 the male dancer
written by Dr. Dancebelt on 02.10. at 22:06:14 That's how the new student guide for many ballet schools reads, introducing new students to the great adventure. By the time a guy decides to actually start taking ballet class, he should have already made his peace with wearing tights. Socks, shoes, t-shirt - no problem. But what's this "dance belt"? Dance belts are specialized athletic supporters designed specifically for dance. Tights create part of the quandry. The gods of ballet have decreed that male dancers wear them for class and performances, but somehow without little Johnny's johnny providing a graphic male anatomy lesson for the other students or audience. A guy needs genital support and protection when dancing. Mid-class "readjustments" are considered bad form. And, because tights are form fitting, any conventional underwear or jock strap shows right through them. The male genitals are the only major organ in the human body that is placed outside the protection of the skeletal structure. This evolutionary quirk must work or the species would have been a victim of Darwinian extinction long ago. But modern life's activities can place strains on the genitals that are extremely painful or in threatening to your reproductive health. In other words, your body really isn't designed for marathon running, being crushed in a football tackle, or ballet 5th position. Some urologists theorize that many male sterility problems stem from long forgotten minor incidents in the youth and teenage years. That clanging, banging, and strain can be minimized by wearing appropriate support garments. Imagine the challenge faced by dance belt designers to come up with something that works with these design parameters:- Physiology - The genitals must be keep out of harm's way. 5th position, beats, and sautes changement can crush an errant testicle left dangling below the crotch line. Testicles must be solidly supported to avoid bouncing during leaps. The penis needs to be secured in one position and its natural urges controlled. - Appearance - A dance belt should be close to invisible under tights. That means no seat or straps across the rear. The male bulge should be smoothed out and streamlined into a generic representation of what is inside. Once a dance belt is put on and adjusted, nothing should move inside, irregardless of whatever stretching, leaping, and contortions the dancer engages in.- Comfort - You've probably never worn anything else even half as tight as a dance belt, but a well-fitting and properly adjusted one needs to be comfortable once you get used to the unusual feel. Tight fabric shouldn't cut across your muscles, or inhibit movement of the active muscles in the trunk and legs like the gluteus, hamstrings, abductors, etc. in any way. Dance belts seem to inspire more questions than any other topic on the male dancer's board. Some are way over-the-top, and would be removed if this was a moderated board, but many seem like a genuine search for information on a topic that isn't generally talked about. Many beginning male dancers are the lone guy surrounded by a sea of women. Even if there are other men in class, most guys would have a hard time initiating a dressing room conversation asking, "how do you wear one of these?" or "what direction do you point it?". Therefore, I'm now introducing myself as Doctor Dancebelt, ready to answer all your (legitimate) questions, either here or by e-mail. Answers to this message:
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