their pants, but I like these. It adds a little bit of style. And then I'm wearing white Air Forces, you can't really go wrong with them. And I think this really embodies me, and this is what I like to wear while I'm dancing. Because it really, I think, it makes me look good while dancing. And so it's something I'm comfortable with. And I think one thing about dancing is comfort is always there for you. And there are times where you step out of your comfort zone. But at the same time, the thing that is always with you is that comfort. And I think that's where clothes lies for me.
Omar
Can you talk more about the theme, and how the whole team chose the red, and the pink and white?
Ryden
Yeah. So the way our team did it is we did a Pinterest board. And they did, pretty much, a whole bunch of pictures showing what it should look like, or what around. And then after, we all assembled our outfits together. We looked at them lined up together. See what stuck out. See things we have to change. And then after that, we just adjusted. We have to make it look cohesive for a piece. But at the same time, you still have that sense of creativity.
Omar
In general, what would you say are the best clothes that you like to dance in?
Ryden
Best clothes? I definitely really like baggy bottoms at all times. But recently, I've been getting into more tighter fitting tops, with the baggy look at the bottom. And I think it really accentuates my figure a little more.
Omar
Last question, if you could wear anything you want for a performance, what would be your dream outfit to perform in?
Ryden
Dream outfit? Like a Chrome Hearts theme one. I don't know. I really love the aesthetic of Chrome Hearts, and just the vibe of it.
DANCE 2XS UIUC
Omar
Can you introduce your name, what team you're on, and where your team's from?
Yuno
I'm Yuno. My team is Dance 2XS UIUC, and we're from University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign.
Omar
Can you describe the outfit that you're going to wear for the performance tonight?
Yuno
Yeah. We're going to be wearing a baggy white T-shirt, with baggy jeans. Because our set is about Kendrick Lamar, all of our set is from Kendrick songs. And our outfit is inspired by one of his album covers, cause he's wearing dark blue baggy jeans with a white T-shirt.
Omar
In general, what would you say are the best clothes to dance in for you?
Yuno
For me? I think it's baggy. Just everything baggy. Baggy shirt, baggy pants, sometimes baggy pants and small top. But I think just baggy clothes in general.
Omar
Let's say, if you can wear anything you wanted for a performance, what would be your dream performance fit?
Yuno
My dream performance fit? Ooh I think I want like... This is hard. Probably parachute pants, colorful parachute pants. Okay, dream fit! I want to wear pants, but then pants that has an AC inside, you know. Like, I like wearing pants, but then sometimes it gets really hot. So probably something fashionable, very stylish, but still comfy. I want to wear a tight top, a tube top with tapes wrapped around. Not tapes but, you know, strings wrapped around. Like a rave fit.
FUNKTION
Omar
Can you introduce your name, what team you're on, and where your team’s from?
Jaedel
Yeah. I'm Jaedel. I'm on team FunKtion, and we’re from Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Omar
Can you describe what outfit you’re wearing for tonight's performance?
Jaedel
Wearing a tracksuit. Think high school sports team. Matching pants, matching jacket. Good vibes.
Omar
Why did your team choose this outfit / how did they decide on it?
Jaedel
Yeah, I mean, we're a bunch of young guys, reckless. We do a bunch of crazy stuff. And we're just here to have a good time. So we want to embody that youthful feeling, and I think we got it down.
Omar
What, in your opinion, are the best clothes to dance in?
Jaedel
Oh, definitely stuff that are baggy. Really accentuates all the movements. Makes you look big. Makes you look cool. Anything that's oversized.
Omar
If you can wear anything for a performance, what's your dream performance outfit?
Jaedel
Oh, I want to wear a military jacket, a tank top, and some really baggy pants. Like Toji if he was in the military.
JRJ
Omar
Can you just introduce your name, what team you're on, and where your team's from?
Jada
Okay. My name is Jada. I am on Team JRJ, and we are from Detroit, Michigan.
Omar
Can you just describe what you're wearing for tonight's performance?
Jada
So I'm wearing some cargoes, my Jordan 11s. You know I had to put it on. A cute little bedazzled top, and a mesh pullover. Yeah, just fit in the theme.
Omar
Can you describe the theme? How does your team go about picking the outfits for everyone?
Jada
So actually, we have someone that creates a Pinterest board. So we all still look as individuals, but still having a cohesive design. So her name is Aleiha. She actually has an account called @thriftedbyaleiha on Instagram. Phenomenal. The theme for this set was a mix of street wear as well as business casual, with the hint of red. So pretty cool.
Omar
In general, what, in your opinion, are the best clothes to dance in or to perform in?
Jada
For me personally, I prefer to wear what I'm most comfortable in. Anything that's over a size medium. Absolutely. What really changes for me is whatever shoes I'm wearing. So whenever I'm dancing hip hop, I prefer to wear Jordans. It keeps the cohesiveness between hip-hop and its history, and its use of street wear, together. In terms of contemporary or modern, I typically just wear some black socks and call it a day. It's about feeling the ground for that one, so.
Omar
If you could wear anything you want for a performance, what's your dream performance fit?
Jada
Oh, that's a good one. Dream performance fit? Essentially, what I'm wearing now actually. Something black with accents of red, and harsh gold accents. Maybe my glasses. I'd love to be able to dance with my glasses on. Difficult, but I'd love to dance with my glasses on. I'd also love to wear something that's been created by one of my peers, or anyone within the art industry, or that's part of the art resurgence in Detroit. There's a lot of fashion designers that are coming up with the art resurgence in Detroit, and they have so much talent, and I just love to wear such art.
UNDERGODS
Omar
Can we just begin by introducing your name, your team, and where your team's from?
Ronuelle
Well, my name is Ronuelle Teodoro. Do you want me to spell that for you?
Omar
No, I know of you. So it's cool.
Ronuelle
Okay. So, Ronuelle Teodoro. I'm from UnderGods. UnderGods is from Michigan. We come from all different aspects and areas of Michigan. But we're based off in Michigan. And we've been around since 2012. And we've gone through generations of different groupings of people. So yeah.
Omar
Can you just describe what outfit you're going to be wearing tonight for the performance?
Ronuelle
Well, just because of the holiday spirit, with Halloween just being around the corner, we wanted to go with this, we imagine a grungy purge vibe. So, the colors that we're using are pretty simple. Black, white, and then we wanted to go with a lime green. And then with the spirit of Halloween, have it to be some sort of skull related, skeleton related kind of thing. Just to kind of tie it in. And then it's also going to be, kind of, I don't know how to describe it. Like, distressed. Like, I know people are going to be wearing the cut-up jeans and whatnot, and stuff like that. Yeah, so grungy purge vibe.
Omar
In general, can you describe what are the best type of clothes that you like dancing in?
Ronuelle
Oof. I personally like wearing baggier stuff. The only time I'll ever wear the skin tight stuff is when I have to, for a job. But other than that, if my own personal preference… Just baggy enough, where I can feel comfortable, but not too baggy, where they can't see the entirety of the movement. Because I wouldn't want it to be washed away or, kind of like, you know what I mean? Covered by all this baggy. But just a nice balance of, I guess, yeah. Nowadays, if you were to ask me this question, what kind of colors I would wear. Younger, I'd say, five years ago, I was straight neutral. Just black, white, gray, brown. Now, if I can find a color that I like, that's my preference now. So baggy and colorful, or vibrant I guess you could say. Yeah.
Omar
Last question, if you could wear anything you can for a performance, what would be your dream performance fit?
Ronuelle
My dream performance fit? Wow. These are great questions.
Omar
Thank you.
Ronuelle
I think it would be really cool to put an ensemble where each member of the company has their own, not only suit, but it's tailored. I have this image of Will Smith doing Men in Black. In the very end, they're all dancing in the suits. And I thought that, I said it was so freaking cool. Kind of like the Michael. Also that, the Michael Jackson-esque Vibe. That. So I don't know how to describe that, but that. You know what I mean? Yeah. Paraphrasing so, yeah.
written by: omar fan
