Ballet

Get on pointe with ballet info

Are you interested in studying ballet? Or do you have a child who is looking for a new activity in which to get involved? Ballet dancing can be extremely rewarding to pursue. Ballet dancing is a great way to become completely in touch with your body while enjoying a rigorous workout based on the techniques of this style of dance. Before you sign yourself or your child up for dance lessons, though, you’ll need to get the right ballet attire and equipment.

Ballet Shoes

First, the shoes. A girl can never have enough shoes, and that’s especially true if she’s a ballet dancer. As a beginning dancer, you will wear flexible ballet shoes that enable you to really feel your movements with your feet as you learn the most important techniques of the craft. As you advance in your ballet studies, you will go en pointe, which requires pointe shoes. Pointe shoes are not flexible; in fact, they have rigid toes, which enable dancers to dance on their toes with adequate support and minimal pain.

Ballet Attire

Next, the clothes. You can probably picture a ballerina in your mind right now, all dolled up in a frilly tutu. That image isn’t always accurate, however. Very few ballet dancers actually perform in tutus regularly. Most ballet dancers, like most actors, suit their clothes to the type of performance they are presenting. Often, this entails dance costumes that are extremely sleek in design. And ballet dancers never practice in a tutu, either. Instead, very comfortable leotards are worn in order to ensure maximum freedom of movement. In addition to leotards, other common practice-wear includes short cotton skirts over the leotard, as well as tights and legwarmers.

Ballet Equipment

Finally, the props. Next to your image of a ballerina in a tutu, you can probably also imagine ballet barres, often set up in front of a mirror in a studio. In fact, most ballet techniques are performed freestyle – without the use of a barre. But ballet barres become very useful in extending the flexibility of a dancer or in providing support as new movements are learned. Don’t get too dependent on the ballet barres, though; they’re for practice only, not performance.