6 yr old ballet exam-no underwear allowed?!?

[CherryLeaf]

My DD6 is going to take a little ballet exam in a few weeks, for a rosette. I’ve been advised that they are not allowed to wear underwear under the leotard as it ‘destroys the aesthetic look of the dancer’.
She has to wear a little skirt over the top of her leotard so I’m having trouble understanding. I’ve raised it with the teacher and she’s advised that i should think about the leotard as the same as a swimming costume… so normal to not wear underwear beneath it.
I find this odd and makes me uncomfortable. She’s only 6, why does a vpl matter? Is this normal ballet rules please?

*pale pink

Very normal for exams. I wasn't allowed knickers for class back in the day until I discovered dance underwear. However DD was horrified at her first little exam aged 4, so I do get you. DD wore knickers well tucked up.

Make up for boys and girls is necessary for shows performed under stage lights so features are not washed out.

It’s not necessary for exams and classes.

You can easily buy kids underwear that’s suitable for dance shops, or even Asda:
direct.asda.com/george/kids/girls-underwear-socks-tights/beige-seam-free-briefs-2-pack/G006726360,default,pd.html?redirectFromInt=1&cmpid=ppc--george--ggle-pla--OD24Girls---_-dskwid-s92700062144164173_dm&ds_rl=1260213&ds_rl=1255529&ds_rl=1238816&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIwa7itau48QIViZntCh1AgQVNEAQYASABEgJtqfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

I remember stitching a bras discreetly into my leotards for my dance exams as my boobs got big quite early. No underwear is the norm.

We moved DD from one dance school to another as I didn't like their methods. No underwear. DD ended up wearing a nude leotard under her show costumes as she didn't want to be naked for costume change. Obsessive about the right makeup, hair sprayed back into solid crunchiness. Young kids pop bellies tapped as sticking out. These were KS1 kids. Low level bullying from students.

New school much more relaxed. And we find martial arts far more balanced.

How the hell does a three year old dance competitively?!

Do the boys wear pants?

@Comefromaway

I would hope that the last year or so would have taught us that just because something has been perceived as normal in the past in the ballet/dance world it isn’t necessarily right and should be changed.

Exactly. It is disturbing the way this is accepted and parroted as "normal" .

It’s an exam, not a show. It’s ballet, not another form of dance. It’s a performing art, not a sport. However, all professional dancers, male and female, will wear makeup on stage.

Boys either wear shorts and socks in the early grades or thick tights over the top of their leotard rather than underneath so pants wouldn’t show anyway.

Older boys wear support belts.

Absolutely normal. The tights or leotard are like pants.

Particularly with the littlies (at my studio anyway), they pull at the legs of their knickers and the baggy material shows outside the leotard. Having pants hanging out, outside the leotard does spoil the line, and they need to get used to it. Also, one thing fewer for them to fiddle with in the exam.

This is why there is a big push to change some cultures in disciplines like dance and gymnastics because so many people just shrug and say 'this is how it's always been' and let them carry on. There has been a recent push in gymnastics with the German team this year wearing different leotards showing that they don't have to wear skimpy suits.

No way should dance teachers (or exam boards) be dictating whether small children wear underwear or not. I wonder how many girls are lost to dance in puberty when trying to deal with periods and breasts and having people telling them they can't wear underwear.

Completely normal. There are special ballet pants but they're still not totally invisible.

I pulled my dd out because we just aren't that sort of family who can master the hair and get everything right.

Didnt know about the "rule" but I was at work when ballet were meeting last week (not usually there) i I did notice knickers showing from the leotard as in hanging out. Some by a lot, these were little girls, really doesn't matter but I think it did look a bit odd, it's not normal to show your underwear

Pants under something like a leotard/swimming costume would not be comfortable as they would get stuck in an uncomfortable position as you move which is distracting for the child. You'd probably be ok with something like the running specific stuff (non cotton, seam free) as that's usually tight enough to stay put under leggings (which is what I assume dance underwear is).

I discovered that I shouldn't be wearing underwear under padded cycling shorts - and that was a massive improvement in comfort - if something is designed for a job it works better without adding extra layers!

What do you need knickers for if you're wearing a leotard? What a bizarre thing to be concerned about.

My DD is a dance teacher. She certainly wouldn't make a fuss about children wearing underwear if they want though she would encourage them to look neat and tidy for exams and visible underwear doesn't look great. Plus lots of people find leotards more comfortable without underwear - you often see kids who are wearing knickers underneath continually adjusting them. Some things are meant to be worn without underwear. People don't wear anything under swimming costumes or cycling shorts and there are probably other sports kits that are better with no undies too, it's not a dance specific thing.
But you don't get marked down in exams for not having the right uniform or having your hair out of place - that's a myth. It might have been the case at some time in the past but certainly for the whole of this century its not been an issue for the RAD anyway, and I would be very surprised if any of the other exam boards in this country were significantly different. A lot of "facts" that get handed down about dance exams are not actually true at all.

My DDs dance teacher does all the hairstyles herself because she doesnt think parents will do it neatly enough my DD has below waist length hair which takes a long time to plait. The teacher was very patronising when she asked me to simply do a centre parting to get DDs hair ready to be styled by her and was surprised how neatly I could do it!

It's normal. My dd has done several ballet exams. The dress code is very strict, hair has to be in a perfect bun, correct colour head band, no nail polish, no visible underwear etc. I think they lose marks if their presentation isn't as it should be.

I wonder about trolls when I see questions like this. Who doesn’t know this? What ballet mom hasn’t discussed this with the other ballet moms?

@ineedaholidaynow

What happens with boys doing ballet?

My grandson was a junior associate of the royal ballet, he wore a T-shirt tucked into some very tight very tiny shiny shorts.

You are not a ballet mum when you first send your child to classes. In fact, I think I only became a ballet mum after dd had been been dancing for several years. The year she auditioned for full time school. Even then there was so much I didn’t know.

OP, I bet if you ask this question on www.balletco.com you will get much more sensible answers relevant to today’s thinking.

Having your pants on show is just not a good look, especially in ballet aesthetics are important as is leg line. The exams are quite low key for little kids and they are so well prepared and excited and get such a sense of achievement and there's quite a fuss made of them on the day. Its really not a big deal the pants thing there are worse aspects of dance to be honest.

@randomsabreuse

Pants under something like a leotard/swimming costume would not be comfortable as they would get stuck in an uncomfortable position as you move which is distracting for the child. You'd probably be ok with something like the running specific stuff (non cotton, seam free) as that's usually tight enough to stay put under leggings (which is what I assume dance underwear is).

I discovered that I shouldn't be wearing underwear under padded cycling shorts - and that was a massive improvement in comfort - if something is designed for a job it works better without adding extra layers!

I do remember how uncomfortable it was at some dance things between 7 and 10, as leotards were a relatively nice, stretchy material but the standard underwear was big cotton things with a lower leg line; I was determined not to fuss at them when they irritated me, but in one show, another girl in my group stood there constantly pulling at the things on stage.

I refused to do Ballroom after seeing a girl in my class who was being assessed after our ones who was standing there naked whilst her Mum pulled on her ballroom dress in front of a mixed group of random adults

I think that as the leotard covers everything (which it does), she is going to me more comfortable and less likely to be pulling at her outfit by just wearing the one layer.