*** Welcome to piglix ***

Dance belt


A dance belt is a kind of specialized undergarment commonly worn by male ballet dancers to support their genitals. Most are similar in design to thong underwear.

Dance belts were developed and considered desirable for male dancers and others to wear because (1) various choreographic moves can otherwise result in pain or possibly even injury to the male genitalia which are not supported nor held snugly in place against the lower abdominal area, as well as (2) skin-tight, body-hugging ballet tights would otherwise reveal the contours of the male dancer's anatomy to a degree of detail which could be considered distracting to the audience.

A dance belt resembles a thong undergarment in design but has a wider waist belt so the flesh at the waist is not pinched in. At the back this waist belt is connected to the bottom of the front triangular panel that covers and supports the male genital parts by a very narrow piece of elasticized fabric. This strip of fabric passes between the wearer's legs and is recessed in the crevice formed by the two buttocks and is sometimes referred to as a "T-back" design.

Athletic supporters or jock straps also provide active males with anatomical support but involve a pair of elasticized straps joined to the bottom of the front pouch passing between the legs and encircling the upper thighs just below and on each side of the buttocks. The Japanese fundoshi shares some similarities with a dance belt.

The color of the dancer's supporter is normally chosen to be similar to his skin tone, such as beige or dark brown, which is intended to make it less noticeable beneath the dancer's costume: a pair of tights which is generally worn over a leotard top (if the latter is worn; female ballerinas usually wear their tights under a leotard top). Dance belts are also produced in white and black.

Lighter coloured tights, such as white, light grey, creme and beige can be more revealing of and make more conspicuous the delta shaped detail of the male dancer's genital area since the shape and contour of his penis tend to stand out more under bright lights for stage performance, accentuated as they are by shadowy depression and high relief. Darker tights on the other hand tend to be less revealing if they have a flat finish to them rather than a shiny one that catches the light more.


...
Wikipedia

...