14 replies to this topic

[je danse dans ma tete]

At the dancewear shop the lady who was helping me try on leotards said (while I was wearing my jeans and t-shirt) 'since you have a long torso like my daughter, you should try these styles'. One of my teachers says I have a long back, which goes along with the long torso. But every now and then a different teacher will tell me to use my long legs. I am confused. I thought long torsos meant short legs. Sometimes I think what I wear makes my legs or torso look longer or shorter.

I know it doesn't matter much other than for aesthetic purposes, but I need to know once and for all: is there any way to objectively tell if your torso is long or short?

I am willing to get out the measuring tape! ;)

[Serendipity]

Pardon me but I must have a LOL! Torso and legs have their own genetics. You can have a long torso, long legs. Short torso, short legs. Short torso, long legs. Long Torso, short legs.

Or something in between....

[je danse dans ma tete]

so long torso does not mean short legs and vice versa?

[Tiffany]

I think its in proportion to your overall height. I don't know if there is a specific ratio that torso must be to legs to qualify as short torso & long legs. Someone once posted on BT4D that they were making tutus & all of the dancers in their company/student company were sitting on the floor & it was startling who was taller sitting (as opposed to standing), and this affected the length of their bodice for their tutu also. I am pretty short myself & while my legs aren't that long, I have been told I have long legs for someone my height. I have never been told that I have a short torso though so I imagine its long. So, since your teacher has said you have a long back, I would imagine you have a long torso. However, having a long torso does not automatically exclude you from having long legs as well, as serendipity stated.

[jimpickles]

No doubt the clothing industry has some standard measurements that they use, for individuals of different heights. It would be interesting to see what they are. I guess the people on the board who make dancewear professionally know the answers.

As someone with a long torso for my height, I have to have everything that needs to fit closely (wetsuit, leotard) made specially or altered. A bit of a nuisance.

Jim.

[angiered]

In general, someone who has a long torso will be long in relation to how big their bone structure is.

i.e. A person who has narrow ribs and shoulders, but has a long girth (is relatively tall for the size of their bones) is considered to have a long torso. I have two DD's. One has a very long long body. She is slim, with a long torso and long legs. My other DD has an average torso with long legs.

[MJ]

Torso size is important for dancewear and costume measurements. Just like waist, chest, and hips. Costume fittings are always bothersome due to all the different measurements. You always feel too tall, fat, and barrel chested when trying on a costume. In Romeo and Juliet I went back and forth between Capulet and Montague depending on which costume they wanted me in. You wonder what tiny slender people wore the costume before you.

Why worry about your torso size? Nothing you can do to change it!

[davidg]

It seems that a torso could be called long in relation to one's overall height --- in which case that would imply something else is short in relation to overall height, i.e. short legs.

Or it could be called long in relation to its width, i.e. one has narrow hips and shoulders compared to the length of the torso. This kind of "long" torso could be paired with long or short legs.

Leotards don't involve the legs at all. Therefore, in fitting leotards, I'll bet that the second kind of "longness" is what matters.

[aninaluvsballet]

I agree with davidg. E.g. when you look at the Bloch sizing chart on their homepage (blochworld.com) you can see that they have all sizes plus long sizes. And comparing a normal size "s" with a "tall/long s" you can clearly observe that the long one's girth is just a couple inches longer.

[Laschwen]

I have a long torso and long legs, but people see me as long legged. It realy just adds up to tall for me.
I compared my torso (girth) to my overall height a while back. They were 4 inches apart.
I think the fact that my height is more than my girth suggests that I am proportionally Long legged and shorter in the torso.
Of course this has nothing to do with leotard fit. Considering my girth is 70 inches, I need a Tall or a long torso size either way.
Oddly enough, when I was a skinny kid, I got away with regular length leotards. My girth may have been smaller for the lesser weight, or it may just be the fabrics were better at stretching two ways in the 70's.

I think if you want to know for yourself if you are proportioned more one way than the other, my measurement idea might work for you. If it about casting and such, it is more about how others perceive you when you stand next to others.

[Sashinka]

Laschwen,

I am not quite understanding what you mean by "girth". I am picturing measuring around the body on a horizontal plane, but Im not sure where you are measuring?? I am assuming it is not the waist, as I would doubt that you could be 70 inches there.....

[Serendipity]

Girth is the length of the torso from top to bottom. Discount Dance Mag has a diagram on how to measure it. To some of us, of course, it means something to do with weight!

[gimpydancer]

Laschwen - that seems to make sense as I'm 54 inches tall but my girth is 61 inches and I've always considered myself to have a long torso. I'm pretty slender so it's all torso length.

[Blackswans]

I would think that long torso or short torso is in relation to your overall height as others have said, so in order to have a "long torso" for your particular height then you would need to have short legs. It doesn't mean that you don't have long legs AND a long torso if you are tall...chances are you do. But, for example, if you are 5'7 then some people will carry most of that length in their legs (long legs), some people will carry it in their torso (long torso) and some will have an even average in both, in which case they're just...average.

I'm not tall to begin with but I have a really long torso and short legs, which makes for frustration when leotard shopping. Things usually come up too short in the front. Some brands, I can't wear at all...either the torso is too short, or I order the next size up and it's baggy. Long torsos are kind of harder to fitin my general experience.

[Laschwen]

[quote name='Sashinka' date='May 28 2009, 05:08 PM' post='410612']


Oh My I hope the others have cleared this up. My waistline might horrify me these days but it is no where near my height overall thank heavens. I am picturing Humpty Dumpty if that were true.

I use the word "girth" for torso length all the way around from shoulder to crotch and back; like the dance catalogs show in diagrams. It does suggest something else on it's own I agree.

I think there are two distinct ways of using the terms long or short legs or torso. One is for finding clothes that fit and the other is how you appear overall. I have met a few petite ladies who wear long torso swim suits.

I understand the sizing up to get length trouble. I had on a regular length plus size leotard at a dance shop, and found the hips rode up to my waist while the shoulders of the leotard were pulling down hard on mine. It wasn't a pretty sight. It worked much better when I was a medium and put on a large for the length. That old Danskin fabric of the 70's just did the trick.