Quick answer
What dance belt and tights does my son need for ballet
When the boys' dress code says tights and the studio mentioned a dance belt but no one explained what it is, what color, how it is worn, or what size, and you do not want the first time he sorts it out to be in a studio changing room.
Quick read
Two pieces, and the dancewear sites will not spell either one out for a boy. The dance belt is the supportive undergarment a male dancer wears under tights, the counterpart to what a leotard and tights do for a girl: it gives support and a smooth clean line so nothing shows through. It becomes part of the uniform once he is in ballet technique, and especially once he is in tights, even when no one says so out loud. Most are thong-backed, because a brief or full-seat back shows lines straight through tights, and the color should read as skin, so nude or suntan, not white or black. Size it by the brand's dancewear waist chart, not his jeans, and buy two so one is clean while the other is washed. The tights are almost always black for boys, the opposite of the white-or-black slipper and the opposite of the girls' pink. Footed is the simplest first buy and convertible is the more flexible one, and they go on over the dance belt with nothing else underneath. Size tights by the dancewear height-and-weight chart, not his pants size, and again buy two. Capezio, Body Wrappers, and Bloch all make boys' and men's dance belts and tights, so ask the studio's recommended retailer which cut and color the program wants before you order, because returning an intimate item is its own headache.
Gear for this situation
What to do
- Check the boys' dress code in writing before you buy anything, because it usually names both pieces and teachers often skip them with new families. If it lists tights, it expects a dance belt under them whether or not anyone said so. Confirm the tight color (black for boys in nearly every US program, occasionally white to match a white slipper) and whether the belt cut and color are specified, the same way you confirmed the slipper color in the dance shoes for boys and men review.
- Buy the dance belt in nude or suntan, not white or black, so it disappears under tights. A white waistband telegraphs through and a black one can shadow, even under light tights. Most belts are thong-backed, because a brief or full-seat back shows lines straight through; a fuller-cut version exists and some very young boys start there, but most programs move to the thong-back for the clean line, so buy the cut the teacher names.
- Size the belt by the brand's dancewear waist chart, not his jeans size, and it should sit snug with no roll at the waist. Buy two, the same reason you buy two pairs of tights: it is worn against the skin every class, so one needs to be clean while the other is in the wash. Let him try it on at home first so the first time is not in a studio changing room.
- For tights, footed is the simplest and safest first buy for a young boy in slippers. Convertible tights have an opening at the ball of the foot so he can free the foot for barefoot work or roll them over the ankle, which matters more for older dancers in contemporary; for a first ballet year, footed is fine. Size by the dancewear height-and-weight chart, not his pants size, and buy two pairs, because tights ladder at the toe and seam with use.
- Get the layering right, because this is the part that confuses everyone: the dance belt goes on first against the skin, then the tights over it, then the dress-code top (a fitted tee or a leotard-style top). The tights are not underwear and nothing goes under them except the belt. A boy who pulls tights over regular briefs gets lines showing through, which is the whole reason the belt exists. Treat both as a flat fact of the uniform, the way a girl's leotard is, and the strangeness passes in about a day.
Common mistakes
- Don't let him show up to ballet in tights with nothing underneath. It is the single thing that blindsides first-year boy families, and it is exactly what the dance belt prevents. If the dress code lists tights, he needs the belt.
- Don't buy a white or black dance belt to match the tights. Under tights the belt should read as skin, so nude or suntan is the default unless the dress code names otherwise, because the wrong color is visible through the tights and defeats the point.
- Don't size either piece off his street clothes. A belt sized to his jeans or tights sized to his pants will roll and cut at the waist or bag at the knee. Dance belts and dance tights run on their own dancewear charts, so measure to those.
- Don't order the cut or the footed-vs-convertible blind. Ask the studio's recommended retailer which the program wants before you order, because a dance belt is an intimate item and returning it is its own headache.
