Choosing Tights
There are many types of tights used for Dance; here is some basic information that may help you choose which tights to use, and be particularly helpful to the novice.
Always check with your studio as they may have preferred colours and styles.
If you are in a troupe, you may all need to have the same colour or even brand of tights to keep the look uniform.
Popular Tight Colours & Their Uses:
- Theatrical Pink / Ballet Pink - Palest of Soft Pink, Used for Ballet
- Salmon Pink / Flesh - Flesh Pink, Popular Ballet Colour choice
- Skintone / Suntan / Tan - Darker suntan colour, Popular for Jazz, Tap
- Toast - Darker burnt orange colour, Popular for Physical Culture, Physie
- Black / White - Varied uses
Styles of Tights & Their Uses:
Footed Tights
Footed tights feature a fully covered foot that give a seamless look in shoes. They are a dance basic and available in matte, shimmer/gloss, and fishnet.
Convertible Tights
Convertible tights (sometimes called transition tights), can be worn as footed or footless tights, they have a small hole under the foot so they can be converted to a footless tight by pulling the hole over the toes and heel.
Some of the benefits are:
- Being able to switch from Ballet to modern, contemporary and jazz in one session.
- Having the ability to quickly pull the tights off the foot allowing for adjustment to Ballet Pointe shoe pads.
- Wearing to and from class
Stirrup Tights
Stirrup tights feature a self sling that pulls under the foot securing the tight and leaving the heel, toes, and ball of the foot bare. These are a popular choice for modern, contemporary and Physical Culture.
Footless Tights
Footless tights are basically a regular tight without the foot, the bottom edge is usually finished with a self band. As there is nothing pulling the tight down they tend to work their way up to sit just below the knee.
These tights are popular for class work, modern, contemporary, and jazz styles.
With a good colour range, footless tights are a popular choice to finish costumes.
Shimmer or Gloss Tights
Shimmer tights have a shinny glossy finish and are mainly used for Performance work, they are available in footed, stirrup, convertible and footless styles. These tights have limited stretch and are not as durable as other tights, they also snag easily. As they snag easily it is always recommended to have an extra back-up pair when performing. It is not uncommon to go up a size in these tights.
Fishnet Tights
Fishnet tights have a open net weave which stretch out when worn. They are a popular choice for Tap, Jazz and Cabaret Dance styles, and often used to create funky looks for costuming.
For a traditional and uniform look, fishnets are often worn over shimmer (gloss), or matte tights, (Skintone, Tan or Suntan). This is particularly good for uniformity in troupes.
Professional fishnets are a heavier fishnet and are recommended for continual use due to their durability.
For a fun and funky look use coloured fishnet tights, great for 80’s themes.