I'll be honest — before my daughters started dancing, my knowledge of dance styles began and ended with the basics — ballet, tap, and jazz. Everything else was a bit of a mystery. But then, like most new dance mums, I quickly discovered that the dance world comes with its own language. Someone mentions "lyrical" or "contemporary" and suddenly you're nodding along pretending you know exactly what they mean.
After sixteen-plus years as a dance mum I've picked up a thing or two, so here's my plain-English guide to the styles you're most likely to encounter — what they are, what makes them different from each other, and what your child will need to wear.
Ballet
The foundation of every dance style. Ballet is a classical dance form built on precise technique and posture. Ballet is the dance style that most non dancers would think of when someone says they are a dancer, even if that's not the case.
In my humble opinion, all dancers should take ballet class as even if they never intend to go en pointe, ballet training builds strength, flexibility, and body awareness that carries across every other style of dance. You can always tell if a dancer has trained in ballet, even when watching them tap.
Uniform: A set leotard colour by level, ballet pink or theatrical pink tights, hair in a bun (hopefully always), and ballet shoes in either canvas or leather. The exact uniform will no doubt be determined by your child's ballet teacher.
Tap
Tap is all about rhythm and sound. The metal taps on the soles of the shoes turn the dancer's feet into a percussion instrument. It's fun, loud, musical, and can be impressive when done well.
Personally, I love watching tap, especially old school musical theatre type tap — actually, I love watching quite modern tap sometimes too. Little ones can be so cute when they are first tapping and the older kids and young adults can be amazing to watch at eisteddfods. The tap dancers in between these age groups... well, let's just say they're a work in progress.
Fair warning: they will come home and tap on every hard floor surface in your house. Every. Single. One.
So if you have wooden or tiled floors, don't forget to check the screws on their tap shoes as they may very well scratch your floors. My hot tip is to buy them a piece of plyboard — you can pick one up cheaply at Bunnings — put it out on the deck or in the garage and let them tap to their heart's content. It may just save your sanity as well as your floors.
Shoes: Tap shoes look somewhat similar to a jazz shoe, but with metal taps on the toe and heel. They're a non-negotiable! Browse our full range of tap shoes to find the perfect fit for your dancer.
Jazz
Fun, energetic, and expressive — jazz is where technique meets performance. It draws on ballet foundations (when I did take this dance class briefly as a child it was called "Jazz Ballet") but adds flair, personality, and a lot more movement through the hips and upper body. Think show-stopping routines and big smiles.
Shoes: Jazz shoes are those distinctive slip-on shoes with a small heel and a split sole. The split sole allows for much better flexibility and articulation through the foot than a regular shoe. Browse our full range of jazz shoes to find the right pair for your dancer.
Hip Hop
High energy and street-style, hip hop is bold, rhythmic, and a whole lot of fun. It tends to have a very different vibe to classical styles — more relaxed, more freestyle, and very cool. What most studios teach as "hip hop" is generally Commercial Hip Hop — the polished, choreographed style you see in music videos and on stage, with high energy and big performance value.
You may also come across studios that offer Street Dance classes, which is where styles like Breaking (Breakdancing), Popping and Locking, and Freestyle sit. These are distinct dance styles in their own right rather than sub-genres of hip hop, though they share the same cultural roots.
What they'll need: If they aren't wearing their studio uniform to this class, they should dress in comfortable, relaxed-fit clothing and clean sneakers.
Acrobatics (Acro)
Acro combines dance with acrobatic skills — cartwheels, walkovers, aerials, and sometimes contortion elements woven into choreography. Acro requires strength, flexibility, and body control, and is often taught as a separate class with the skills learnt then used when teachers are choreographing other styles such as lyrical or contemporary.
What they'll need: I would suggest their studio t-shirt or another fitted t-shirt with a pair of boy-leg shorts — nothing loose that could get in the way of those skills — and bare feet. Yeah! I hear you say, a style where I don't have to purchase yet another pair of shoes!
Musical Theatre
Big, bold, and made for kids who want to do all the things. Musical theatre is fabulous as it combines jazz, tap, and character work with acting, storytelling and sometimes singing too. It's expressive, it's fun, and it's also the style that produces the kids who perform literally everywhere — the shower, the car, in the aisles at Woolies, believe me I have lived through this!
What they'll need: Varies by class, but generally fitted dancewear and jazz shoes, sometimes tap shoes too, depending on the routine.
Contemporary and Lyrical — What's the Difference?
I remember being genuinely confused about this myself, so let's sort it out once and for all. Though remember, this is my interpretation, how I see it. A professional choreographer may have a different take on it altogether.
Lyrical seems more ballet like, just not as rigid, expressive, with a light and floaty sort of feel. It's driven by the emotion and meaning of the music — the movement feels like the dancer is literally interpreting the lyrics or melody. Lyrical tends to be more flowing and graceful, with beautiful extensions, turns, and lines. It tends to move you — especially when it's your own child dancing.
Contemporary is where things get a little more complex — and honestly, at least in my opinion, a little bit more interesting. Because contemporary isn't really one single style anymore. Over time it's evolved into two quite distinct paths, and once you know what to look for, you'll never be able to unsee it.
Classical Contemporary is the more elegant side of contemporary. It draws heavily on ballet technique — think airy, upright, and almost gravity-defying. The movement is expressive and often lyrical in feel, but with more freedom and fluidity than classical ballet allows. If you watch it and think "that looks almost like ballet but somehow more modern," you're probably watching this style of contemporary.
Commercial Contemporary is a completely different beast. This is my favourite contemporary style, so I was super happy that one of my girls loved it too. This is the style that embraces gravity rather than defying it — the posture is often curved, the body makes shapes, the floor work is extensive, and the emotion tends to be intense and psychological, sometimes quite dark rather than pretty. It can be raw, confronting, and utterly captivating. This is the style that makes audiences sit forward in their seats — in the absolute best way.
A simple way to think about all three:
- Lyrical tells you a story
- Classical contemporary makes you feel something beautiful
- Commercial contemporary makes you feel something you can't quite name
All three styles are performed in bare feet or with foot thongs or half ballet shoes, which protect the skin during floor work while still allowing the feel and flexibility of bare feet. Browse our full range of contemporary and lyrical footwear — including foot thongs and half ballet shoes — to find the right fit for your dancer.
A Quick Note on Uniforms
Every studio is different, and most will give you a specific uniform list at enrolment — so hold off on buying everything at once! Start with what's on the list, get the right shoes for each style, and build from there.
And if you're ever unsure? Ask whoever is manning the front desk, send an email to the director of your studio or simply ask another dance mum. We've all been the new one at some point, and most of us are very happy to help. 😊
Need to kit out your dancer? Browse our full range of dancewear, shoes, and accessories at Active Style Dancewear — we've got all your dance basics covered.