I grew up amongst gypsies. Most of you are now imagining Hollywood wagon trains in Europe with dark bushy-haired, colorfully dressed nomadic people moving from town to town, perhaps even one day shy of the law. You’d be wrong.
(I did know that kind – I lived in Greece, and gypsies roamed the little fishing village there. They even stole my valuable American blue jeans off my clothesline – which wasn’t easy, since my line was on the roof of a three-story building.)
The percentage of you who were right know that “gypsy” is the nickname for chorus dancers in Broadway shows. The nickname started because they, too, move from place to place, or from show to show. My Dad was a stagehand on Broadway, and whenever I visited him at work, the dancers were always around practicing routines, hanging out in the audience or roaming backstage stretching and such.
Back then, dancers didn’t have special dancing clothes. Sure, there were leotards, but after that they looked like – well, gypsies – in their artistic, colorful put-together rehearsal outfits. Nowadays they enjoy the pleasures of cutting edge textiles made just for arduous athletic activity.
These fabrics are lightweight, dry quickly, wick away perspiration and even “control” body temperature – be it hot or cold. The textiles are so thin that you can use them for layering and not feel like a kid going out to play in the snow. The stores below sell these yummy clothes, and also the absolute basic necessity of dancers – proper dancing shoes.
Rossetti, 3923 St. Denis St at Roy St. Phone: (514) 842-7337. Hours: Monday to Wednesday 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday and Friday 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. With the same owner, Mrs. Rossetti, since 1951, this has been a specialty shop catering to the ballet needs of women, men and children. There are Capezio, Bloch, Mondor, Mirella and Body Wrapper tutus, leotards and unitards. Point shoes can be deconstructed and made-to-fit perfectly. Others with itchy dancing feet – flamenco, salsa, tango and tap – can glide right over here for their personalized fitting. If you need made-to-measure theatrical or period shoes, this is your store.
Danz Etc., 920 Jean Talon St. East at St. Hubert St. Phone: (514) 271-6512. Hours: Monday to Wednesday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday and Friday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. One of the oldest (41 years) and biggest dance supply houses in town, you can find it all here, whether it’s for ballet, flamenco, ballroom, hip hop, highland, yoga, aerobics or whatever. There’s shoes, bodywear, tights, leotards, point shoes in names you know: Danskin, Mirilla, Capezio, Mondar, Bloch, Sancha, Angelo Luzio, Bodywrappers, Harmony, etc. The staff has background in dance and are good at fitting. If you’re lucky, you might bump into a dancer from Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Ballet Jazz or Ecole National de Ballet. Other location: Movimento, 4307 boul. St-Jean (514-696-1212).
Boutique de Danse Wendy, 295A St. Jean Blvd., Plaza Pointe Claire at Autoroute 20. Phone: (514) 695-0285. Hours: Monday to Wednesday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday and Friday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday noon to 4 p.m. For West Islanders or anyone else, here’s a convenient location to buy your dance shoes, be it for ballroom, jazz, ballet, tap, gymnastics, Irish or Scottish dancing. Figure skating, ballet and aerobic clothing by So Danca, Danskin, Mondor, Leo’s, Motion Wear and Gilda Marx.