Inside Alexandra Hutchinson’s Dance Bag
Dance Theatre of Harlem member Alexandra Hutchinson’s dance bag helps her to stay calm, cool, collected, and stylish. “Sometimes I have two bags,” she says. “My friends always say I have a lot of stuff, but I’m always prepared.” Her makeup bag is one of her go-to items, and she enjoys wearing cosmetics in the studio. “I feel best when I look my best, so I love to be fabulous at work,” says Hutchinson. She also keeps a pair of Supreme sunglasses on hand. “I like to walk in and out with a little flair,” she says.
The Goods
Shoes: Hutchinson carries two or three pairs of pointe shoes—switching between Suffolk and Freed of London—and a pair of Bloch flat shoes. “I have a Mariia dancewear net bag that I hold my flat shoes in, because I hate when I lose one of them,” she says.
Paint: “I have to pancake [my shoes],” Hutchinson says. She uses an acrylic paint that DTH wardrobe supervisor Katy Freeman matches to her skin tone. “A lot of times I do it at home, but there are times where, if I don’t have time, I’ll paint shoes at the studio.”
Eco Styler gel: “It’s a curl and wave gel that I use in the morning, because I have really curly hair. If it’s flat, it’ll stay, but I need gel to make sure it doesn’t get really big or too frizzy by the end of the day.”
Hair-care-product kit: “It has a spray bottle, my brush, and oil by Tracee Ellis Ross’ brand, Pattern. I love her jojoba hair serum,” says Hutchinson. She combines the gel and serum to keep her hair moisturized.
Trigger-point ball: “It has two sides, and it opens into a dumbbell-like shape. It is really nice to roll out my lower back, or spots that are hard to reach, or my calves.”
Memento from her parents: “I have a little pouch by the artist Pointebrush [Margot Halloc]. She paints ballerina cartoons. I keep my sewing kit and extra elastics and ribbon in it. It has brown ballerinas all over it, like in Firebird and La Bayadère. I think she was inspired by Dance Theatre of Harlem.”
Assorted essentials: “My wallet, keys, AirPods, a Lollia fragrance, and bobby pins.”
Body care: Hutchinson swears by her Theragun massage device. “I use it all the time. It’s the mini one, so it fits in my bag, but it’s very heavy,” she says.
Brown Girls Do Ballet water bottle: “The logo is a girl’s head with a ballet bun, and different shades [of skin]. It’s sentimental. I’ve been working hard not to lose it.”
