It’s easy to celebrate Valentine’s Day in dance retail. Take it from Deanna Magrane, owner of Dance In Dancewear in Oakdale, NY. “I love that Valentine’s Day works well with the traditional dancewear color—pink,” she says. What’s more, come February, your customers are ready to shop again. “People have recovered from Christmas,” Magrane adds. “They are shopping for competitions and starting to think about recitals.”
Look around at what you have already—with a little creativity you can turn almost anything into a Valentine’s Day display. Here, we share a few of the best props and tips for creating an eye-catching display for the month to come.
Tip: Group your pink and red merchandise together

Waterfall racks with rows of pink, magenta, red, and white leotards will quickly get your customers thinking about Valentine’s Day. Beth Misek, owner of Attitudes Dancewear, Etc., in Wichita, KS, has a feature wall made out of tin that is painted pink. One February, she hung leotards in light and bright pinks on it and placed pink-spattered dance booties on the shelf below.
In the past, Misek has also added love-themed dance apparel or accessories with heart details to all the displays in the store. “Throughout the year, when we received merchandise with hearts or ‘love dance’ themes, we saved it for our February displays so that we had enough to build on throughout the store,” she says. “Cute leotards, skirts, and shirts with hearts, for example, became prime centerpieces.”
Must-Have Prop: A tabletop tree
Don’t pack your holiday decor away just yet! If you have a small tabletop tree, you can remove the Christmas ornaments and decorate it with heart-shaped ones. In previous years, Misek has put a gold wire and jewel tree on her checkout counter. Not shaped like a traditional Christmas tree, it was easy for her to use after the holiday season passed.
Tip: Shop your local craft stores
You can keep your budget low by looking for inexpensive items for your display. Erin Wigzell of Saratoga Dance, Etc. in Saratoga Springs, NY, recommends checking out places like Target, Michael’s, or other crafts stores to find inspiration. “Garlands and paper products are easy materials to work with,” she says. “Garlands especially add a lot visually to a window with minimal effort. I keep a budget, usually around $50.”
Must-Have Prop: Valentine’s Day cards

According to Wigzell, pretty pink and red Valentine’s Day cards make a beautiful backdrop when they are clipped to lines and hung across your front window. “I found cards as a boxed set along with a string of lights at our local Target,” she says. “The bright colors were what drew me to them. We have large hanging frames in all our windows that make it easy to create fun and seasonal backdrops. I attached thin florist wire to the frames to hang the cards in horizontal rows and then hung the lights in front of them. We luckily had the perfect leotard, tutu, and belt that color-coordinated with the cards.”
Tip: Organize a “sweet” sale
If you have merchandise that’s moving slowly, adding it into a pink-and-red display during a sale or event can speed up sales. In Valentine’s Days past, Magrane has grabbed her customers’ attention with catchy phrases, like “The Sweetest Sale” or “Gifts With No Calories!” To drum up extra traffic, she’s held pointe shoe decorating events at the same time.
Must-Have Prop: A box of chocolates
To avoid a melty mess, re-create a box of chocolates with cardboard, an old egg carton, and some cupcake wrappers. This is another trick from up Magrane’s sleeve. “I painted the [upside down] egg cartons to look like candy, and I wrapped some in foil,” she describes. “In the back I put batting and glued red satin on that, and added a big bow.” The chocolate box was such a hit that Magrane packed it away carefully to use again.

Tip: Create a frame around a simple window display to make it stand out
One year for her holiday windows, Holly Bertucci, owner of The Dance Bag in Modesto, CA, created snow globes by taping six-foot circle-shaped stencils made out of butcher paper to the window and spraying around them with snow paint. Behind each clear circle she placed mannequins dressed in Nutcracker costumes that a local professional company was getting rid of.
You can give this snow-globe window display a Valentine’s Day twist. Swap the Nutcracker costumes for pink and red leotards, dresses, and tutus, and stencil large hearts around each item.
Must-Have Tool: Window paint
Use tempera paint and a sponge (a brush can leave too many streaks) to create love-filled designs in your windows. Add hearts, X’s and O’s, or a love-inspired message.
If you don’t trust your freehand-drawing skills, search for window decals. You can also look in your local crafts store for white spray-paint that is specifically made for creating snow and ice effects on windows.
February is a short month, but you can increase your sales and make the most of the slower period if you think creatively and put your heart into your Valentine’s Day store displays.
Libby Basile is a former editor for Dance Retailer News and a specialty-retail storeowner based in Cheshire, CT.