Hobbies can be expensive, particularly when it needs additional kits, accessories and outfits to take part. Dancing is no exception – with the glitzy costumes, glamorous dance shoes, and theatrical makeup – what starts as a fun extracurricular activity, can become costly as the price to take part adds up.
However, SASalsa – a dance group for all ages in South London – found a way around this for their recent shows using online affordable marketplace Temu, known for its wide selection of merchandise at budget-friendly prices. Temu’s direct-from-factory business model connects consumers directly with manufacturers, cutting out middlemen and markups.
Sandy Boxall and Anh Vo, who shared a passion for community salsa instruction, founded SASalsa in 2022 with support from the Wandsworth Council. Since then, the dance group has gradually earned a great reputation and started to perform at various local community festivals.
In the preparation stages for their big performance, the group struggled to find costumes that fit all body shapes and sizes and didn’t burn a hole in their budget. Most online and offline retailers charge upwards of £30 each for the costumes, which isn’t a comfortable price point for beginners and dance enthusiasts.
On Temu, the skirts cost only £13 – less than half the price of costumes at dance shops, saving the dancers over £100 in total. Not only that but as opposed to the traditional elastic skirts, the wrap style makes it easy to wear for dancers of all body types.
“We run free salsa classes in South-West London and didn’t want the team to spend too much on their outfits for performances, but we still needed to look cohesive. The skirt was very important. I’m so glad we found something inexpensive because it tied the whole routine together.”
“I remember the day I got the skirt to class, we were all so excited! The tassels were so fun to move in that eventually, all of us ended up taking turns wearing the skirt and doing the routine,” said Vo.
To start, the group ordered only one skirt to try after Vo scanned through a wide range of selections on Temu’s website, where product videos showed how the skirt would move when in motion making the decision to buy even easier.
The test result was to dancers’ satisfaction: the skirt still looks as beautiful as new. Impressed with the durability and the style of the skirt, dancers immediately placed orders for more – saving them over £100 in total.
Soon, the big day came. At the local festival, five pairs of dancers from SASalsa dazzled the stage. The group wore SASalsa green t-shirts and the same Temu skirt for all female dancers. The unified outfits brought extra elegance and professional touch to the show. The audience cheered along with the beats and steps. After the ending pose, with a round of applause, dance partners hugged, shook hands, high-fived to thank each other.
The group was content with the experience and agreed that the skirts brought on Temu helped bring out the best of them.
Vo further reflected on how the affordable skirts not only kept costs down but also added a professional, polished look to their performances, helping the dancers feel confident and unified on stage.
The group continued to use the skirts for more performances, classes, social dancing, and even visits to salsa clubs. Every time the dancers wear the skirt, inside or outside the classroom, it will remind them about the cheerful memories, the confidence and joy that the community and dancing enhanced.
