Loving and loathing the leo

Dancewear for class: does it need a rethink? asks Karen van Ulzen.

The leotard. What a brilliant, incredibly practical garment it is, ideal for dance. It allows freedom of movement. It holds things in place and stays in place, it smooths the body's curves, it doesn't ride up or fall down, it is great for pas de deux grip, it doesn't flap around and get tangled up in your own or other people’s limbs. It allows the teacher to see all the muscles engaging and the lines of the body. No wonder it is the essential piece of a dancer's wardrobe, and often compulsory wear for class.

But what makes the leotard great also makes it revealing in a way that is not always welcome to every wearer. For many, having to expose themselves in such a garment can be plain embarrassing, especially for adolescents whose bodies are changing. Yet most schools require a leotard as a uniform for their pupils, from tiny tots to senior pre-professionals, despite the range of individual body types and physical development. But is this fair – or kind?

When Shane Wuerthner asked a similar question on his Instagram account, it caused quite a flurry. A Brisbane-based ballet coach and strength coach with a business called Athletistry, Wuerthner has collected more than 111K followers thanks to his informative and often hilarious posts.

He believes one reason for this one-size-fits-all approach to class wear is not just for practical reasons but for the age-old ballet aesthetic of beautiful uniformity. In a traditional corps de ballet, where most classical dancers begin their careers, individual difference is submerged. Dancers blend into perfect line of identical swans or sylphs, all dressed in the exact same costume.

"I think that is a reason why we have uniforms, to take away the distractions, all the different cuts and colours.  As we know, most dancers will probably begin their career in a corps de ballet. We try to make everyone have the same appearance because it’s the technique we've inherited."

His argument is not with leotards in themselves, but with the insistence on wearing a leotard as a uniform in the same style and colour for all the pupils, regardless of their age, build and circumstances.

"A problem arises when we choose a uniform that doesn’t suit the dancer's body. For example, if you have a developing young girl being put into clothing that is not supporting her body, that doesn’t cover her in a way that she feels confident, she’s going to be constantly adjusting the leo, she’s not going to want to look at herself in the mirror to self correct, she’s going to try to cover things up, she’s not going to feel confident about her work. And any dancer will tell you that they want to feel good about themselves.

"We need to create a dance costume that allows us to see the line of the body but doesn’t create a negative impact. We do still need to see muscle tone, etc, especially when we are developing technique, but that can be done without the dancer feeling like they are falling out of their leotard or accentuating parts of their body that they are extremely unhappy with.

"We are developing an artist, a human, an appreciation of aesthetics, and line, and how all those things come together," he says, "yet we're putting them in a place where they can hardly move because they are embarrassed about how they look."

What are the arguments for wearing leotards?

They show the body clearly

It is essential for teachers to be able to see the dancer's body so that they can immediately identify technical errors. Posture, muscle engagement, lines, need to be exposed and visible so the student can’t develop bad habits that might be hidden under loose clothing.

Against: "I think in all honestly if you can’t see how a dancer’s body is working unless they wear a leotard, then you need to spend more time looking at that dancer," Wuerthner says. "It’s not really that hard. Posturally you can see things using other clues, such as where their hand is placed on the barre to see where the weight is placed, the relation of their shoulders to their hips, etc. You can even see if the muscles are working in the glutes through shorts or pants.”

They allow for full freedom of movement

In fact, if a dancer feels embarrassed by their leotard, or uncomfortable, it can encourage poor posture and restricted movement.

They keep the body warm

This argument simply doesn’t wear. Dancewear fabrics are very thin these days and in fact many sportswear companies produce tight stretch clothing that is warmer than dance clothing (and consequently less revealing). And in Australian summers, stretch shorts and bare legs are more sensible, one would think, than insisting on tights.

They help you feel like a dancer

Well, that depends. Professional dancers wear all sorts of gear in class, from ski boots to baggy t-shirts. “On what imagined ideal are we basing this on?” Wuerther asks.

It's always been like that; it's tradition

Not so. A brief look at the history of ballet and it soon becomes evident that dancewear over the years has changed with fashion, social mores and, importantly, fabric design. In the “olden days”, women wore skirts or bloomers in class and men wore breeches. The original leotard, which arrived later, was made of knitted jersey, and came down to the wrists and ankles; the women’s version had a little skirt. It wasn’t until the mid-20th century, with the invention of stretch fabrics such as Spandex and Lycra, that the modern version of tights and leotards emerged. These fabrics caused a revolution in clothing and fashion in just about every walk of life.

A vast range of stretch fabrics and body-hugging sports and leisure-wear is now available, much of which would be fine for dance class. Dancewear manufacturers have a wide range of tops, shorts and leggings that are all designed for ease of movement.

Dancers need to get used to being exposed

Some may argue that as dance is an occupation in which dancers expose themselves on stage to an audience, they need to get used to being seen and having their bodies scrutinised. But, even if you do accept that argument, what about the recreational pupil who is just dancing for fun?

Young people of all shapes and sizes should feel welcome in a dance class. Insisting on a one style that suits only some members of the class is to exclude others. With the range of stretch fabrics and clothing offered on the market, it should be easy to find an outfit or style for students that retains all the advantages of leotards but that can also allow them to feel good about themselves.

Wuerthner suggests that the choice of a school uniform could be a discussion between the teachers and their students. It would be an opportunity for a school to reach agreement on a design about which everyone feels not just comfortable to wear but also proud to be seen in.

"Maybe a leotard is okay, maybe it just needs to be a design that covers more of the body, so the breasts don’t need to accentuated, or the hips, to make the dancer feel like their body is imperfect. Choose a style or outfit with which we can still see their technique but so that they don’t feel like they're being judged for their body.

"Young students are already engaged in such a difficult practice, challenging their bodies, learning a skill that takes decades to develop, why make it even harder for them by having them wear unflattering or embarrassing clothing? If their body looks wrong in the uniform, that implies their body is the wrong shape right from the beginning. At least let them have a choice."