![]() the male dancer
written by dancingdoc ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() >Ok, this is a dancebelt question and I know there are a million of them, but i have to ask...Hopefully, i won't offend anyone...i'm in my mid teens and i've been dancing for a couple years and ballet for about 4 months....apparently, guys are completely against wearing tights around here so teachers don't at all make you wear tights so i've never had to worry about it...but i'll have to perform soon and wear tights for that...so my dancebelt question is, "how do you wear it?"..if i point up, then it looks like i have this freakishly huge bulge and if i point it down it looks freakishly big too...i prefer down but i know most people don't wear it like that...are you supposed to wear it up? like do you have to? is this bulge supposed to be so big? because i'm not that hung at all and it looks huge...it's just that there aren't any male dancers around me who wear tights that i can compare it so i don't know how big it's suppposed to be...hopefully, i haven't offended any of you and i would appareciate any and every responose... thanks =) Dancer dude! Welcome to the age old question! If you look down the list of these messages, around 06-25-00 you'll find a dicsussion entitled "Packing a dancebelt." Lower on the list, about around 06-15-00, you'll see a discussion started by the question "what do you do with an erection..." There's a lot of concern about how to wear a dancebelt, and what the resulting look will be. I've got lots of different dancebelts (Not that I collect them; it's just that friends over the years have given them to me after I give my dancebelt "lecture."), but I believe they're all essentially the same. The purpose of the dancebelt is to hold your penis and testicles up, away from your crotch. (If you don't dance wearing tights at your school, how do the guys keep everything up?) The purpose of this is to avoid injury to these delicate organs, especially when you're doing certain movements where the legs will "scissor" or rapidly change position, like in beats, or when you're trying to achieve a fifth position. (To tell you the truth, there are the same concerns about protecting the male organms in any other sport. Jockstrap debates and scientific studies have be going on for years!) I also find that the dancebelt helps alot when I'm jumping -- having everything hang down between the legs, especially when doing 'cots and royales, can be dangerous. After more than twenty years of dancing myself, and knowing dancers with whom I've discussed this topic (and after investigating the best position of the anatomy, according to my urology physician-friends), the concensus is that the penis should be worn pointing up, with the scrotum and testicles pulled up out of the crotch area. As to appearance. As you and your male friends at your school don't wear tights (GEE! How can your teacher, and you too, see the anatomy and function of the legs? You've got to see your muscles and joints, turn-out and placement, etc. Sorry, .... I digress....) you're not really used to the appearance of the male danseur in his dancebelt and tights. That's why the appearance you describe seems so strange to you, when it sounds "normal" to me. The fact of the matter is that when the penis is placed up, the look will be like a rod in your tights pointing upwards. When the penis is placed down, it will look like a a large bulb sticking out. When its pointed down, if you get an erection (That doesn't mean "sexual excitement;" normally, for the puposes of blood movement, the male will get an erection at regular intervals. This is a "body-instinct" or body-adjustment, just like the body yawns or sighs to blow off carbon dioxide from the lungs.) that bulb-look may look like the base of the bulb has been turned outward. (I knew a guy who wore it down because he wanted it to look bigger!) My opinion is that if the penis is pointed up, if you get an erection, it is less noticable. You should also know that the color of the tights you'll wear has a lot to do with how you'll look. I usually wear grey tights in class, because when the light hits the grey color, the contrast and shadows show of the ridges of my muscles. My teachers always notice if my thigh muscles aren't fully turned out. And to tell you the truth, in grey my "equipment" is more apparent, because, once again, the contrast and the shadows make it so. When guys wear black, everything, muscles and equipment, is less evident. I know this is getting very long, and there may be other things that should be said, but one thing is still the most important. Dance is an art where the dancer uses his/her body to express emotions, tell stories, etc. The movement of the body is they key. Most people have a real good idea of what your anatomy looks like, and aren't going to be too shocked or surprised to see you in tights. The costume is necessary for you to put-across the meaning of the dance. Most of your audience will not be concerned with your anatomy, outside of how that anatomy dances. Now get out there and don't worry, DANCE! Answers to this message:
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