Boys' Ballet Costumes: Shirts


Figure 1.--These boys all wear ordinary white "T" shirts and black tights for practice. Note the use of te hands, although not given as much attentin as the feet, also have to used for expewssive movement.

Boys wear quite a variety of shirts and blouses for both practices and performances. Some boys wear leotards, but shirts and blouses are more common. "T"-shirts, usually white, are commonly worn for practice. Some American schools insist on leotards, but most allow the boys to wear short-sleeved "T" shirts. Leotards are more common in Europe, but some European boys also wear "T"-shirts, often sleevless tank-top shirts, like "T'-shirts usually white. Some boys wear reguklar "T"-shirts. More formal schools have boys wear "T"-shirts with especially large neck openings. These are particularly common in European schools. A white variety of shirts or blouses are worn for performances. One common standard is a blouce with flouncy sleeves. Unlike the form fitting tights, the performance shirts and blouces are quite often just the opposite with long flowing sleeves.

The type of shirt or blouse is significantly affected by wether it is for practice or performance. The informal practice shirts are replaced by very formal blouses for actual performances.

Practices

"T"-shirts, usually white, are commonly worn for practice. Some American schools insist on leotards, but most allow the boys to wear short-sleeved "T" shirts. Leotards are more common in Europe, but some European boys also wear "T"-shirts, often sleevless tank-top shirts, like "T'-shirts usually white. Some boys wear regular "T"-shirts. More formal schools have boys wear "T"-shirts with especially large neck openings. These are particularly common in European schools. The "T"-shirts and tanktops almost always are white.


Figure 2.--This boy wears a loose fitting, flouncy blouse for his performance.

Performances

A wide variety of shirts or blouses are worn for performances. One common standard is a blouce with flouncy sleeves. Unlike the form fitting tights, the performance shirts and blouces are quite often just the opposite with long flowing sleeves. There are a huge variety of collar styles that are employed.Performance shirts and blouses are mor difficult to classify as they are so varied in keeping with the wide variety of costumes designed for both classical and modern ballets.






Christopher Wagner





Navigate the Historic Boys' Clothing Web Site:
[Introduction] [Activities] [Bibliographies] [Biographies] [Chronologies] [Contributions] [Countries] [Frequently Asked Questions] [Style Index]
[Boys' Clothing Home]




Navigate the Historic Boys' Clothing Web dance pages:
[Main ballet garment page]
[Ballet] [Irish step] [Kilts] [Highland] [Ballroom] [Native American] [Tap]



Created: July 27, 2000
Last updated: July 27, 2000