Yourself
It's almost pointless to shower before dance class, since you're just going to get sweaty anyway.If you have practice very early in the mornings, a shower may be the best thing to "wake you up." If your morning class is later in the morning (9-10 o'clock), however, it is best to wait until afterwards.
Long day at the studio? Bring a little sweat towel with you. Also bring bottled water to keep hydrated. If you have a lot of classes in one day, bring along a power bar or fruit and take nibbles of it between classes to keep you energized.
Don't like eating right before class? A lot of dancers don't, as it makes you feel weighted down. If you need energy, nutrition/energy bars work well, as do Carnation's Instant Breakfast. My personal favorite waker-upper is also that of office-workers-- black coffee!
I've already stressed this on the "stretching" page, but don't throw yourself into a major stretch while you're still cold. When you stretch before class, wear warm-ups-- legwarms and a crossover, or loose fitting pants and a sweatshirt-- and begin with some basic plies to warm your muscles before you get to muscle stretches. I perfer a grande plie in second, because it also loosens your hip joints.
Gear
Smelly dance shoes? About once a week, put powder on the inside of them, and put them outside for an hour or two. It works wonders! A mesh bag or compartment is good for drying dancwwear on the way home from class.
Every get that funky smell in your dance bag, even though you always wash your stuff? You can put a little satchet in there-- or a bottle of scented lotion. The lotion will work two jobs-- to keep you soft and scented, and to keep your dance bag from smelling!
Ballet skirts can be kept neat by rolling them up and wrapping their ribbons around them. The same can be done for leotards, by wrapping the straps around them. They both take up less space that way!
