Created by three extremely accomplished competitive ice skaters and dancers, Aurora Tights is an activewear line designed for athletes and artists of all skin tones and sizes. With their size and shade inclusive tights, they are breaking the mold of what "traditional" skate and dancewear look like (we're talking seven sizes and five shades!) They are helping women and girls from all backgrounds to feel empowered by who they are and what they look like, one pair of tights at a time. 

What was the driving force behind creating the company?

Jasmine: The driving force behind Aurora Tights was that none of us had or could easily achieve tights and gear within our skin tone. Imani and Sydney didn’t have any options that really fit their skin colors. For me, I would dye my tights myself in the bathtub... and as you might guess, that was messy, time consuming, expensive, and honestly experimental. Because it was such a hassle, we just realized that all performers, no matter their shade- from the fairest to the deepest tones- should be able to buy tights online or go to their local store. It should be as easy as that, and that’s why we created Aurora Tights.

How does having the appropriate clothing and gear help athletes and artists of color, mentally and physically?

Sydney: For an athlete of color, having the appropriate clothing that matches your skin directly ties to your confidence as a performer. Confidence is everything as an athlete. We all know what it means to have that little extra “umph” when you’re out there on that stage. We want to be that little extra “umph” for those performers so that they can perform to the best of their ability.

What are some other ways the dance and skate communities can diversify and embrace athletes and performers of ALL skin tones?

Imani: Both the ice skating and dance communities need to take action to make sure that performers of all backgrounds feel included.

Actions include: 

• Making sure that judges, judges panels, and technical panels reflect the type of dancers that are performing. It is important that diversity is embraced in all parts of the sport, not only at the performance level.
• Organizations need to start having that conversation. How do you become more diverse, not only in your performers, but also in your managing and coaching staff?
• Making sure you’re taking steps to make your performers of color feel included. Let them feel empowered to wear apparel that matches their skin tone, and embrace them.
• Making sure your hairstyles complement all different textures, and that make-up selections complement all skin tones.

What is the future of Aurora Tights?

Sydney: Aurora Tights has such a long journey ahead of her, and we have so many dreams as a founding team. The first one is to be able to have a product line that serves athletes in the gymnastic and cheer sports. We also want to work in all performance sports to make sure that they are accessible to all people, that we are retaining diverse talent, and that we are working with the governing bodies to educate them on how to make inclusive environments for all athletes. Last but not least, and really the most important thing, is that we want to build a community of performers of all shades and sizes so that they know that Aurora Tights is a home that they can always turn to for support.

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This is an excerpt from an original blog posted by Pointe People and written by Micaelina Ritschl. Check out the full blog post at https://www.pointepeople.com/blogs/pointe-people/behind-the-seams-meet-aurora-tights-activewear-for-all-shades-and-sizes