Most male danseurs wear the color of tights that is apporopriate for the situation. I usually wear grey tights or a grey unitard, because it allows the muscles of the leg and butt to be seen by the instructer. I could wear white for the same purpose, but white looks much more dirty versus grey after sitting on the sidelines, waiting to perform.
Black is the predominant color for men because it hides the male lines, mostly referring to the lines of the crotch. Some schools mandate black for men for this purpose, to hide the male anatomy, but this is wrong for teaching males. If the teacher is afraid to acknowledge your male anatomy, she or he will not focus on the male body you really have.
The hair on the leg is not important for classes, 98% of the dance. The 2% of performance time is controlled, regarding leg hair, by the costume master. Most performance weight tights for men are sufficient to cover any leg hair; some guys need to wear two pairs of tights to achieve the look.
However, the way you might look in a single pair of white tights to your hairy self may not be seen by the audience. Leave it to the judgement of the costume master!
So, your answers. 1. White tights are more opaque than standrd "street" tights. 2. A male does not need to shave his legs to join a ballet class; hair doesn't matter in ballet training. Even hairy Big Foot would be welcomed if he wanted to take ballet class. 3. Men's tights are made differently from female "street" tights. Bsllet tights, male or female, are made for classes. "Street" tights are made for women to accentuate the legs, not for dance.
I hope this helps.
balletboy
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