Boulder Body Wear Blog

  This season’s fashions are relaxed yet sophisticated with cozy, functional styles. From lightweight to thick and plush, sweaters are the mainstay this year. Pair with straight, slimming denim or active leggings and your favorite pair of boots for a strong, feminine feel. You’ll also see pastels accompanying the customary warmer colors of autumn for a softer touch. Get the look at BBW. 25% off September 11-22nd. Come get your favorite sweater, jeans or leggings of the season for less. Brands include Wooden Ships, Koral, Jag and Silver Jeans, ALO and Om Girl.  

  Dancing is flying like a bird. It’s a way to let go of everything and just burst out and surround yourself with freedom. I discovered that when I was only two years old when I saw my first Nutcracker. Before me was a colony of shimmery snowflakes, swirling and leaping around the stage. I knew at that moment that I wanted to be a ballerina. For me, dancing was getting three scoops of double chocolate chip ice cream in a rainbow sprinkle cone. It was delicious and fun, and I loved it! My first ballet class was magical. I loved life, school and dancing. As a very small child I dreamed I was going to become a professional dancer. My childhood was happy until I turned five. Sadly, at that time my daddy was diagnosed with stage-4 brain cancer. Since my dad’s medical bills were high, it was hard for my family to pay for my ballet classes and find time to get me to the studio everyday. At the Colorado Conservatory of Dance I was surrounded with such warmth that I felt like I was a part of a big loving family (I was blushing nonstop). To me, CCD isn’t just a ballet school, it’s a family that invites anyone who...

We have been promoting our Gaynor Minden Essay Contest this past month. Young dancers may wonder why putting your thoughts about dance and community into words is important.  Dance is a beautiful modality of expressing oneself by telling a story via movement. This may be a personal story or the story of another. Either way, the audience, the performers, the choreographers are all touched - but in their own personal perspective. Putting your thoughts and emotions into words is another beautiful modality of expression. Processing these thoughts and then articulating them helps you develop your own personal perspective. We would like to hear from you. Your perspective about how dance enhances your community will help others understand and think about this very important issue. The arts are important to every community - help share the emotion with your words. The deadline for essays has been extended to 8/21. Essays need to be a minimum of 500 words. Please send your perspective via an entry to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

  It's time for our Annual Gaynor Minden Scholarship Essay contest!    -Winner will be awarded 2 pairs of Gaynor Minden pointe shoes. -Winning essay and picture will be posted on the BBW Blog. -Winner will meet and have picture taken with Blake Latin, professional fitter from GM. -Essays on “how dance enhances our community” are due 8/15 and   need to be no less than 500 words. Essays will be judged on presentation as well as content. -Must be submitted to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. -Winning essay will be announced in conjunction with our Gaynor Minden fitting day on 8/23.   Let's get writing!    

Basics never go out of style! Come in May 22-29th and get 25% off the core of your workout and yoga wear. All basic yoga pants, leggings, capris, shorts and bras will be on sale at this time. Your favorite brands and fabrics. Now you have no excuse for not going to class due to faded or see through basics!

Wonder Woman and Super Girl wouldn't miss this! It's a sale that we have not had before. ALL leotards, dance or gymnastics, child or adult are 25% off April 11 thru the 14th. This includes all the great manfacturers that you have come to love - Mirella, So Danca, Gaynor Minden, Motionwear, Mondor and more. Fashion and basics for class, camp and intensives at a great discount. We may not have your superhero leotard but you'll feel like one with money to spare! 

I dislike very much being so busy that I cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel. I dislike even more feeling "unbusy" or without purpose. One of the wonderful things about spring, is that it gives us re-purpose to the tasks we have trudged through during the dark winter months. Suddenly, the days are longer and the light at the end of the tunnel is brighter.  At BBW we are excited for spring too. Not only do we have new fashions for you to revitalize with but we have them at a great price. New styles of shoes are coming in (I promise Aris Allen is still coming!) and old styles are being improved upon. We are adding new faces to our staff, opening up to new ideas and working on new ways to serve you better.  Sometimes busy is a drag. Sometimes busy works against you. Sometimes you just have to believe it will all pay off.  Happy Spring and see you soon!

Angie is a collection inspired by the bohemian lifestyle with romantic, flowing tops and dresses in colorful, fun prints. Start your spring wardrobe with color and feminine style. On sale for 25% off starting this Friday.

If you need them, or will need them, this is a great deal for you! We are getting new styles of tap shoes so we are making room by marking down the classic oxford  to 53.00 and Dance Class Mary Jane little girl taps for 15.00. Our mens classic oxford character shoe has been discontinued as well and is discounted to 65.80.  Shop online for these special discounts only (some are no longer in the store). Not a bad time to get some dance shoes for less.  

Let me start by saying I've heard it all.  "I'm not flexible enough for yoga." Yeah, and I'm too dirty to take a shower.  "Yoga is boring." You probably found a boring teacher or style that wasn't right for you. "Yoga is for chicks." Actually until around 100 years ago, yoga was (mostly) restricted to only men. "I don't need yoga, I stretch at home." Yeah, I don't need a dentist, I brush my teeth on Tuesdays. "My sister blew out her shoulder doing yoga." Injury happens, and more importantly, so does healing.  "I don't have time for yoga." If you have time for TV, you have time for yoga. "Is yoga a religion?" Yoga teaches about what it means to be human, which some religions also do.  "Am I going to need tight pants?" Only if you want them. Tight pants help when you are moving quickly and don't want to tangle up your feet.  The good news is there is a kind of yoga for every single person on this planet.  The popular kind of yoga right now is a fast paced, high energy, athletic yoga. Luckily that is not the only kind of yoga. There is yoga...

  Yoga, as simple as taking a breath. If I could have one wish it would be that everyone would practice yoga. Yes, everyone. When I mention yoga to people I often hear “I’ve always wanted to try it, but I’m not flexible” or something along those lines. The average person perceives yoga as being twisted up like a pretzel, or maybe even as a woo woo spiritual practice. That’s a misconception and those thoughts can put up road blocks to a wealth of healthy living. As far as bending into a pretzel goes, I practice yoga with veterans, inmates, people who are struggling with emotional as well as physical challenges beyond the average, people who don’t want to enter a yoga studio as a starting place. I’m deeply inspired by people challenged with paralysis, or with an ankle fused by a bullet, or anyone who has to take great effort to arrive on their mat. I think that if they can find a way to practice yoga, everyone can. It’s not about flexibility or having the perfect body.  it’s a matter of finding a teacher who will start with the basic postures and technique while incorporating breath and storytelling...

Some of you may already know Gene Gebauer, master tap dance instructor in the Denver area from his classes and performances in the area. You may not be aware that Gene was a dancer on Broadway for 20 years, with "Hello Dolly", "Sugar" and "Camelot" as part of his repetoire. Gene was also featured in 2010 at the St Louis Tap Festival. The mayor of St Louis named "Gene Gebauer Day" in honor of his achievements. Here Gene shares with us his reasons for loving tap. Why do I like tap? I gotta say, first off, because I can still do it at age 79. It means so much to still be able to dance full out (almost) at my age, after 67 years of ballet, jazz, modern and Broadway. Second, tap is fun. Fun isn't a word I would use to describe my years of ballet, jazz and modern. Next, I would have to say I like tap because it is very social. I also like it because it doesn't hurt. Tap is fun to teach. I hope I have inspired someone to give it a try. - You can find Gene's teaching schedule and more info on his...

In the second of our series on TAP!, Lynne Madson, 35 and GSSD adult tap student, discusses muscle memory and rhythm from dance to life. Tap dancing is like riding a bike - apparently it comes back to you easily if you've done it before. I know this because in my first class there were a bunch of us that were new to tapping, but some of these "new" students picked up the combinations like it was in their nature. These were the people who tapped when they were kids.  There was something that their bodies remembered about the movements. I was not one of these people - I was brand spanking new. I've tapped for almost 4 years now, and I'm amzed at what my body now knows. These movements that are so fast and precise, that use muscles that I didn't really know I had 4 years ago, are now second nature.  I can find myseld doing a five count riff as I'm walking through the store, or doing a chop suey when I'm standing in place. Every combination seems so hard and so fast the first time I see it, and when I started tapping, there were...

Tap, tap, tapping. Tap is for everyone. Young and old, it provides exercise, spirit, soul and culture. Over the next week, a series of guest bloggers from our community will share their thoughts on why they love tap.  You may find these stories mirror your own, or possibly they open new thoughts on enjoying tap. Either way, to share is to give, and to give is to receive. Enjoy! Why I Love Tap by Hannah Carande, Grace Studio Dancer, Age 16 Tap has always been there for me. I started out very young, age 5, and I have stuck with it ever since. Unlike many other styles of dance, tap focuses less of flexibity and tricks, and more on rhythm and style. The best tap dances are those without the kicks or turns or leaps, but with awesome footwork and difficult rhythms. Tap is not easy. In fact, tap can be very challenging at times. But it is also very impressive. Whip out a couple of time steps and shuffle hops and people will be in awe. While all these components go into my love to tap, the biggest reson I love tap is because it is fun. It's that...

We love our website! But the reality is that we cannot offer every shoe, leotard, legging or jean style or size that we carry in the store on our site. Please give us a call (1.877.bdy.wear) if you cannot find what you are looking for style wise or size wise. We can usually find what you need at a price that meets your budget.  

It really happened. Bloch/Mirella dropped the prices of their pointe shoes with the exception of one style (the Hannah) - some by as much as $5 retail per pair. BBW has 5 styles under $70, 6 styles under $80 and 2 styles at $80. So if you tried Bloch/Mirella pointe shoes on before and gave them the poo poo, it may be a good time to call for an appointment to try them again. Also on the price chopping block and not to be missed - the famous BOOST dancesneaker is now $66 - down $10 from 2013. Woot, woot!

Now thru January 28th, buy 1 full price legging and get a 2nd for 25% off. Same applies for your Foot Undeez! Any color or print combo works to get the deal.  Life is fun.

In an interview, I was recently was asked what my proudest moment as a dance store owner. I have to admit I stumbled. I could not come up with one shining moment that stood above and beyond. What I can tell you is this, I am proud to be a part of this wonderful community and I am extremely proud of my staff. Although each person has there moments or days when life is difficult, throughout all the years my staff has gone out of their way individually to make a difference in this community and in another persons life by giving, adding and offering assistance that they were not required to do.  I see them so this most every day in the store. I see them do it in their lives outside of Boulder Body Wear. These are the proudest moments I have as a dance store owner.

Thursday is the last day of our 25% off all tap shoe sale. Thank you to all of our guest bloggers for sharing their stories and thoughts on TAP DANCE. We hope you have enjoyed reading these entries and moreover, we hope you have been inspired to dance yourself. Our final installment is by Jennifer Marti, age 33, an adult student at GSSD. Why I love tap! I came to dance late in life - as an adult, though I had always wanted to take lessons. At about age 5, I rememeber clicking my "dress" shoes on the tiny parquet entryway thinking I was tap dancing. It's my exercise, it's my social time, and I've made so many great friends while tap dancing. The sound; the click clack smack of it. The ryhthm; tap tap tippity tap. The fact that it requires I scuff and shuffle and drag my feet along the floor - just the way my Mom and Dad always told me not to. "Pick up your feet when you walk!" Nah, listen to this. It's the music too. How tap can make a simple piece of music come alive, or a raucous one get people out of...

  Get 25% Off All Lifestyle and Active Fashions Jan 2-13! As we make way for our spring line, you can take advantage of huge savings in our winter clearance sale. Get great deals on all lifestyle and active fashions including sweaters, jeans, yoga wear, dance wear, accessories and more. This sale is only the 2nd thru the 13th, so make your way on over to Boulder Body Wear and get your fashion deals rolling.