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Dancers?

altagirl

Moderator
Staff member
And I know from reading around that Gaynors are a bit controversial, but I also felt that you go with what your teacher/ school director and fitter tell you to as a beginner. :smile:
 

merrydog

Angel Diva
Yes, Gaynors were looked on strangely when they were first introduced.

However they are frequently the shoe of choice for adults new to pointe at the ballet studio I attend. So perhaps they have the right qualities for that situation (vs. younger dancers starting pointe).
 

MissySki

Angel Diva
I am sooooooo excited to see this thread @altagirl @Olesya Chornoguz!! I happened upon an article about adult ballet lessons yesterday, it peaked my interest, and yeah guess who already found a studio and is going to start beginner ballet and tap class for adults in mid July? Yup, this girl. lol My coworkers looked at me like I was insane when I told them this morning, but I should have known that someone here would be doing the same thing. :smile:

Can anyone give me some tips on ballet flats and tap shoes to start with? I was looking online and noticed full sole versus split sole ballet shoes etc. and I have no idea what I need. I also put this in an email to the instructor, but I'm curious what you all stated with. Also, what do you wear to class? There were many options given on their site, even regular work out clothes as long as it's nothing baggy, but again curious what you all are doing.
 

altagirl

Moderator
Staff member
My studios also have an adult dress code of basically whatever you feel comfortable in. But I feel like dressing the part is helpful. And the teacher needs to be able to see your body in order to make useful corrections. If you're wanting to just try it before spending on an outfit, I'd go with like yoga pants and a form fitting top, or as form fitting as you are comfortable with. I see a variety of outfits in my classes.
 

MissySki

Angel Diva
Thanks so much for the tips, I also feel like dressing the part is useful and want to be able to have the instructor see what she needs to see to critique my movements. I'm not sure how excited I'll be once I actually try on any leotards, but I digress.. As far as tights go, what type do you get if they are full length? I've seen convertible ones and footless along with regular foot covered varieties. I guess my question is whether you NEED to have something between your foot and ballet slipper or tap shoe? I weirdly like to be barefoot and sockless as much as possible and hate the seems near my toes on tights usually etc., so I thought footless would be nice and seems okay for ballet, not so sure about tap though so maybe that's when the convertible come in handy to switch?
 

altagirl

Moderator
Staff member
Thanks so much for the tips, I also feel like dressing the part is useful and want to be able to have the instructor see what she needs to see to critique my movements. I'm not sure how excited I'll be once I actually try on any leotards, but I digress.. As far as tights go, what type do you get if they are full length? I've seen convertible ones and footless along with regular foot covered varieties. I guess my question is whether you NEED to have something between your foot and ballet slipper or tap shoe? I weirdly like to be barefoot and sockless as much as possible and hate the seems near my toes on tights usually etc., so I thought footless would be nice and seems okay for ballet, not so sure about tap though so maybe that's when the convertible come in handy to switch?

I've never tried tap, but when wearing technique shoes I'm always barefoot in them. The convertible tights are great for pointe shoes and in technique shoes I just bunch them up around my ankles.

But you can also get fully footless tights too if you prefer.
 

altagirl

Moderator
Staff member
Also, check with your studio to see if they offer discount codes to any stores. Many do. And discount dance is great for having a large variety of adult sizes with size charts and reviews. Many brick and mortar stores focus on children's sizes. (Don't get me wrong, I like supporting local shops, but if that turns out to be fruitless....)
 
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Olesya Chornoguz

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
@MissySki congrats on starting ballet and tap - that would so much fun! Never took tap so no recommendations on what to wear there.
I like capezio ballet stuff - most of my leotard, tights and shoes are from them. I usually wear pink or nude convertible tights, pink leather split sole leather ballet slippers, leotards and wrap skirt to my ballet. I like to have tights on my feet when I'm wearing ballet slippers, but plenty dancers in my class wear ballet slippers with bare feet so it's more of a preference thing. With convertible tights you could try it out both ways and see which one works best for you.

I like leotards @altagirl shared a lot - those seem like they would flattering and functional at the same time.

Stuff I wear to my ballet classes:
tights:
https://www.capezio.com/ultra-soft/self-knit-ultra-soft-transition-tight

Leotards:
https://www.capezio.com/women/dancewear/leotards/short-sleeve-leotard
https://www.capezio.com/women/dance...leotards-exclusive-camisole-mesh-tank-leotard

skirts:
https://www.capezio.com/women/dancewear/skirts-tutus/tactel-wrap-skirt
https://www.capezio.com/women/dancewear/skirts-tutus/diamond-lattice-circle-skirt

Slippers
https://www.capezio.com/women/shoes/ballet-slippers/leather-juliet

I like leather ballet slippers better - they fit me better I think cause they stretch to your feet in my opinion. With slippers may be different for everyone though - everybody's feet are different. discountdancesupply web-site is a great source for dance clothes and prices are good too.
 

MissySki

Angel Diva
Tomorrow is my first class, so excited/nervous! I am excited for ballet, but nervous for tap as I realized that is listed as an "intermediate" class and I'm not even a beginner never mind intermediate. So this should be interesting..
I have not taken any dance classes in around 30 years.

I was also away at a work conference last week, so I'd advised the instructor that I'd be missing week 1, and she said that was fine. However, that is making me even more nervous since I'm now officially behind and have no idea what I'm doing.

Fingers crossed I don't make a total fool of myself. I may have convinced a friend to try ballet with me at least, so hoping she comes with for support! :smile:
 

VickiK

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Go for it with gusto & HAVE FUN. Skills will come along.
 

MissySki

Angel Diva
So last night was my second class, I didn't want to judge after the first one because it didn't go very well haha. I liked the ballet portion, though I managed to fall flat in the ground doing a pirouette! (Wood floors are incredibly slippery in ballet slippers lol). Tap is intermediate rather than beginner so the instructor had warned me that it was less instructional and more choreography so that I'd be aware that I'd get it if I stuck to it, but not to be discouraged that I wouldn't pick up on everything day 1. Well I could barely follow at all, so that was accurate!

Fast forward to yesterday, and I somehow made major leaps and bounds. Ballet was really fun. I got a lot of compliments on how good my turnout is, as well as my left pirouette we did in combination with something I cannot remember the name of. Apparently my left side is way better than the right, which is the opposite of pretty much everyone else in the class. The women in the class are super supportive and nice as well. Most between late 20s to 50s. I was dreading tap, but then we slowed everything down for the choreography we learned last week and I actually got it waaaay better than I had, not anywhere near perfect, but I could do quite a bit. The instructor complimented me me on picking stuff up so quickly and said she could tell I must have been practicing, to which I replied that I had sincerely planned to, but unfortunately hadn't gotten around to it lol. I have no idea why it started just clicking, but I really enjoyed myself and can't wait until next week. The 1.5 hrs flew by, I think I'm tentatively hooked! :smile:
 

Olesya Chornoguz

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
That's awesome @MissySki ! Glad you are enjoying the classes. My ballet classes the teacher gives some pretty complex combinations sometimes. It's mcuh easier to follow now since I have been doing it for a few months. I was really close to toppling over after doing a bunch of pirouettes in a row - I can definitely relate to falling over after attempting a pirouette! :smile:
 

Olesya Chornoguz

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
@altagirl I am continuing ballet, though I took 4-5 months off during ski season and right after ski season was over. I am taking pre-point class now and the teacher said that she may allow me to take beginner pointe classes in a few months. Are you still taking ballet?
@MissySki are you still taking tap or any other dance classes?
 

MissySki

Angel Diva
@altagirl I am continuing ballet, though I took 4-5 months off during ski season and right after ski season was over. I am taking pre-point class now and the teacher said that she may allow me to take beginner pointe classes in a few months. Are you still taking ballet?
@MissySki are you still taking tap or any other dance classes?

Unfortunatey I am not at the moment, though I hope to go back at some point! After I performed in our winter recital last year I ended up moving and had also just started a new job with a longer commute which impacted my desire to go to a class that was now further away from me and ends at 9pm. Since then I also started taking weekly ukulele lessons at a music school around 2 miles from my house. I hope to eventually find a dance class closer to me for adults, though it kind of stinks because I really do miss the ladies who were in my previous class. For now though, ukulele has been a good creative outlet, and hard enough to keep practicing as much as I should with limited time, so I'm not sure when I will be wanting to add another weekly commitment. Definitely not during ski season! :smile:

So exciting that you may get to go to pointe soon!! Will you take time off this ski season as well, or plan to push on throughout?
 

tinymoose

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
@altagirl I am continuing ballet, though I took 4-5 months off during ski season and right after ski season was over. I am taking pre-point class now and the teacher said that she may allow me to take beginner pointe classes in a few months. Are you still taking ballet?
@MissySki are you still taking tap or any other dance classes?

Hah! I was going to tag along with you some Sunday, but not now that you're pre-pointe. Congrats, though!!
 

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