When I started looking for a place to train one of the things I was looking for was a slow, comfortable pace with low expectations. I wanted a place where an out-of-shape man who has spent decades sitting behind a desk could ease into a more active lifestyle. For that purpose, the place I chose is nearly ideal. It's so close to home I can be there in 5 minutes in the worst of traffic. The classes are loosely structured, and the teacher happy to adjust to the desires of the students. If I keep at this for long, though, this isn't going to be what I need. It may be the end of the summer, or the end of the year, or a year from now, but eventually if I haven't totally lost interest in dance I'll be looking for a place that has higher expectations and more experienced instructors.
With that in mind I've continued to browse for other nearby schools. Some of the most prestigious in the area are too far for my level of interest: 40 minutes without traffic and an hour-plus to attend an early-evening class. Others omit any mention of males of any age as students. Last night I happened to be looking at a school I'd dropped from consideration earlier. They're a lot closer than I'd originally thought they were. They've been in business for over 20 years. The majority of their faculty teach ballet exclusively, and quite a few have professional experience. Their policy on attire is a bit picky -- you can tell what level classes a girl is taking by the color and style of her leotard -- but right after the section on girls' attire is the section on boys' attire. I consider that a plus.
Now to the substance of my query. Amongst the attire required for girls is a dance belt, which the school sells for $10. Huh? Web searches come up blank.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
5 comments:
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‘A girls dance belt” I think they probably meant a hip alignment belt worn outside the leotard so the teacher – or the student in the mirror – can check her hip alignment.
ReplyDeleteThere are seamless thongs that can be worn under leos or tights if a student is very modest, but those tend to leave panty lines and I can't imagine a school in the lingerie business!
Oh! That makes sense.
ReplyDeleteThat school also requires it for their "Advanced/Release time" boys (I think those are kids who are allowed to take classes outside of their high school during school hours). I was a bit surprised that they wouldn't require a dance belt for younger boys, but maybe they're referring to this other sort of "dance belt".
These things look suspiciously like the elastic belt I rolled my tights down over waybackwhen. It had a clasp that closed much like a front-closure bra: hold the two halves at a 90 degree angle to each other, slide them together, then snap them flat to lock them together.
Yes, Its a hip alignment belt.
ReplyDeleteSee: http://www.dancewearsolutions.com/ballet/accessories/R62.aspx "Stretch elastic hip alignment belt with matching buckle is for the serious dancer who wants to check hip alignment. 3/4" wide. Colors: Hot Pink, White, Purple, Light Pink, Royal, Lilac, Red, Yellow, Black. One Size Fits Most."
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post! I am thinking of joining a ballet class, I just wasn't sure what kind of gear I would need. I got a leotard, now I just need some shoes and a belt!
ReplyDelete