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Who We Are
Who is Shades Dancewear?
Shades Dancewear is an independent, female-founded, inclusive UK brand redefining what representation across dance and the performing arts means. Founded to address the lack of skin tone dancewear, Shades encourages all dancers to embrace their ethnicity and retain their identity from the second they step into their first dance class. We believe Shades Dancewear will revolutionise the way dancers of all skin tones view themselves, in a space that has yet to fully acknowledge inclusivity.
Shades Dancewear is the first UK dancewear brand to offer four diverse skin tone shades across our entire collection, with each shade named in honour of influential Global Majority pioneers of dance – Bojangles, Raven, Uday and Pearl. Shades is also the first brand across the globe to offer dance support belts in four diverse skin tone shades.
In a space where the market is saturated with dancewear brands that cater for only the few, Shades Dancewear is for the many.
Shades Dancewear is a movement, a mission, and a message: everyone deserves to feel seen, supported and celebrated. We want to set a new global standard in representation for dancers, performers and creatives everywhere.
Shades was born from the activism and advocacy work of the TIRED Movement (Trying to Improve Racial Equality in Dance). Shades is a tangible outcome of decades of lived experience, professional insight, and unwavering dedication to equity and access.
Support our movement for change and embrace your Shade today.
What do Shades dancewear stand for?
Our Philosophy
Shades inspires individuals to be inclusive, reactive, and supportive of one another. Allowing people, businesses, and organisations to understand and appreciate the stories and experiences of one another.
The world is a rainbow full of many colours and all shades should radiate and dance through life. Value and trust are the heartbeat of our vision and a celebration of the diverse world that we live in.
Our Values
Collaboration and Passion
We collaborate with partners and organisations who champion diversity to continually drive changes with passion and engagement at the core.
Dedication and Compassion
We are dedicated to ensuring that every voice is heard, and every challenge faced will be addressed with empathy and compassion.
Innovation and Inclusion
We are innovative and inclusive, ensuring diversity by challenging mindsets and embracing new perspectives.
Laura Grant & Stacey Green
Laura Grant
Hi, I’m Laura Grant, co-founder of the amazing not-for-profit TIRED Movement (Trying to Improve Racial Equality in Dance) and Shades Dancewear, the pioneering dance brand bringing skin tone dancewear to all dancers.
As a dancer from the age of 7, and brought up in a diverse community, I was fortunate enough to be surrounded by friends from different backgrounds and naively (white privilege!?) believed that everyone was afforded the same opportunities and space as me.
As I became an adult, I learnt this wasn’t the case. After working in the industry for many years, I started working in the charity sector campaigning for education, opportunity and access for all.
I am very proud of the work that TIRED Movement is doing and, whilst change takes time by building a community, we can work together to be the change we want to see.
As the co-founder, I work with the team, our Ambassadors, our volunteers and the wider sector to raise awareness of our work and ensure that all dancers can embrace their ethnicity and retain their identity.
Stacey Green
My name is Stacey Green, the co-founder of both the TIRED Movement (Trying to Improve Racial Equality in Dance) and the UK’s new inclusive dancewear brand, Shades Dancewear. I am also the Director of the well-established dance school, Freedom Dance & Performance, Nottingham, and have over 30 years dance teaching experience.
I am currently spearheading the RED (Representation and Equity in Dance) 3-year research project alongside Lead Researcher Dr. Imogen Aujla, working with several UK vocational colleges including Bird College and Laine Theatre Arts.
I regularly deliver talks all over the UK, raising awareness about the importance of racial representation in dance education and have supported and empowered hundreds of students to share their voice
As a dancer, I was used to being the “only one in the room” As a teacher and mentor, I am still frequently the only global majority educator in the room. Through my lived experiences within the dance sector, representation matters to me, and I am determined to continue to drive the changes that are needed and ensure that dance is inclusive for all.
