Dance belts

[LBBalletMom]

I think it is better to get the boys into a dance belt before they really "need" it. You don't want to wake up one day and say, "Yikes!" There is a great website called "Doctor Dancebelt's Guide" that can answer all of your dance belt related questions. I got some great advice there about how to put them on properly and how to fit them. (The "Doctor's" rule of thumb is age 11). Recently, Body Wrappers has come out with a new belt called the ProBELT. My son likes it far better than the Wear Moi version.

[Aussiedancemum]

We ended up waiting a while and have just now bought two Capezio dance belts - he's 10. He hasn't started developing but was ready to wear one. We went for the string. He did say it was uncomfortable the first time he wore it but he also liked the way he looks. He won't go without it now. I'm glad we got the first one before puberty as now hopefully it will just be a matter of me buying a couple of new ones when I think he needs it and not too much awkwardness.

[Lawsonia]

I bought the first pair to my son when he was eight. Because of the white tights he was wearing in performances. Those were full seated Wear Moi's. He grows very fast, soon the next one was g-string model. It felt weird for him at first and he refused to use it. I told him, that db protects him and keeps him healthy. And all dancing males wear them. And finally "I'll give you two euros if you'll use them in one class"  He agreed and after the class he said "It felt weird at first, but then I got use to it". 

He hit his puberty in the age of 11, I'm so happy this dance belt thing is perfectly normal to him now.

[brita]

My son is 9 and has until the change of the studios no dancebelt worn
the new studio he has a very good experience with his ballet dress
When we got the baletwear from studio we wearmoi Ivan gröse 8/10 and 10/12 and ballet tights and we should try the sizes at home
The problems are true with the leotard IVAN it a short sleeve V-neck cotton leotard features a built-in fully padded dance belt with thong back.
As he put it after the showers there How important it is to wear a dance belt before puberty I nowwas a huge theater … …
with much effort I could persuade to find the right size
the girdle line must be about hip-sitting it may not be too long …
we had also received an instruction.
It true for him everything very new no nothing under the leotart …the thong …. the but free and the front the correct position
I met with him the deal it can dress up at home before going to the ballet.
He is not really enthusiastic after two months

[mln]

I would not think it is necessary at 9 years old for a boy to wear a thong dance belt.  But some parents introduce their boys to dance belts early to help them get used to them.  I did not quite understand your question.  Could you ask it again?  Is he struggling to get used to a thong leotard?

[brita]

hello mlm, he got used to it a bit. I think he got used to it at some point. But he is not enthusiastic, but there is no alternative he has to wear it.

[Twoboys]

I have a DS and am also the Costume Mistress at our school/company. I have a lot of these conversations with moms and boys. There are a lot of good ideas in this thread. Start early, as "part of the uniform". If you are uncomfortable talking about it, have a male teacher (if you have one) or other trustred teacher (or the costume mistress, if you have one) just say matter-of-factly, that it's part of the uniform. It is. There are "full-seat" dance belts as well, but the transition to the thong-style might not be as easy. (Sometimes a mom's (it's really always the mom) anxiety can make her DS anxious too.)

FYI: Not all dance belts do their job well. There are new "quilted" dance belts which smooth out the look.

[5uptown]

I let my son pretty much decide when he was ready to transition from full seat to the thong style. It was gradual-- he would go back and forth. He had both styles for a while. I never forced the issue. He is 13 and wears the "real" style all the time now and it was no drama. So, in my experience of having one boy dancer, it was not necessary to make him wear it before it was required. 

[Godfather]

My Godson started wearing a full seat dance belt at 6, I have always been of the thought that the earlier the better for these things. I make him help with the laundry when he is at my house and I am washing his dance clothes, he saw my dance belt and asked what it was, after I explained that a dance belt was my special dance underwear, he asked when he would get special dance underwear. I had to start him in a full seat dance belt as I couldn't find a thong back dance belt small enough to fit him at the time. He is 7 now and is able to fit into the smallest size thong back dance belt I could find, he didn't like it at first but I assured him after a couple days he wouldn't even notice it. Now as we approach the end of the dance year he doesn't even think twice about his dance belt. On a side note the artistic director at our school has never heard of a boy asking for a dance belt before hahaha 

[BeehiveBalletMom]

While the last reply was in 2019, I wanted to add my suggestion/experience with my 13 year old son.  He has worn dance belts since he started at age 5.  Body Wrappers and WearMoi have full seat.  Then around age 10 we transitioned to the thong even though the full seat still fit him because he started wearing the leos with the belt attached.  If he doesn't wear an attached one, it usually is a full seat still as he can fit them and they don't stand out too much when in black tights.   We started our son wearing the "appropriate dance attire" after witnessing one of the boys at the studio wear jazz boots and basketball shorts to dance class.  Plus refusing to wear a dance belt on stage with costume.  My son, of his own accord, found that highly unprofessional and disrespectful to the teacher and decided if he were to dance, he wanted to be serious.