Dance Belt

4 Comments / Dancewear / By

When he was 4, Master J (Brains in my other blog ), started dancing classes. Pre-school at first and then as he seemed to enjoy that, ballet. He has done jazz & tap, and now does a bit of Hip Hop and contemporary as well. Primarily he does ballet.

When boys get to be around 11 or 12 years old they need to wear an item called a dance belt. This was all new territory to me! Here in NZ they are not so easy to get, and there isn’t the range of styles available. We have ordered from overseas before, it took a long time, and then there is the risk it won’t fit properly! And they cannot be returned.

I had seen one made by a fellow seamstress, Robin, on The Sewing Forum. I asked about the pattern she had used and she very kindly sent me a pattern and instructions. Robin makes lovely tutus and other dance costumes. You can see Robin’s beautiful work at Tutu Amor her Facebook page.

The dance belt is quite simple but very important for a male dancer when he performs turns and jumps. It supports the dancer’s groin.  It also adds a bit of protection from accidental knocks when he is partnering a female dancer.

I used 3 layers of black lycra. You can also use 2 layers of lycra with a layer of spacer padding between. I intend to get some for the next dance belt I make.

The front is like a pair of undies. The photo below shows the front of the completed dance belt. The dart adds a bit of shaping.

 
 
It is bound on the edges with lip elastic or foldover elastic. The back is like a thong. . .takes a bit of getting used to I’m told 🙂
 
 
I made the thong part of this one a bit wide, but Master J said that this belt “Is no more uncomfortable than any other!” Next time I’ll try to get wider elastic for the waistband as well.
 
Still, for a first attempt I was happy with it. It has been worn and washed for six months so time I checked out if it’s still holding together, I think.
 
Just ran upstairs and had a look. It’s still holding up, although I think another one will be a good idea. It will help me to sort out the width of the thong part and a couple of other things I could improve on in my sewing of the dance belt.
 
As a mum of a male dancer I knew virtually nothing about dance belts. I found a site that had a lot of information written specifically for male dancers. Anyone who is interested to find out more can click here
 
Update: 2015 – I have written another post about dance belts which you can click on the link to read.
 
Thanks for visiting 🙂
 
Update: February 2021 – Robin has now launched her website Tutu Amor which you can visit to purchase her patterns.
 

4 thoughts on “Dance Belt”

  1. Robin

    Hi Ali,
    A wonderful look into the technical side of wearing a Dance Belt.
    Thanks so much for including me in your Blog.
    I intend to put out a pattern this year for those like you Ali who wanted to make Dance belts as they are hard to get at times and also if you can make your own you can saves loads of Dollars.
    Kindest Regards
    Robin xxx
    Tutu Amor The Home of "Sinnamon Dance"

    Reply
  2. Ali

    Hi Robin,

    Oh, goodness, I just realised you commented! I need to check more often. I'll look forward to your pattern for the dance belt. Love seeing your work on your page 🙂

    Blessings,

    Ali xox

    Reply
  3. Unknown

    Hi there!
    Thanks for your informative post! I'm experiencing now what you've written about and would be grateful for any pattern that you can share as I would like to give the sewing a go. You're right, trying and buying dance belts for boys in NZ is a difficult!
    Jeannie

    Reply

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