What Do Male Ballet Dancers Wear, From First Class to the Stage?

The stage row is where tights stop being a uniform and become part of design. BalletMet’s costume department describes dyeing flesh-toned tights “with a unique formula for each dancer’s skin tone” so the line from leg to shoe reads as continuous, and some choreographers ask for no tights at all. Under stage light, thin tights can also turn see-through: Wikipedia’s tights entry notes that wearing two pairs is a common practice among male dancers for exactly that reason.

Schools and university dance departments write down what most studios leave unsaid. Three published codes show how the men’s uniform tightens as the program gets more serious:

BYU-Idaho is the strictest, and explains why: the dance belt “will provide you with proper carriage and aesthetic body lines while in class and on stage,” and “basketball athletic supporters are not firm enough.” None of the three codes varies by training method, though the method you study shapes the class you wear it to, as the types of ballet guide explains. For your first class at a studio without a published code, ask ahead. Boston Ballet’s adult program is a good model of the relaxed end: it names sweats, leggings, and t-shirts as acceptable, as long as they are form-fitted and stretchy.

Children’s programs set the switch by level, not by a birthday. The Boston Ballet School dress code is a clear example: boys aged 2 to 6 and 7 to 9 wear a white leotard top, black bike shorts, and plain white ankle socks, and at the Classical levels the uniform becomes a white leotard top, black tights, white socks, and a dance belt in the style and color the student chooses. The dance belt arrives with the tights, which is the same pattern the adult codes above follow. If your son’s school publishes a level chart, it tells you when to buy; if it does not, ask the teacher before the term starts so the first fitting is not rushed.

A dance belt is a supportive undergarment that holds the genitals in place and presents a smooth contour under tights. Wikipedia’s dance belt entry describes it as resembling a thong with a wider waistband, built to keep the genitals from moving and to present “a smooth and inexplicit contour” to onlookers, especially under bright stage lighting. That last phrase answers the most common worry about tights: the belt exists so that nothing reads as revealing. Regular underwear cannot do the job: boxers bunch, briefs print lines through tights, and neither keeps everything still through a jump. A jock strap is not a substitute either; the same entry notes that a dance belt lacks the jock’s elastic leg straps to the upper thighs, and BYU-Idaho’s code says athletic supporters are not firm enough.

How to put it on. Capezio’s guide to wearing a dance belt gives the routine:

1. 1
   Step in and pull it up so the waistband sits evenly at the waist, higher and snugger than ordinary underwear.
2. 2
   Adjust the front panel so it feels secure and centered.
3. 3
   Make sure the back sits flat and stays in place.
4. 4
   Test it with a few pliés and small jumps before the tights go on; adjust until nothing shifts or bunches.

Fit is the most common mistake. Capezio’s dance belt fit guide gives the test: if the waistband rolls, the fabric shifts, or the front feels loose, the belt is probably too large; if it restricts movement or presses too hard, it is too small. Use the maker’s size chart rather than your underwear size.

Color: choose a belt close to your own skin tone so it vanishes under light tights. Per Wikipedia, dance belts usually come in flesh tones (beige, dark brown, or black) or in white, which can be dyed to any color.

Cut: the thong (T-back) is standard under tights because it leaves no seat line; a full-seat belt gives more coverage and feels more familiar, but Wikipedia notes it can print a line under a tight costume. Wash it the way the label says.

What to look for. Tights made for dancers are usually opaque, according to Wikipedia’s tights entry, and some ballet tights have an opening under the sole so the foot can be rolled out without taking them off. Most are nylon or cotton with lycra added for fit. Choose tights labeled for men, pull them up to your natural waist so there is no sagging crotch or folds behind the knees, and wear them over the dance belt. Black is the everyday class default in both university codes above.

If tights feel like a lot on your first day, they are not mandatory to begin; leggings or fitted joggers are accepted in most open and adult classes. How close-fitting dancewear should sit on an adult body is covered in how a leotard should fit.

Your top has one purpose: to let the teacher read your shoulders, upper back, and placement.

• Fitted t-shirt. The most comfortable option and the right choice for most beginners; tuck it into your tights. It is also what both university codes above specify.
• Fitted tank. Shows the shoulders and upper back when you want feedback on arm placement.
• Leotard or unitard. The cleanest line, expected at higher levels and in some performances. Boston Ballet School uses a white leotard top for boys at every level.

Men wear the same soft slippers as everyone else, with one visible difference: color. Wikipedia’s ballet shoe entry says that traditionally women wear pink and men wear white or black, while skin-colored slippers are worn in some modern ballets by both. Programs differ on which: BYU-Idaho asks for white, Austin Peay for black. Most men start in canvas split-sole slippers, which show the arch’s articulation; the same entry notes that leather slippers last longer, while canvas costs less but wears out faster. A slipper should feel like a snug sock with no loose room at the toe, and sizing differs from street shoes, so use each brand’s chart. How ballet slippers compare with other dance footwear is mapped in how to choose dance shoes.

If tights are what is holding you back, it helps to know why they exist. They are a diagnostic tool: ballet is built on a precise, visible line, and loose clothing hides exactly what you came to correct. They are also the oldest men’s uniform in the art form. Wikipedia traces tights to the hose European men wore centuries ago, and BalletMet’s history of ballet hosiery dates tights in ballet costuming to the late 18th century, when “they began as something for men to wear under their costumes to give them greater freedom of movement.”

Inside the room, it is unremarkable. Everyone is dressed for the same reason, and within a class or two there is simply too much else to think about. If tights still feel like a step too far, leggings are a legitimate on-ramp. Why adults take up ballet at all is explored in the benefits of ballet, and the wider experience of starting late is in learning to dance as an adult.

Ballet is the strictest men’s dress code in dance. Ballroom asks for trousers, a tucked shirt, and a heeled suede-soled shoe instead, as set out in what men wear for ballroom dancing; contemporary class drops the shoes entirely, as explained in what shoes to wear for contemporary dance; and the rest, from hip-hop to tap, is mapped in the men’s dancewear guide.

Buy in this order:

1. 1
   Ballet slippers — canvas split-sole in the color your program asks for, fitted snug.
2. 2
   A dance belt — if the class expects tights, in a tone close to your skin.
3. 3
   A fitted t-shirt you already own, tucked in.
4. 4
   Leggings or joggers you already own, or black men’s tights once you are ready.

Leotards, white tights, and multiples are additions you make when a class or performance calls for them. Where to buy it all, with sizing and returns compared, is covered in the best dancewear stores.