Thread: Standards of attire in dance class? What are your horror stories?

Okay, here's one for the books and you will probably laugh but here goes:

A few years back a newer dancer (about 6 months) in a mixed level class started showing up in more and more "abbreviated" class attire. She had performed in a student recital and wore a sequined tap skirt and matching little cape and looked absurd.

I guess she figured this was "self-expression" teacher was talking about in class, because after that, she started showing in class in micro mini skirts and very small bra tops. Finally she progressed to wearing in class a mylar long fringed "skirt" over a g-string - well, obviously her butt cheeks/crack fully visible, and not much coverage for front girly parts. And that was standing still, oh my, when she spun it was almost the full Monty

And she had the gall to flash us all the biggest grin! She knew exactly what she was doing and was enjoying our reactions. I was offended and confused as to why the teacher let this go on for 20 minutes, so walked out and called the teacher later. She said she had already received complaints and had told the dancer that she could not even attend class, let alone perform, unless she was appropriately dressed.

I've seen shockers in dance class but also in the gym. As you said, I do think some people go super skimpy to get a reaction - no way you can wear thin white tight leggings with no knickers and not know that when you are doing a downward dog (in yoga) that people behind you (these types are ALWAYS front rowers) can see *everything*.

OMG...I would have totally have gone up to her and said something there and then...forget what the teacher would have said...public deccency and all that....yuk.

This is where teachers need to set guidelines for appropriate dress in class.

I think the worst I have ever experienced is a large breasted woman with out a bra in a pastel tee shirt. It just looked like it hurt!

{{{HUGS}}}

A *mylar* fringed skirt??? Holy cow, I've never heard of such a thing! Sounds like something I'd hang around my tomato plants to scare the crows away. Yikes!

Originally Posted by tahiradancer

This is where teachers need to set guidelines for appropriate dress in class.

I think the worst I have ever experienced is a large breasted woman with out a bra in a pastel tee shirt. It just looked like it hurt!

{{{HUGS}}}

Oh YUCK! I can't stand it when I see any women c cup + on the street without a bra. To me - It's just plain gross!

What about men in class who don't wear underwear/nickers and only wearing sweat pants? Sometimes it can be unappealing, if not down right distracting. ..l;,

This reminds me of one of my more memorable class moments: I had just returned from a trip to Europe and pretty much gone straight from the airport to dance class. There I was, doing a partner-up exercise with a great local jazz singer and performance artist, Phat Man Dee, whose name is indicative of her ample body shape. That day, she wore a tight t-shirt with eyeballs on her breasts. Thank god, she's a very sweet person with a great sense of humor - apparently, being severely jet-lagged, I mesermizedly stared at her breasts looking like blood-shot eyeballs the whole time!!!! She still makes fun of me ;-)

But, I'd say - maybe blood-shot eyeballs on ample breasts is not the ideal class attire (unless jet lag and sense of humor meet up).

I saw at a workshop a woman wear white thong panties with black thin dance pants, even if she was trying to cover it up with a hip scarf didn't work. Or wearing tops without support the "girls".

Alrana

These aren't horror stories, but they're students that break the mold.

This one woman showed up to class in black spiky/lacy stuff and full makeup. At 9:30 in the morning! She was dressed decently, but her dramatic approach was...distracting to say the least. I think the reality of bellydance class didn't quite live up to what she expected.

Then there is the girl who usually shows up late, but always with FABULOUS hair. Red-carpet hair! The kind I've had twice in my life - the kind I dream about. Turns out she's a hairdresser, and actually does hair for fashion shows!..g.:

Going back many years now. When I was a teen there was one particular large chested lady in class who wore loose fitting crop tops and no bra. As a result her breasts frequently popped out the bottom of her top.

I remember thinking it was odd that no-one said anything about it but at the time, because I was the youngest, I figured I just didn't understand all that woman stuff yet ;-)

i used to have a woman in her 70's in my class that used to wear lacy black lingerie bras with random beads and neclaces she attached as decoration. the worse part was that these classes were held at the YMCA gym ...alot of people used to stare!

I once was booked to take a 6 week community group class in a rather backwater sort of place.When I got there I saw that all the women (about 8 or 9 of them altogether) had either sewn nipple tassels on top of their tee shirts at the appropriate places or were wearing bras with them sewn on. I was horrified to realise that unfortunately these woman were serious.They had not done it for a laugh. There idea of what bellydancing was was a bit off beam. I think they were very disappointed with the reality. It was a long 6 weeks and signalled the end of community group dance work for me ever. I could not face it again.

And could sme one explain to me why at a community hafla there is always one dancer who is wearing her belt backwards?

{{{HUGS}}}

Originally Posted by Candi

I once was booked to take a 6 week community group class in a rather backwater sort of place.When I got there I saw that all the women (about 8 or 9 of them altogether) had either sewn nipple tassels on top of their tee shirts at the appropriate places or were wearing bras with them sewn on. I was horrified to realise that unfortunately these woman were serious.They had not done it for a laugh. There idea of what bellydancing was was a bit off beam. I think they were very disappointed with the reality. It was a long 6 weeks and signalled the end of community group dance work for me ever. I could not face it again.

..l;,..l;,..l;,..l;,..cr.:..cr.:..l;,..l;,..l;,..c r.:..l;,..l;,..l;,

I know this shouldn't be funny, but you've just made my day!

I'm embarassed to admit that - before I had ever seen a bellydancer perform and was in my first session of bellydance classes - a local vendor came to our class to sell hipscarfs and such. I bought one of those chiffon skirts - had no clue you were supposed to double-up on them. Then of course I wore it with Hello Kitty boyshorts underneath. Luckily I was only in class, not performing or anywhere in public. I wore it to every class. God, so embarassing.

There is a very nice lady in one of the beginner classes that insists on wearing the whole I Dream of Jeannie (sp?) outfit (in pink, no less) whenever she dances, mostly just in class, but she did show up at an outdoor event in it, too. We have tried to talk to her, but she's either Eastern European or Russian and doesn't speak much English. Fortunately, we can keep her from dancing publicly for now.....

Originally Posted by NandaDncer

Going back many years now. When I was a teen there was one particular large chested lady in class who wore loose fitting crop tops and no bra. As a result her breasts frequently popped out the bottom of her top.

I remember thinking it was odd that no-one said anything about it but at the time, because I was the youngest, I figured I just didn't understand all that woman stuff yet ;-)

Hey I remember her! But ya know, classmates told me about it but I never noticed her boob problem. I'm so oblivious.

Also I can't talk. My first class, while I was not guilty of overexposure or lack of underwear I am sure the teacher thought it very strange. Had no clue what to wear so turned up in my white Ju-Jitsu pants and a big baggy spotted man's shirt. (Nanda that was before your Mum took over the class)

Originally Posted by Candi

I once was booked to take a 6 week community group class in a rather backwater sort of place.When I got there I saw that all the women (about 8 or 9 of them altogether) had either sewn nipple tassels on top of their tee shirts at the appropriate places or were wearing bras with them sewn on. I was horrified to realise that unfortunately these woman were serious.They had not done it for a laugh. There idea of what bellydancing was was a bit off beam. I think they were very disappointed with the reality. It was a long 6 weeks and signalled the end of community group dance work for me ever. I could not face it again.

..c::.w.:..l;,..l;,..l;,

There was a lady that use to some to one of my beginning classes in full costume all the time. Or should I say "costume." Some looked like Ren Faire garb; others were, uh, I have no idea how to describe it. A pink bra with a silver lame bib-type flap that was sewn down to the center of the bra, plus a crushed red velvet skirt and a big leather belt with fringe made of old necklaces attached. She was a sweet lady and really loved making costumes (to varying degrees of success) but I never saw her make it through one class without giving up on the dancing and sitting down.

Once a friend of mine suggested that she should wear lighter-weight clothing to class instead of layers of heavy velvet. She said she wasn't tired or too hot; she just didn't know how to do the step and gave up.

She never seemed unhappy about it though.

^^ <nods>

I know someone (who has since gone on to have a nice dance career) who came to every class in full costume, hair, make up - the works.

it was a teacher, not a student that gave me the shock...

one time when i was abroad i went to this teacher's class, she wore a similar to boat neck top that looked like a wide hair band strap across her chest with tight sleeves attached. don't know if she wore a bra or not but if she had it had to be a strapless bra. she wore two big triangle hip scarves (maybe there was a third one on top), the longest bit touching her knees, and they were tied one around the left and one around the right hip. and with no skirt or pants! she also had full make up on and i overheard her complaining to a senior student during break about a regular student who dare going to her class without any makeup! i wish i heard wrong.

the teacher i think is rather stylish but it was distracting because i was afraid her hip scarves or top, although looking secure enough, might fall down any minute!

When you say pants - that's American pants not english (panties) I hope!!

I was once in a Khaleegy workshop where another student wore a chiffon khaleegy dress with nothing but G-strings underneath... it was very off putting.

There was a lot of swinging..

Originally Posted by jencUK

When you say pants - that's American pants not english (panties) I hope!!

yeah i mean she wasn't wearing trousers or skirt, but no telling if she's wearing panties or not.... .w.:

Originally Posted by caroline_afifi

I was once in a Khaleegy workshop where another student wore a chiffon khaleegy dress with nothing but G-strings underneath... it was very off putting.

There was a lot of swinging..

no bra? just a g-string? scary...

I agree, I think its the teacher's responsibility to tell her students from the very beggining what attire is acceptable in her class and what's not. I had one teacher who told us on the first day "no jeans", another who told us "no noisy hip scarfs" and yet another who said "no long skirts, I need to see what your legs are doing." Fortunately everyone in my classes has always been pretty good about wearing appropriate class attire. I'd be lying if I said I ever saw anyone's butt or bouncing boobs. ..l;, the only odd thing I've ever seen in class are a couple of people who insist on wearing wooly socks and have downright refused to take them off.
That said, there IS a teacher in my area who teaches her weekly classes in full professional costume.

Regards
Priscilla

Originally Posted by tahiradancer

This is where teachers need to set guidelines for appropriate dress in class.
{{{HUGS}}}

ETA: Eeek! to the nekkid Khaleegy dress!

This wasn't really a horror story, just very odd.

There was a woman of mature age who showed up to my former teacher's classes for a while. She had fastened a halter top entirely out of bandannas. It wasn't a halter top out of bandanna fabric. It was three bandannas tied together. A red one over one boob. A blue one over the other. And a greyish white one tied around the neck. I really tend to be pretty accepting of what other people do with themselves and their bodies, however, gravity had taken a toll on this lady's breasts (the word "pendulous" springs to mind) and she needed a bit more support than a couple of bandannas could give her.

Then again, I don't think she cared. A friend of mine knows her and she also claims that sanity is "a sexist construct of the patriarchy."

One dancer at Nile Group wore see-through chiffon harem pants and one of those belts made only out of fringe.

Every time she moved, you could plainly see that she was not wearing underwear. She was also a red head, and the women next to me kept laughing and making comments how we all now knew she was a natural red head!!!

Wow...what do you say to people who do this? I've been lucky to have students of the tank top + yoga pants variety only!

Originally Posted by rachelw

She had fastened a halter top entirely out of banannas.

I misread that typo as it being made of bananas - that would be *really* odd!

The first bellydance class I ever took, the teacher was wearing a gold coin set, I believe she started out with a skirt on, but then got hot and stripped down to just a g-string under her belt. That was odd. I am not sure if it was that or the poor teaching that stopped me from going to dance class for 2 years after that, before braving it with another teacher and finding out that this was abnormal!