In a pinch, you can use the same leotard for gymnastics and dance, but it will largely depend on your teacher. The main thing is you want to see how their body moves." Some dance schools and gymnastics gyms, however, have different rules. While you may be able to interchange the leotards for class, you won’t be able to get away with it for a performance or competition.
What Are Dance Leotards?
There is a very common confusion when it comes to competition leotards and custom leotards. To be more simple, the confusion is between dance leotards, ballet leotards, and gymnastics leotards. Let's begin with the dance leotards to clear up the confusion. The main aim of dance leotards is to have as much variety as possible.
There are plenty of variants of dance leotards that are available in the market. There are multiple necklines and designs available for both boys' and girls leotards. So for the dance leotards, it is all about style and design. Some institutions specify a dress code to reduce the students' confusion regarding which design to choose.
Dance leotards are typically made of soft and elegant materials such as velvet or cotton sateen, and they are comfortable and allow dancers to move freely. They often have a skirt or pants attached for added movement.
What Are Gymnastics Leotards?
Gymnastics leotards, on the other hand, come in two styles -- tank top or long sleeve. The tank top straps are 2 to 3 inches wide and the neckline on gymnastics leotards is near the collarbone. Because of the rigorous nature of tumbling, gymnastics leotards need to have wider straps to stay up. Long sleeves leotards may also help protect your skin from a fall off an apparatus.
Gymnastics leotards are made of nylon, velvet, spandex or polyester. These leotards are tight-fitting, with a high neckline. They have long sleeves or thick tank straps. Competition leotards are generally bright and bejeweled with rhinestones or glitter. Gymnastic leotards tend to be designed with more patterns than dance leotards.
There is a tremendous amount of confusion between ballet and dance leotards, be it boys leotards or girls leotard gymnastics. Most of the time, people go to a shop to get ballet leotards and end up having a dance leotard or even vice-versa. The main reason behind this is the look of the leotards.
Ballet leotards are made of cotton, look plain, and are cheaper, making many people buy them thinking it's a non-fancy dance leotard. While others end up buying the shiny and sparkly dance leotard mistaking it for a fancy ballet leotard. The major difference between dance leotards, gymnastic leotards, and ballet leotards is that the ballet leotards are made for a more strict and uniform dress code. On the other hand, the rest of the two types are more of a personal style statement.
