written by balletboy  on 30.10. at 04:37:28

You asked: "When  you begin a ballet class do you have to wear tights? I guess it totally depends. Thanks for your help. Please reply."

My belief is that you should always wear tights for ballet calsses.  They are functional, allowing the body full movement.  And it's important for the teacher to be able to see how your muscles are placed and how they are moving.

Now you can take ballet class in clothing other than tights, but I would ask why?  You are a figure skater, and the figure skaters I've known have had well developed, beautiful bodies.  When they skated, the beauty of the movement of their bodies came through.  Not that we ballet danseurs, or figure skaters,  are "narcisstic," but in many ways the display of our well trained bodies is a big part of our art.

Please don't be embarassed to show your body in tights.  I'm sure you worked very hard to build and maintain your body to express your art.  Be proud of what you've done!  But if you're initially timid and want to get to know the class first, then wear something that will allow you to move unhindered.

Let me know what you decide. If you want to correspond, my e-mail address is above when you click on the highlighted "balletboy."   balletboy