Dancing Costumes: Groups


Figure 1.-.

A few childrens dance groups have performed commercially. Some schools have also formed dance groups. HBC has, however, only imited informtion on these groups.

Don Crichton Dancers

One of the variety shows in the 70s had a group of boys and girls that did dance routines each week. Sometimes the costumes were interesting, I remember them in kilts once.

Meglan Dance Troope

Perhaps the most famous dance school in America was the Meglan Dancers. It was a Hollywood school and mothers who wanted to get their children into the movies enrolled their very young children. Its most famous pupil was none other than Shirley Temple. She was a student there when a studio game and wanted to cast 12 toddlers (10 boys and 2 girls) for a series of film shorts in 1931 called the Baby Burlesque. The children were costumed in diappers and exagerated safteybpins with a more mature jacket or shirt. They played adukt roles in a variety of skits. Of course Shirley who was only 3 years old stood out and was soon offered a contract with 20th Cetury Fox and was soon single handedly to save the studio from bankruptsy.

Nicholas Brothers

Two black brothers appeared in shows and movies. Both boys wear quite proper suits, but the younger boy has a short pants suit which he wears with knee socks. I'm not sure to what age he wore shorts, but he looked to be about 12 in the film I saw.

Ruth Page School (US: Chicago?)

A 1990 PBS biography showed pictues from her school which she founded in the 1970s. Most of the children, were girls, but in the beginning class were several boys, all dressed in black tights. There were also boys in the more advanced classes. Their Nutcracker





Christopher Wagner





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Created: November 3, 2000
Last updated: November 27, 2000