To Wear a Bra or NOT to Wear a Bra - That is the Question!

Satin Stitches | Dec 17, 2008 | there are 1 comments

It was oh, so stylish in the 50's!

This blog article is geared to all dance studio personnel who are deciding what costumes to order for the season-both for competitions and for recitals. While you are paging through numerous catalogs with front-only pictures and, or looking at samples of these costumes, think about better options for your dancers.

Think about AGE APPROPRIATE COSTUMES FOR DANCERS, In regards to bust support. Can dancers really concentrate on footwork, hand movements, and facial expressions if their breasts are not fully supported in their dance costumes?

The open-back request for costuming-what does it really mean? When you suggest to young dancers that they dance their solos in an open backed costume, because it looks prettier to you, you are really suggesting that the dancer go without a bra. Please think twice about this.

Female dancers are indeed, female, and sooner or later they develop female bodies. This includes breasts. For comfort, proper support is needed. Our regular day to day clothing generally includes a bra, both for support of the breasts, and to help restrict the movement of the breasts during physical movement. The sport bra was invented for the more extreme movements of rigorous sports. Some clothing has built in bust support, such as swim suits and exercise apparel.

Little girls that have not developed breasts do not have to worry about wearing bras. The open back look does not cause any problems.

Dance costumes that are styled with modestly cut backs, that can accommodate a good bra is a good idea. Dance costumes that are cut with less-modest backs can work well, when they are styled to cover certain types of bras. Dance costumes that are styled to fit tightly around the chest and FIT the dancers properly are also good.

The current popular A-line, halter cut dresses are an example of the worst possible design for supporting the bustline, if they are NOT worn with a bra. These dresses are everywhere. They are loosely cut, so nothing at all is supporting the breasts. They are simply flopping in the breeze. VERY distracting for the audience, and also VERY distracting when you are dancing. ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAVE A LARGER THAN size A CUP SIZE. Unfortunately I have witnessed some D cup 13-16 year olds with the misfortune of wearing & competing in these dresses. What were the dance studio teachers thinking when they ordered this costume???

ALL dancers figure types must be considered when ordering costumes for the group. Excellent dancers come in ALL shapes and sizes. You MUST mentally picture ALL of your dancers in the costumes that you are considering ordering. These girls pay lots of money for the opportunity to dance and compete. Do not make them pay for costumes that they will be embarrassed to dance in. Obviously everyone has different tastes as to what is the perfect costume for a particular performance, and not everyone will be happy with the choice. But make it a wise choice. Adolescent girls can have negative self-images, so do not contribute to this by forcing them to wear inappropriate costumes. There are many, many costume choices out there every season. Please choose wisely.

Bare midriffs are still very stylish. BUT, do all of your dancers have midriffs that are perfectly toned and will look good, when shown off? If not, cover them up. A compromise would be to have a costume with a cut-out in the midriff area, or utilize nude-toned sheer spandex mesh for a bare look from a distance, but do not show spare tires, as it works like a girdle, or body shaper.

If you NEED the bare, open back look, consider the same nude-toned, sheer spandex mesh fabric to help with the support issue by covering the neck & shoulder areas. The nude fabric can also be lined or non-see-through so that your dancers will look like they have lots of skin showing, but will be able to wear their favorite supportive bras. This fabric can be dyed to various skin tones, in addition to being available from different companies, in different skin tones.

An absolute hideous look, in my opinion, is when some dancers wear sport bras under a backless costume. Despite the still current fashionableness of wearing your underwear on the outside, it is NOT appropriate for undergarments to be seen, with a performance costume. Especially when some in the group DO NOT. Groups should be striving to be UNIFORM for their performance. No, I do not like nude or clear straps-you still see them-make them match the costume, please!

Most high school dance and drill team state organizations have addressed both the open back, bare midriff, and visible bra strap issues with varying results. Some states have banned any bare skin or bare skin-looking fabric AT ALL from neck to thigh, while others allow nude fabric for use in the midriff or neckline and shoulder area. No bouncing boobs, is what is wanted in most state dance team organizations. Why should it be different for studios?

Kids these days grow up plenty fast enough, we do not need to push them into sexier costuming than what is appropriate for their ages. And we do not need to starve them so they have no shape.

There are many options for bust support and keeping the open back look. Ideas include duct tape, the throw-away stick on bras, form-fitting costumes that have bust seaming, built-in shelf bras, bust pads or cups that are sewn into or safety pinned into the garment. All of these are better than nothing, but the BEST option is a good supportive bra.

One bad option is a strapless bra, the sort of contraption that brides or prom queens strap themselves into. They are uncomfortable to stand in, let alone dance in. It also shapes the body totally unnaturally, and does not fit well under form fitting spandex. You can see where the bra starts and stops.

Good back designs, that help with bust support, generally are more costly than backless, but are they not worth it? The very best option for bust support, is a design that allows for wearing supportive bras.

George Balanchine was one of the most famous choreographers in the world of ballet. He lived from 1904 until 1983, founding his School of Ballet in 1934 in New York City. He revolutionized musical comedy dancing on Broadway. Unfortunately, his attitude on the appropriate size and figure type for a ballerina was, I WANT TO SEE THE BONE. In other words, only the petite, extremely thin dancer, in his eyes, could show off his choreography to its best.

Very few dancers are overly thin WITH large bustlines. Is this where the blatant disregard for the true female form started? And is this still being perpetuated, either consciously or subconsciously? If so, should we not demand that this be changed? Especially in view of all of the anorexia and bulimic problems with our daughters? Do dance teachers and choreographers subconsciously or consciously weed out dancers that do not fit the perfect dancers body-look by choosing inappropriate costumes for them, so that they will be discouraged from continuing their dance training? Are most dance teachers and choreographers flat-chested and have not had to deal with the embarrassment and supposed shame of large breasts not properly fitting into a costume? Is this a laziness issue, is it just simpler to ignore the minority of large-chested dancers? Is it an economic issue-is it deemed too costly to purchase costumes with better design, fit and support for ALL of their dancers? Should parents of large-chested girls continue to PUT UP WITH dance teachers and studios that do not allow ALL of their dancers to feel good about how they look in their costumes?

Dance costumes that do not allow for proper breast support really points out that the big-chested girls are different. Judy Anderson, owner of Bravo Bras in Blaine, Minnesota, a full-service bra fitting shop, states that many of her customers come to her in tears, they do not want to appear in public wearing a non-supporting dance costume that does not allow for wearing a bra. They are big busted. Their poor Moms do not know what to do! They are angry and upset. She states that people need to develop a voice and confront the studio teachers that disregard the bustlines of their students. THINK ABOUT IT!

Coopers ligaments are the ligaments that keep breasts from sagging. These ligaments are broken down when the breasts are not properly supported. Imagine the wear and tear on breasts that are swinging in the breeze, for a rigorous dance routine. Anderson also states that regular sports bras are also very bad for the breasts. Think of the kneading of bread to flatten out bread dough. Sports bras do the same thing to the breast ligaments.

Without proper support, breasts will droop and sag, because of the stretching or sagging of the Coopers ligaments. The weight of the breast pulling on the back muscles can cause back strain, severe headaches and TMJ, a condition that affects the jaw muscles. Blood flow and the lymph flow can also be blocked from the breast. Going braless or wearing an incorrectly fitted bra can cause all of these problems.

So, are back-less dance costumes harmless? Not really. Please consider all of the physical and emotional issues when considering dance costumes where your dancers cannot wear bras with them.