Just look at what you wrote!
"As far as attire, go with what makes you comfortable."
Really good advice! Most adult classes don't have dress codes, so almost anything goes.
"I am not comfortable in tights for two reasons #1) girls clothes, #2) I get too hot."
GIRLS CLOTHES????? Throughout history it's been the man that wears the tights! The concept that tights are "girls clothes" only came about in this century! Hell, even in Victoria's time the men wore very close fitting pants. Even the most puritanical Puritans wore close fitting britches. Leotard developed the leotard for men.
Hell, when ballet was big in the French court, only the men danced. The stupid concept that men who wear tights are gay (I KNOW YOU didn't say that) only came about after WWII and has been what has kept many boys from trying ballet. On top of it, the concept that tights are "girls clothes" has made them, in my humble opinion, fetish-wear for many guys (and I don't have any problem with that. Some of my best friends have been interested in that aspect of tights).
Hell, look at sports today! Watch the Olympics! Whatever you want to call them (aerodynamically-designed suits), the guys wear tights. What do wrestlers wear? A leotard! Speedos used to be the province of competition swimmers....but watch a swim-meet today and you see guys wearing skin-suits. You know how the clothing manufacturers refer to those new fangled football pants? Football tights!
The tights are functional as they move with the body. On top of it, the balletmaster needs to see the muscles as they work.
You take yoga. How can you move in yoga if you're not wearing tights? A pair of light-weight cotton pants and a T-shirt can get in the way of the movement.
As far as "I get too hot," you're not buying the right material for your tights. All nylon tights can get hot, depending on their weight. And the real problem with all nylon is that, for men, they have to be a heavier weight to keep them opaque. Cotton-lycra is not as heat containing and are opaque, and nylon-lycra belds come in different weights. Those are the traditional fabrics today, but a danseur can also get tights in new fabrics that really breathe!
I don't mean to knock bikeshorts and compression shorts, but bikeshorts are usually made of a heavy weight fabric (TOO heat-containing for my tastes!) and compression shorts are usually made of polyester and nylon, the most unforgiving and hot fabric ever created! And compression shorts are girdles (that's how clothing manufacturers refer to them!)! What could be more "girls clothes" than girdles!
And talk about HOT! Have you ever taken a ballet class wearing sweat pants (the common alternative for guys who don't like wearing tights)?
So sorry Mancer! I don't agree with you on this, but hope we are still friends!
balletboy
PS: Hey! "I agree with standing in a class full of leotards and tights. Athough in those late beginner classes it could be an eyeful." Even though I'm gay, I agree, an eyeful! An eyeful of cellulite and fat! Don't get me wrong, I love the ladies in my classes and they're great fun, but most of them are post-childbirth and/or sag quite a bit. I really appreciate a well-built woman. But almost all of the late beginner women I've taken classes with are not well-built.
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