Ballet Class Outfits: Make Your Own

The first time I made my own cropped top, I recycled an old pair of black leggings - but why stop there? You can find lots of leggings and tights in the sales bin; in colours and textures you would not normally wear. Like these pink lace leggings I just found for 1,85 euros. They look way too much 80's Madonna, but when you cut out the gusset and pull them over your leo - instant fun fashion update!

Tips and tricks:

• Recycle old tights/leggings. Ballet pink or white tights go great under leos for extra coverage & warmth.

• If you customize your top from new tights, don't spend a lot of money. The fabric will snag anyway.

• Don't buy the cheapest quality. Microfiber holds better, as does denier above 40.

• Buy a size (or two) bigger than you would for your legs. Makes for a comfier fit.

• Leggings come with pre-cut hand openings. ;)

• Hipster models are no good, they ride too high up on your torso.

• Necks are easiest to cut when there's a gusset to trace. Turn the tights inside out before you cut.

• Do not cut the neck like you would a cotton t-shirt. The fabric will stretch like crazy.

• Be careful when you pull your top over the first time, it will stretch. And it will snag.

• Hand-wash only.

• Have fun!

Class Outfits: Black and White

Sometimes I like to fall back on the classics. A simple white camisole leo, pale pink tights and a short black tulle skirt. Hair in a neat bun, polished off with hairspray. Classic ballet student. When I took this photo, both flatties and pointe shoes were still new, but they have since earned their class cred. The t-shirt was earned volunteering, but I usually loose any extra layers before barre is over. Too hot! By the way, have you noticed how ballet pink tights turn into a whiter shade of pale? And then look more white grey-ish than "natural" on your legs? Not that pale pink is a natural shade to begin with. Really, what grown-up woman would wear pantyhose in such a shade? But us ballet students do, that is when we are not in black leggings. Which reminds me I need new ones, all my tights have snags and holes. Not so classy..

Class Outfits: Très Pink

We have no dress code in my dance school. Anything goes as long as it's form-fitting and class-appropriate. Not that I would mind regulation wear, but it's much more fun to choose your own style!  I like to mix it up: pink tights, purple leggings, black cut-offs on top of pink tights, shorts, skirts, long-sleeved tees pulled down and tied as skirts. Leos in hot pink, jade, lilac, black, red and white. Self-made tops from leggings and tights, preferably in funky colors. T-shirts with ballet logos/prints. I might even wear the occasional fake flower in my hair!

Today, I feel like pink.

Hot pink leo from Bloch, skirt Designed by Alice, tights Plume, slippers Sansha Pro1, pointe shoes Bloch Balance European.

My Ballet Bag

Hold-all ballet bag. I can fit everything in here, except for my macbook..

Two pairs of pointe shoes, Bloch Balance Europeans (size 6 XX). Two, because I'm trying to figure out which pair to wear for our spring show. One is slightly more worn, to the pointe that they are about to die on me. A regular pointe class might be too much already. The other pair has a little more life left, but I need them for class. Then again, the entrance of the wilis in Giselle calls for quiet shoes.. So: old pair gets to go on stage, and younger pair gets to do all the hard work in class. Seems fair enough.

Black short "professional" ballet skirt. The pro-tag is courtesy of Bloch, I have no such illusions of grandeur. It's a short and flimsy skirt, but somehow makes my popo look smaller and my legs appear longer. Gotta love that! I have two other fave skirts, and alternate between them depending on on my mood. I also have this huge black, long-sleeved, wide-necked viscose t-shirt, which doubles as a long skirt. I just wiggle out of the neck-opening, and use the sleeves to tie the thing around my waste. Very practical.

Soft ballet shoes, flatties, slippers.. What do you call yours? Mine are from Bloch, and I usually wear their model "Pump" in ballet pink. Sometimes I also buy Sansha Pro1, because you can't get the Blochs here in Helsinki. Sansha has a nice advantage: you get a free mesh-bag matched to the color of your shoes! Mesh-bags are great for storing pointe shoes, as they allow the shoes to air out even before you get home after class. And I can fit my ouch-pouches in there as well. Don't want to forget those!

Leotard(s). On Tuesdays I have three classes (with one hour break after the first), so I pack two. Currently my favorite is hot pink with double spagetti straps and some lovely detailing at the bust line. The colour really wakes me up! Pink convertible tights, black leggings (which I often wear on top of the pinks), aforementioned skirt, self-made sheer top. Just cut out the gusset of old or new tights/leggings and hey, presto! I might pack leg warmers, but usually ditch them after first pliés. I also carry old socks which I wear on top of my slippers before class. Never during class.

Small scissors, Bunhead's Stitch Kit, skin-coloured fabric tape to patch up canvas flatties, lamb's wool, jelly tubes for big toes (don't use them all the time, only when toes cry for it), small tin box for hair pins, snap clips and elastics, hair-brush, travel-sized hairspray, mirror, elastic ankle brace (just in case), antiperspirant, water bottle, nut/fruit-protein/energy bar, chapstick (lip balm), tiger balm, ibuprofen.. Plus all the other stuff a girl needs to leave the house!

That's pretty much it. Hope I didn't forget anything.. :)

Present Yourself!

So I finally did the near-naked thing in ballet class. Dear Reader, before you skip a beat,  let me assure you. It was not the wardrobe malfunction kind, where you forget to pull up your leo after hurrying (back) to class. And where the first one to notice you all Josephine Baker-like is the only guy in class, sweetly asking you if you did not forget something. I swear this has really happened. Fortunately not to me. Phew. Although, once I had almost too much of a reveal when I was in a very deep cambré to the back. Yay for flexibilty, not so much for too much of cleavage.

Which reminds of a story about the courtesans of old Venice, told to me by my opera-singer/dancer friend. Apparently, when business was not going so well, said ladies obtained permission to display their bounty over the window-sills - thus inspiring new fashions of deep cleavages. And apparently an image helpful to singers and dancers alike. Do not open your ribcage, but stack it over the sill. There you go.

Present yourself! This instruction is repeated to us class after class. Don´t show off your boobs (save this for later), but your jambes, pieds, talons, bras, épaulement, head and eyes. Own your dancing body, and then own the stage. Present your gorgeous arches, heels and legs and upper body. Engage with your audience, imaginary or not. It changes everything, even in class. A dancer who looks down at her feet, loses the line. A dancer who does not look beyond her elongated arm, is closed off in her own little space. It shows.

Yesterday, I started my class as usual - that is in my now-favorite warm-up romper. Comfortable, warm, cozy, hide-it-all. Usually I discard any extra wear after our plié exercise, but I had figured out that you can roll the legs up and and the top down. It´s a very pro-dancer-y look. Really flattering only on a skinny ballet bod, but I like to use my imagination. Anyway, I had planned to toss the thing in my bag right after barre. Which was really no option, as we were all hot and red-faced and sweaty by the time we did our frappés(how´s that for a lovely ballerina image?). But, after I had stripped down and was reaching into my bag for my ballet skirt - there was none! I must have left it in the locker! Our teacher gives us no break between barre and center, so I could not go to look. No choice but to suck it up. Literally.

So, there I stood with nothing between me and the mirror except for one black leotard and black leggings. I did also wear a long-sleeve, cut-off top made out of old black tights, which made my upper half all modest and covered. But. My butt, that is. All exposed to the world. I was admittedly unnerved. In ballet class you spend substantial time to keep that popo in a plum line, with your tail-bone pointed down. Which suits me just fine, I´ve never been one to flaunt my derrière. Not that anyone in class was looking or could have cared any less.

I decided to go for it. Present myself. It´s a bit like jumping off from a high spot into deep water. Either you dive in or you butt out. And I gotta tell you.. Although I was acutely aware of my every little line and curve, it was not so bad. In fact, it made me work harder. Dance better. This time, less was like totally more. But(t) enough is enough. By the time we were doing our pirouette exercises across the floor, I was mentally exhausted and changed back into my trusted romper. Baby steps, darlings. Baby steps..

Photo above post: Lana Jones of Australian Ballet. Photographer: Justin Smith.