Dance garments have always been interesting in terms of design and style. The dance leotard is basically a one-piece dress that allows the legs to remain free, covers the torso, and is majorly used for ballet and jazz dance forms. Dance leotards have evolved with time and are found in varied cuts like polo neck, cap sleeves, camisoles and long sleeve variations.
The Evolution Of Dance Leotards:
1) The Origin of Leotards:
Dance leotards derive the name from Jules Leotard who was a French Acrobat famous for trapeze performance during the 19th century. The idea behind designing this garment was to make his trapeze performances look prominent and more dramatic. The one-piece tight garment since it was well showed off the physique in an interesting way and created an amazing impression. Interestingly, the garment was known as maillot during Leotard’s lifetime. Only after his death, the garment came to be known as leotard.
2) Leotards for Men to those for Women
Another interesting fact is that dance leotards were initially designed only for men. They were mostly used by circus performers at first. With time, leotards became versatile and started being used in different sectors such as sports, dance and performance niches. Dance leotards can be custom made to suit varied performing acts. With time, women started using dance leotards for swimming and dancing as well.
3) The Fashion Story:
Slowly with time, dance leotards evolved and came in a wide variety of design and color themes. This was during the 70s. The eighties saw a huge leap in the entire fabric industry with introduction of spandex and lycra. Thanks to the immense elasticity of these fabrics, they became a popular choice among dance leotard manufacturers. In the current times, dance leotards are made from embellished fabrics as well as velvet. The Olympics gave dance leotards a new platform to the designers where they came up with some fashionable trends. Today, the leotards are designed keeping in mind the breathing, i and re-shaping requirements of individuals.
4) Aids in flexibility:
One another important characteristic which can be found in modern dance leotards is the flexibility it offers. Dancers can enjoy unrestricted movements wearing them. The audience hence witnesses a performance which is accentuated and highly efficient.
5) Modern dance leotards:
Following are some of the variation of modern day dance leotards.
Body stockings or unitards are a commonly used leotard type that has gained traction with athletes and performers. These mostly come with tights that are built in too.
Singlet is another variation of the dance leotard. These cover the top area of the legs and fit like shorts.
Another dance leotard variant is the Biketard that offer fitted coverage in tights form until the mid-thighs.
While buying dance leotards, the right fit must be the top concern. Ill-fitted leotards interfere with the flexibility and will look bad as well. The fabric chosen too must be comfortable. Nylon lycra or cotton based lycra are highly popular among modern dance leotards. These materials have the capability to fit the form efficiently. You will get a glossy finish in a Nylon based lycra while the cotton ones will give a matte look. You can visit online platforms or physical stores to check out the colors and designs found these days and choose the one which fits you the best.
Hence it is true that the dance leotards have come a long way and are surely are here to stay and go through more changes with time. Never compromise on quality and fittings when it comes to purchasing dance leotards.
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