 the male dancer
written by Dr. Dancebelt              on 04.06. at 17:27:30 - as answer to: Sequel to "You Have..." by an actual dancer at> With such thought provoking topics as "fit of the dance belt" and "tights: over or under the leotard?" you dare to question my less than enthusiastic opinion over the tripe that is tossed about on a forum for the "serious male dancer"? It has nothing to do with a feigned elitism on my part and everything to do with the topic heading. I will reiterate: male dancers-er, "danseurs" do not philosophize on the nature of dancewear- discuss it in passing, perhaps. But devoting time and energy to style and the virtues of what we flippantly refer to as "panty hose" is a fetish fantasy, pure and simple. Most male dancers find tights a severe pain to have to deal with, as do many of our female colleagues. ________________________________________________________________________ Tights are a dancer's work clothes. As such, they need to be discussed among experienced dancers about as much as carpenters discuss finding a well-fitting pair of work boots or the latest in cordless drills. However, they are a mystery to many guys just starting dance. Beginning male dancers frequently find themselves to be the only men in their classes, and they have nobody to ask about the strange new garments like dance belts and tights they are being asked to wear. After finding myself answering dancewear questions in the changing room everytime a new guy enrolled in the school where I take class, I decided to become "Dr. Dancebelt" to provide those answers on this forum. You may not agree this roll is needed, but my e-mail indicates otherwise. I will agree with you that the serious dancers forum has become a sewer, and wish some form of moderation or at least identification of its writers could be instituted. However, such is the nature of the internet and you have to take the crap along with the gems. Finally, I'd like to rebutt your argument that tights are not only not worthy of discussion, but a "severe pain to deal with". Another web forum, dance.net has an ongoing poll asking their male membership their opinion of tights: like em or hate em. (the vast majority says they like tights) It isn't scientific, so tights fetishists could affect the outcome, but since dance.net seems to be frequented by real dancers, this is doubtful. POINTE magazine ran an entire article on tights a couple months ago (which admittedly may have been a thinly veiled "info-mercial" for brands that advertise in the magazine). They also have a monthly feature examining the contents of professional dancers' dance bags. Since mine is a toxic waste dump that qualifies for Federal Superfund cleanup money, no way I'd let them check mine out! As an "actual dancer" your contributions to this forum could be valuable, but it's your choice whether you want to wade through its nastier side to help elevate the overall level of discourse. Answers to this message:
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