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If you’ve ever stood in your kitchen the night before a competition trying to remember whether you actually packed the body tape or just thought about packing it, this dance competition packing list is for you.
Competition weekends never run on schedule. They’re either way ahead or way behind, and somehow both feel worse. The dressing rooms are chaos. There’s no spare five minutes to run out for the thing you forgot.
I’ve learned this the hard way. I’m usually crouched on a dressing room floor at 6:45am, digging for a missing hair piece. Meanwhile, my daughter is already asking where her costume is.
So this is the list I actually use now. Not the Pinterest-perfect version with 47 things you’ll never touch. Just the stuff that’s actually worth lugging in and out of your car.
First, know what kind of competition you’re packing for
Not all competitions feel the same, and it absolutely changes how I pack.
Ballet competitions (think YAGP, UBC, ADCIBC) tend to be more formal and much more waiting-heavy. You’re usually in a real theater, hair is a bun, and there’s a lot of sitting around between variations. Dressing room space can be tight. That’s why it helps to have everything organized so your dancer can find things on her own.
Depending on the competition, parents may not even be allowed backstage. That’s a big difference from a competition where you can stand outside the dressing room and yell, “Where’s your second pair of tights?!”
Commercial competitions (Rainbow, 24 Seven, NYCDA, Showstoppers, and the rest) are a completely different kind of chaos. Quick changes, crowded hotel ballroom dressing rooms, multiple costumes, and days that start at 7am and somehow don’t end until the last routine at 11pm.
You’re packing for efficiency here. Everything needs to be grab-and-go.
And if you’re lucky enough to be staying at the hotel where the competition is held? That’s a game changer. Suddenly the hairbrush you forgot isn’t a crisis. You run upstairs and get it instead of digging through three bags in a hallway.
The list below works for both. I’ll flag where I’d pack differently depending on which world you’re in.
The bag itself
The bag matters more than people expect, so let’s start there. You want something that:
- Rolls, because your back will thank you after a 12-hour day
- Has real structure, so your lighted mirror and makeup case don’t get crushed
- Doesn’t eat up floor space: think vertical, not sprawling. Dressing room real estate is at a premium, and you want a small footprint
A rolling competition dance bag or a medium Hulken-style bag both work well here. We personally prefer the Hulken for its vertical footprint. Everything goes in without our stuff spreading across the floor. It’s also nowhere near as expensive as the all-in-one rolling bags that come with a built-in hanging bar and privacy curtain. That said, those bags are genuinely popular on the commercial circuit for a reason: it’s basically a dressing room in a bag.
Dance shoes & performance essentials
Before you leave the house, physically check the shoes. Don’t ask “Did you pack your pointe shoes?” and accept yes as an answer. Open the bag and look. Ask me how I know.
- Every shoe needed for every number
- Backup pointe shoes, if applicable
- Toe pads/pointe accessories, if needed
- Rosin, if permitted/needed
- Warm-up booties or socks
- Nude/clear bra straps or appropriate undergarments
- Costume-specific jewelry/accessories
Hair & makeup station
Where do I even begin? With two teen daughters, I could write 2,000 words on this category alone. Here’s the short version instead:
- Lighted mirror
- Makeup organizer
- Hairspray
- Foundation/concealer
- Eye shadow, mascara, eyeliner
- Blush/bronzer
- False lashes + lash glue
- Lip liner & lipstick
- Hairbrush
- Bobby pins
- Hair nets
- Extra hair elastics
- Hair accessories for each costume
- Makeup wipes
- Q-tips
- Cotton pads
- Setting spray
Wardrobe & quick fixes
- Extra tights: at least one backup pair, because a run always happens right before she goes on
- Body tape and/or body glue: for costume malfunctions, straps, anything that needs to stay put under stage lights
- Cover-ups: something warm and easy on and off for the hallways between backstage and the audience, especially in cold venues
- Hanging rack: if your bag doesn’t have one built in, buy a portable rack, or split a sturdier one with other studio families
- Portable hand steamer: for costumes that wrinkle easily
- Portable dressing tent: if your bag doesn’t have a built-in curtain, a portable one is easy to share and buys some privacy for a quick change. Some ballroom dressing rooms end up mixed with teachers and parents around, and a little privacy goes a long way
- Hanging accessory organizer: a good home for a lot of the emergency kit items below, kept visible instead of buried
The emergency kit
Honestly, I have probably needed every single one of these at some point:
- Safety pins
- Mini sewing kit
- Fashion tape
- Body tape/body adhesive
- Band-Aids
- Blister pads
- Nail file
- Scissors
- Stain remover pen
- Extra tights
- Extra hair elastics and bobby pins
- Lint roller
- Small first-aid kit
- Pain reliever
- Deodorant
- Feminine products
- Phone charger/power bank
Keep it all in one small pouch or in the hanging organizer. Don’t scatter it through the bag. When a rhinestone pops off or a strap snaps five minutes before stage time, the last thing you want is to be excavating the entire bag for a single safety pin.
Comfort essentials
- A blanket to sit on: dressing room floors are never comfortable, and “the floor” is often the only real estate left once a studio’s whole team has claimed all the chairs
- Snacks and a water bottle
- Headphones, for when you want to block out the chaos and get your dancer mentally ready
My competition bag picks
Best overall competition bag
Hulken This is the bag I keep coming back to for competition weekends. We have both the medium and large sizes, but find that the medium works best. What I like most isn’t the storage. It’s the footprint. This bag stays upright instead of taking over half the dressing room floor. That matters when an entire studio’s worth of dancers, parents, costumes, and garment bags are packed into one room. I layer in the makeup case, shoes, warmups, and everything non-hanging, then zip it up and roll it out when we need to move. I also keep a small plastic organizer inside for the tiny costume pieces, like chokers, earrings, and hair accessories. There’s nothing worse than knowing the missing piece is somewhere in the bag when your dancer’s on in five minutes.
Best all-in-one rolling bag
Glam’r Gear If you buy this, you can skip the garment rack and dressing tent. It’s all included. It’s a splurge, so if other dancers in your studio already have one, it’s worth checking theirs out before you commit.
Makeup case
Portable mirror
FUNTOUCH Rechargeable Travel Mirror with Led Lights
Portable garment rack
Travel Garment Rack, Portable and Foldable, Collapsible Clothing Rack by URZCT If you don’t go the all-in-one rolling bag route, this works. It’s not the sturdiest option out there, but it’s portable and gets the job done for a few costumes for one dancer.
Portable steamer
OGHom Steamer for Clothes, Handheld Clothing Steamer for Garment, 240ml Big Capacity 700W Portable Travel Steam Iron (120V) It’s very lightweight and fits in with everything else in our Hulken bag.
Costume bag & accessory organizer
Simply Caddy Costume Garment Bag I have one for each costume. I put the coordinating tights, headpieces, and accessories in the pockets, so everything for each number stays together and is visible at a glance.
Dressing tent
Wakeman Pop Up Changing Tent 3.3′ x 3.3′ x 6.2′, with a carry bag, great for a shared changing space when the official dressing room is too packed.
FAQ
How early should I start packing for a dance competition? If it’s your first, start about 1–2 weeks ahead so you have time to order anything missing from Amazon or make a store run.
What’s the biggest thing dance moms forget? Snacks and water for themselves! We need to refuel too.
Do I need to pack differently for ballet vs. commercial competitions? It depends. Ask veteran moms about the specific venue. At some ballet competitions, parents may have limited or no backstage access. That’s why it helps to pack so your dancer can manage everything herself. For commercial comps in a hotel ballroom, you might have more room, especially if your studio arrives early. In that case, a shared dressing tent or garment rack helps a lot.