What do you ask your students to wear for Dance class?

Marya

Member
hey there,

I usually ask students to wear leggings and a t-shirt and a hip wrap. I don't like them wearing skirts because I can't see their movements very well and can't tell if they are doing them correctly.

I have had some feedback that I should let students wear skirts because they are fun to dance in and some people are reluctant to wear leggings because they don't like they way they look.

I have allowed skirts after the basics are covered and we are working on a simple choreography.

What do others do?

Marya
 

Moon

New member
One of my teachers wants us to wear yoga pants/legging or whatever during the warm up and basic instruction. Then later when the emphasis is more on actually dancing and expression, she wants us to put on a skirt.

Teachers are all different. I used to have one that could see the position of a student's legs really well even if she was wearing a skirt and for explaining movements she would just lift her own skirts.
But if you really can't see the movements well when they wear skirts, don't let them wear them during the basics/technique part of your lesson. I think it's a good idea how you do it now, letting them wear skirts after the basics are covered.

As for leggings, I hate them too. They look unflattering on a lot of people. How about letting them wear yoga pants for example? Then you can still see their movements well and it looks a lot more flattering than leggings.
 

Marya

Member
One of my teachers wants us to wear yoga pants/legging or whatever during the warm up and basic instruction. Then later when the emphasis is more on actually dancing and expression, she wants us to put on a skirt.

Teachers are all different. I used to have one that could see the position of a student's legs really well even if she was wearing a skirt and for explaining movements she would just lift her own skirts.
But if you really can't see the movements well when they wear skirts, don't let them wear them during the basics/technique part of your lesson. I think it's a good idea how you do it now, letting them wear skirts after the basics are covered.

As for leggings, I hate them too. They look unflattering on a lot of people. How about letting them wear yoga pants for example? Then you can still see their movements well and it looks a lot more flattering than leggings.

Actually few students do show up in leggings and do wear yoga pants instead. I don't mind that. I don't have the greatest figure in the world either, but for some reason I personally prefer to wear leggings rather than yoga pants.

Marya
 

jenc

New member
I used to wear skirts as a beginner but now I prefer pants so I can see what my legs are doing. I now have a million practice skirts to get rid of!!!
 

Artemocion Malta

New member
what to wear....

I am more fussy about what they were as a top-

I prefer them with short tops , but if they insist on wearing a longer top I always suggest a tight top or leotard. Regarding what they wear especially as a top its good to suggest but not impose , as some people are really put off by the idea of wearing a short top, later on they do realize that a big belly is fine for Belly Dance .

As bottom I think it depends on what the lesson is about and what style. For example The students them selves realize that for Turkish Belly Dancing the leggings or Jazz Pants are the most adequate . Harem pants are good for most of the lessons - nice and loose, comfortable and the student does not feel that concious about their shape.

Haha sometimes I even tell them to take down their hair - after a day at university (with my hair in a bun or pony tail )I dont have the nicest hair in the world but I do it aswell !
 

Gia al Qamar

New member
Beginners & intermediates are asked to wear form-fitting clothes with stretch...yoga pants, fitted 'tees', a hip wrap, belt or coin scarf and dance shoes or bare feet at their own risk.
Skirts are for more advanced students...a teacher cannot properly check and correct incorrect or dangerous movements if the students legs are covered.
I also forbid jeans and street shoes in class...
Gia
 

Jane

New member
Yoga pants, a tight style top, & their choice of dance shoes. Hip wraps are optional. I have them orient on the top of their pants or shirt bottom if they don't have a hip wrap. A knotted piece of elastic works great as a cheap chest or hip alignment belt too.

No harem pants, skirts, jeans, or street shoes.

I think even for intermediates it's too easy to fall into bad habits when the legs are hidden.
 

Shanazel

Moderator
I stipulate no jeans, sweatshirts or hide-it-all tee shirts, and prefer my students wear something that allows me to see their legs and torsos. If they turn up in skirts, I have them tuck the skirts into their hip scarves. I also do not allow students to wear socks or shoes, which seems to upset some people more than the idea of showing their tummies, but the possibility of someone slipping and falling in socks is too great, and shoes are too confining unless the student has a problem with her feet. I had one woman dance in boots for a year because of a foot injury.

I really love that sooner or later even the students who initially show up in tee shirts hanging to their knees become comfortable enough with themselves and their sister students to tuck up their shirts under their bras. Tummy exposure equals personal empowerment!
 

adiemus

New member
Kashmir asks students to turn up in pants/leggings/trackpants and t-shirt, or leotard or other close-fitting top. The main thing is NOT to wear noisy coinbelts! They are sooo hard to hear over even though they look pretty.
To accommodate those who really like pretty hip belts, those large paillets or beaded scarves are fine - but noisy=headache and for some of us it means we couldn't last a whole class.
 

shiradotnet

Well-known member
I don't like them wearing skirts because I can't see their movements very well and can't tell if they are doing them correctly.

I have had some feedback that I should let students wear skirts because they are fun to dance in and some people are reluctant to wear leggings because they don't like they way they look.

I tend to encourage either yoga pants, unitards, leotard/tights (which no one ever wears but I list it as an option anyway), or leggings. But if someone really *wants* to wear a skirt, I don't object. I figure that for some women, part of the fun of belly dancing is playing dress-up. I can usually tell by the angle of the hips whether their weight is properly placed.
 

bopeep

New member
As a new student, I can understand the desire to wear a skirt to class - it's flowy, it's fun, it's glittery, etc... Wanting to look like you think a belly dancer should look like is part of the initial attraction to the dance.

BUT - yeah, you can't see the legs.

My instructor prefers leggings or yoga pants that are tight enough so that she can see how much the knee and hip is bending, they must also not drag on the floor so that she can see what our feet and ankles are doing. We also wear coin belts, which go a long way towards satisfying that 'glittery urge', and also hide those lumpy hips and buns that the leggings do such a good job of emphasizing. :lol: I have never found that interfere with hearing the instructor or the music though. For us beginners, she doesn't insist so much on being able to see the abdomen, since most of us beginners can't isolate our abdominal muscles much yet. Once my classes start up again in a couple of weeks, I will need to wear my tighter tops so that I can get more feedback (I am starting to 'get it' with those muscles).

If you have a lot of students that want to wear skirts, maybe have the last 5-10 minutes of class as a 'skirt alowed' time? Just for the fun of wearing it? Or maybe allow them for the warm-up?

BP
 

Shanazel

Moderator
I went to a meeting of rec center teachers last night where we were encouraged to wear official rec center shirts when teaching our classes. When asked if anyone had a special preference for style, I asked for a rec center hip scarf. Do you know they didn't have a single one?:shok: They didn't have a rec center gi for the karate teachers, either. Blatant discrimination.
 

Salome

Administrator
No socks! lol. Pretty much the same as every one else. Leggings of some manner and a fitted top.
 

Farasha Hanem

New member
I stipulate no jeans, sweatshirts or hide-it-all tee shirts, and prefer my students wear something that allows me to see their legs and torsos. If they turn up in skirts, I have them tuck the skirts into their hip scarves. I also do not allow students to wear socks or shoes, which seems to upset some people more than the idea of showing their tummies, but the possibility of someone slipping and falling in socks is too great, and shoes are too confining unless the student has a problem with her feet. I had one woman dance in boots for a year because of a foot injury.

I really love that sooner or later even the students who initially show up in tee shirts hanging to their knees become comfortable enough with themselves and their sister students to tuck up their shirts under their bras. Tummy exposure equals personal empowerment!

Yyyyyyyyyyeah...last year, my teacher found out the danger of wearing socks in class when her feet went out from under her and she fell flat on her patoose. :( Lucklily she wasn't hurt, and she laughed so hard she could hardly get up, but yeah, we learned from her example. :rolleyes:

She is now in her second year of teaching, and I'm watching her grow as a teacher. :) She's rather easygoing about what to wear to class (of course, no street clothes or shoes). The beginner students show up in yoga or jogging pants and T-shirts, but as Shanazel said, some of the students ease up as time goes on, and they eventually drop the long T-shirts for cropped tops or sports bras. Those of us that were with her last year drooled over costumes, so we've all bought beginner costumes either online, or have gotten crafty and made our own. As for the skirts, we don't normally wear skirts unless we're learning a "skirt dance" (well, we've only learned one so far). Most of us have either bought or made our own 10-yard skirt, and our teacher has an extra skirt or two to borrow during class for the ones who don't have one yet (she usually provides extra coin hip scarves and veils to beginners, too). She encourages those who buy or make new costumes to wear them to class to "test drive" them to make sure they fit and move properly (or stay put properly) while dancing. She helps us out a lot when it comes to costuming ideas, because most of us have ventured out into student performing.

I think it's time for me to go to bed; I've just corrected THREE typos... :rolleyes:
 
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Eve

New member
I prefer them to wear leggings/yoga pants, as others have mentioned, so I can see their form, when new ladies join I explain this. If they feel more comfortable in a skirt I can understand that, it's less revealing but we can still tell if something is going wrong under there...:confused: that sounds a bit odd.
 
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