Boys tights for performance

[HOTW]

I am looking to buy some performance tights for my son. I need your opinion on which is the best to buy. Last year we had him in 2 pairs of girls tights since they were so thin. I am learning so much from this site but I'd perfer to hear your opinions on which ones are best. I need ivory- white if we can't find ivory. There are so many garbage sites that come up when I look online for boy's tights..Help Me guys!

 

An

[Mel Johnson]

Dear An

 

I'm going to move this to Parents of Boys, because the Men's Forum is "for boys and men who dance".

 

M. Stevens is the consensus favorite of the men, when it comes to tights.

[Memo]

My vote is for Mirellas. They have a great texture. Tutu.com to the pointe dancewear has good boys dancewear and will deliver it quickly.

[dnznqueen]

*knock knock*- i'm not a parent of a boy, but i agree with mel- m. stevens is the men's tight of choice. they also come in children's sizes, and you can always dye the white. also agree with memo- talk to claudia at get to the pointe dancewear.....

[vrsfanatic]

knock-knock teacher here...What kind of performance tights may depend upon the color of the tights and the texture of the tights. Unfortunately, I have not found a pair of men's tights in a light color that is not transparent. If you are looking for white or a light beige, two pair of men's tights may be necessary. I am not an expert on men's tights at all, but having staged a few classical ballets, not every texture is appropriate for every ballet or every leg type. It does become a problem if the dancers need to look uniform. Ask the teacher/choreographer/director which maker of tights would be recommended for the piece your son is performing.

 

I find this interesting since providing the right tights for males and females seems to always be my problem, not the parents.

[DaveS]

Quite possibly being as far from being an expert as it's possible to be, I nonetheless recently ordered and received a catalogue from Russian dancewear company Grishko, hoping to offer my protégé a range of dancewear beyond the fairly stock-standard offerings for boys available at the local dancewear shop.

 

Grishko's range for boys seems to be quite good - it's already more comprehensive than what's on offer in most of the shops we've tried - and there might be something there that suits what you're looking for, too.

 

They have a website: www.grishko.ru which lists their products there.

 

As for the quality of their product, I have absolutely no clue - I haven't even had a chance to deliver the catalogue to my protégé in order for him to pick and choose before I'll buy for him from one of the local suppliers. I guess we'll wait and see how that goes.

 

 

David

[Guest jendavis]

I have always ordered M. Stevens milliskin tights for my DS. I get them from Discount Dance online (http://www.discountdance.com - look under tights not mens). He wears size Medium now (he's 16, 5'8", 130lbs) but he wore size Small when just a small tyke (since you add elastics anyway, the adult size Small didn't seem too big on him). The white tights dye easily with Rit dye. When my DS was younger and a bit more self-conscious, he would wear a pair of ladies white or tan tights under the white M. Stevens tights. The milliskin tights are thicker than standard ladies tights, but aren't absolutely opaque.

 

Also, Get the Pointe Dancewear (http://www.tutu.com/dwear_menstights.html) carries both the M. Stevens tights and Mirella men's tights. Get the Pointe charges $7 for custom dying (of the M. Stevens white milliskin tights) and another $7 to add elastics.

[its the mom]

Dancing son prefers Mirellas if he has to wear white. They are thicker and he needs only one pair. He would prefer to wear M. Stevens when black tights are necessary, but he has now taken to wearing Mirellas because of the texture. For me, the Mirellas give a better look on stage.

[tsavoie]

Both my son's like M.Stevens, but they are shiny. If you need a different texture, not sure. The white is heavy enough to wear only one pair though. Younger son is 5' and 100 pounds and can wear a men's small.

[dancemomCA]

Not sure what brand my DS wears for performance, but I know that he ALWAYS wears 2 pair of white tights when performing - he says he has not found a white pair yet that is not completely opaque.

[cheetah]

DS also insists on two pairs of white - regardless of brand. He prefers MStevens and still wears a small, even though he's also 5'8" and about 125 lbs. Haven't tried Mirella, but perhaps he will. Hates Capezio men's tights. Interesting thought about texture being important - guess he'll have to explore that! We get all MStevens from Get the Point - their service is much faster - I usually have my order within two days, if not one, from when I place it. He sews his own elastic.

[HOTW]

Thanks for the info I will be seeing if I can get in contact with his new ballet teacher- unfortunately he is teaching master classes this week elsewhere. His other school has never had a boy dance in tights onstage so his teacher is as lost as I am, they have usually allowed the few boys the choice of wearing tight jazz pantsin the past. I am lost about the talk of sewing elastics...don't the tights come with an elastic waistband????

[cheetah]

Elastics are sewn sort of like suspenders. I've seen them done in different ways - one on the left of the back and crossed over to the front right. My DS chooses to sew them like traditional suspenders - two strips of elastic from front to back. Depending on the costume, this doesn't always work, though - like if the tights are over a leotard for a simple performance. In this case, an elastic belt, worn on the waist, with the tights rolled down over the elastic, help to keep the tights up. DS was taught that the elastic can be tied in a simple knot and it works fine. Others have actually sewn the elastic. Does that make sense?