What should I wear to a CUBC class?
There's no special uniform, so feel free to wear whatever's comfy! If you're starting ballet for the first time we'd recommend leggings or tracksuit trousers with a comfortable t-shirt. You can wear socks for your first few lessons, but if you decide to carry on with ballet it's best to get some flat ballet shoes, in leather or canvas, with elastic straps rather than ribbons. If you want to buy a leotard we'd recommend a simple black one, as a black leotard is a useful basic for ballet shows.
A bit more what to wear info from our costumes officer Jenny!
Really all you need is something you feel comfy in and won’t trip over! No specialist ballet attire is needed. You might be bending, for example in a forward port de bras, and a baggy t-shirt may flash some stomach – no problem – just bear in mind you’ll be moving about, and dress how you want to accordingly. Anything that feels good to exercise in, and won’t get in your way, plus if you have long hair, tied back so that’s not in the way either, is fine.
That said, if you want to build your ballet-specific wardrobe, whether you’ve been to several classes and want to stick with it (we hope so!) or are a pro (please send suggestions for us to add to this page!) here’s some ideas…
Dance Direct
Source of all things dancewear. Has own section on black leotards. One stop shop. Probably “fast fashion”. Wear lots of times / recycle if poss.
Similar websites include Porselli
Local and £ - Decathlon Grafton Centre
They have a specific section on balletwear, including some lovely leos and legwarmers (stock does change, but they have some very pretty women’s leos in at the moment). Lots of other activewear options too. You can try things on, but may have to order multiple sizes to the shop first - it's a bit easier than an entirely online shop though. HEALTH WARNING… do not look at the shoes … experienced dancers will be horribly shocked by their terminology, and new dancers will be horribly misinformed by their terminology. Their split sole canvass flat shoes look OK. OK – maybe you can look at them, but… you have been warned! (Please don’t buy anything saying it’s a “demi” and expect it to be a demipointe shoe, and please please don’t buy pointes anywhere online unless you’ve done that before and whoever is teaching you approves of them, and I AM STILL VERY WORRIED ABOUT THIS. OK – rant done now.)
Far away and ££, but wonderful! - Cloud & Victory
My personal favourite. Fun, ethical, works for my body type. Worth following on social media. Bosslady actually contactable, and super encouraging. So much love and pizza to this brand. Plus, you can wear the same leo Marianela Núñez does – what’s not to like?
Actually… the postage… so if anyone is ever interested in a group order, let us know, and if there’s enough people, we can make it happen.
eBay
I’ve only ever sold balletwear on eBay, but I HAVE bought show props. I’ve never heard anyone so happy that their daughter’s outgrown chicken toy was going to star in a ballet show 😊. Lots of fun, and some good deals out there.
Etsy
We’ve found it’s especially good for beautiful chiffon skirts!
Aaand Stash!
There’s a range – we hope something that everyone will like, but if there’s anything else that you think we’ve missed, please get in touch.
About shoes…
The Decathlon rant made me think a note about shoes might be in order…
You can generally tell what sort of shoe you have by the sound it would make if you hit a window with it…
Dull flappy sound – flat shoe. All sorts of varieties. Leather, canvass, satin. Normally just an elastic to hold it on. Can get ones with a sole all over the sole like a normal shoe, or “split soled” – split sole ones can make your foot look more pointed (aka prettier).
“Clonk” – demi pointe. Meant for preparation for pointe work. Stiff toes, but not reinforced enough to go onto pointe in. Usually satin and one set of ribbons. Occasionally these have shown up to beginners’ pointe class after being confused for…
“Thud and tinkle of breaking glass” – pointe. Best shoes ever. Some people find their favourite pair almost immediately, for others it’s a long faff. Please get fitted professionally and get your teacher’s approval for the shoes. Get your teacher’s approval for the shoes. Get your teacher’s approval for the shoes. Get your… wait, you get the point. Really important that they are confident they won’t see you break a leg. Once you have their approval, you can sew them. Satin, ribbons, (probably) elastics, darning, squidgy things in the toes (so many options for these! But be sure to get fitted with the ones you’ll use), magic and unicorns (hopefully not the other type of corns). The closest places to buy that I know of are currently London (various shops including Capezio, Bloch and Freed). I’ve bought pointes from Just Ballet, which used to be in Wisbech but sadly re-located to Lincolnshire. There’s also “Straight to the Pointe”, a mobile fitter whom one of our teachers highly recommends.
What do I wear for pas de deux?
We’ve mainly said to wear whatever you’re comfy in, but for those being supported en pointe, a leo is really useful here, so no inadvertent flashing! Make sure it’s also not going to break your partner’s fingers (crisscross low backs could be tricky). It’s best if you’re doing the pointe bit to wear pointe shoes. It is possible to wear flats, but harder for your partner to e.g. turn you in a promenade without you sticking!