What to Wear to Ballet Class, Level by Level

General advice is useful; a school’s own dress code is binding. These four published codes show the range you will meet, from a strict children’s uniform to an adult program that asks for little more than slippers.

Three patterns hold across them. Children’s codes fix the leotard color and often change it by level; adult codes fix almost nothing except slippers. Pink or skin-tone tights are the standard for girls and women, and three of the four codes name a skin-tone option explicitly. And the shoe sole is often specified by level, with full soles for younger students and split soles later. None of the four codes ties its colors to a training method: the school and the level set the uniform, while the method (Vaganova, Cecchetti, RAD, Balanchine and others) shapes what you do in it, as the types of ballet guide explains.

Use the table below when your studio has not sent a dress code yet. It summarizes the norms the published codes above follow.

Camisole and tank leotards show the shoulders and upper back for correction and suit warm rooms; short-sleeve and long-sleeve cuts add warmth and coverage. Many women’s leotards include a light shelf bra. Fit matters more than cut: the leotard should lie smooth, with no gaping at the leg line and no riding up when you lift your arms. Under a camisole or low-back leotard, a bra with clear or convertible straps, or a bralette cut lower than the leotard’s back, keeps straps out of sight. A higher-cut leg line lengthens the look of the leg; a lower one gives more coverage. If you sweat heavily, a darker color or a double-lined front hides it better than pale single-layer fabric. If one-piece sizing confuses you, the measuring method (girth first, then bust and hips) is laid out in how a leotard should fit.

Children’s colors come from the school, so never buy a child’s leotard before you have the dress-code sheet. Adults usually default to black, which goes with everything, although most open classes accept any solid color. Keep class leotards plain: sequins, mesh cut-outs and loud prints belong to performance.

Ballet tights are thicker and more opaque than fashion tights and come in three cuts:

Tights go on first and the leotard over them, so the waistband stays hidden. Pale tights visually lengthen the leg and blend into a matching slipper. Some schools list skin-tone tights and shoes as an equal option, as Ballet Virginia’s code does. In adult class, fitted leggings stand in for tights almost everywhere. Boys and men wear thicker black, white or gray tights over a dance belt; the full men’s kit is in what male ballet dancers wear.

Slippers are the one item worth getting fitted in person. Two choices define them:

The fit is snug: toes reach the end lying flat, with no curl and no pocket at the heel. Ballet sizing does not follow street sizing, so ignore your sneaker number. Elastics are the last choice: a single band across the instep suits most first pairs, while criss-cross elastics hold a slipping heel more firmly, as how to choose ballet slippers details alongside each brand’s sizing. Keep slippers for studio floors only. How ballet slippers compare with every other style’s footwear is covered in how to choose dance shoes.

Skirts are optional, and when allowed they are short chiffon or mesh wraps that stop around the upper thigh. Longer skirts hide the knees the teacher needs to see, so save them for rehearsals that ask for them. A tutu is stage costume, never class wear. The one tutu that enters the studio is the practice tutu, the bare skirt of a classical tutu worn in rehearsal so dancer and partner learn its weight and size without wearing out the costume (Ballet Manila Archives); it and every other skirt type are explained in types of ballet skirts. Warm-ups such as leg warmers, a wrap sweater or knit shorts keep you warm at the start of class and come off before center work; the full layering system, including when each piece comes off, is in dance warm-up clothes.

Hair goes up and stays up: a secured bun for children’s and graded classes, a neat bun or ponytail for adults. Under the leotard, aim for an invisible line with seamless nude briefs or convertible tights alone, plus a nude bra if the shelf lining is not enough; the full set of options, from period days to the dance belt, is compared in what to wear under a leotard. If you also take modern or contemporary, expect barefoot work and footless tights there; the differences are covered in what to wear to contemporary dance class.

Pointe shoes are never beginner equipment, and age alone does not decide readiness. Guidelines published by Weiss, Rist and Grossman in the Journal of Dance Medicine & Science (2009) list the factors a teacher should evaluate: the student’s stage of physical development, trunk and pelvic control, leg alignment, and foot and ankle strength and flexibility. For students who meet all of them, began ballet at eight or later and take class at least twice a week, the paper suggests starting pointe in the fourth year of training, and it discourages pointe for once-a-week or non-pre-professional students (PubMed abstract).

When pointe arrives it brings its own kit: toe pads, spacers, and ribbons and elastics that the dancer sews on, since pointe shoes are sold unsewn. Each shoe takes two ribbons of about 22 inches and an elastic, stitched into the lining, as how to sew pointe shoes shows with four placement methods side by side. Until a teacher approves it and a specialist fits the shoe, the soft slipper is the whole story. The budget changes too, since a pointe shoe costs far more than a slipper and wears out far faster, a gap laid out part by part in pointe shoes vs ballet slippers. For adults weighing whether ballet is worth starting at all, the benefits of ballet covers what the training does and does not do.

If you own no dancewear and have a class this week, the list at the top of this page is the whole kit; if slippers have not arrived, ask whether socks or bare feet are fine for one session. Leave jewelry at home and keep street shoes off the studio floor. The general list of what to leave behind for any style lives on the dance-class hub.

Then buy in this order:

1. 1
   Ballet slippers, fitted in person.
2. 2
   Convertible tights, so one pair covers footed and barefoot work.
3. 3
   A leotard, once the studio requires one or you want a cleaner line in the mirror.
4. 4
   Warm-ups and a skirt, only if your studio runs cold or allows them.

Pointe shoes are not on this list. When you are ready to order, the best dancewear stores compares shipping thresholds and return windows, worth checking before you order anything you cannot try on first. Before any of that, call the studio and ask two questions: is there a required color, and where do they recommend getting slippers fitted.