 the male dancer
written by               on 07.08. at 20:06:53 - as answer to: HERE WE GO AGAIN WITH THE GREAT TIGHTS DEBATE by Joe>A guy recently joined my ballet class. He's a gymnast and has the potential to be a really good dancer. But he's being stubborn about the school's dress code: white t-shirt, black tights, white shoes and socks. He shows up for every class in sweat pants. The teacher keeps commenting on it saying he needs to see the what the knees and hip bones are doing. I've tried to talk to this student about it, and he has one argument I can't answer: "How about all those class and rehearsal photos we see in Dance Magazine of SAB, City Ballet, etc. where most of the guys are in sweats?" Are sweats a privilege of professional dancers? Help me persuade this guy to follow the dress code. I've got to stick my neck out here and say I sympathise with the guy. I haven't got the guts to wear tights either, and if I did, I think I'd feel too self-conscious to concentrate on my dancing. OK, so I'm a wuss. However, I've found a compromise that my teacher seems happy with for the time being - we call them tracksters here in the UK; maybe they're the same over on your side of the pond. They're like sweatpants (if that's what tracksuit bottoms are called) except they're a bit closer fitting. The knees & hips show through just fine (a bit wrinkly maybe) but they leave a little more to the imagination around the crotch. I think pros are allowed to wear sweats because it's assumed they'll know what they're doing with their knees/turnout by the time they reach that level. Beginners & improvers must wear something that lets the knees show clearly. Even I agree with that. Please don't flame me for letting the side down - I'm just pointing out that some guys are more self-conscious than others: if I'd been ordered to turn up in the proper uniform from Day 1, I'd have quit then & there. A. Answers to this message:
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