Why do ballet dancers cut little holes around the heel & the toes of their tights?

Question

Update:

Yeah I've seen professional dancers cut holes in convertible tights, but as you (mintchips49) mentioned in that reply to Sam, there are other ways to fix all that, that's why I asked this question. It's so weird 

Answer 1

Favorite Answer

Mintchips49 is correct.

Just a small addition to that. Some dancers wear convertible tights, and cut an additional hole where their heel is. This is usually done if a dancer is worried the heel of their pointe shoes might slip off. 

Answer 2

Likely this is done to prevent ingrown toenail problems caused by the constrictive pressure of the tights on the toes if one has ingrown nail issues, and to allow for good air circulation to prevent circulatory problems from the tights being too tight, especially when doing demanding allegro work. 

Answer 3

Ballet dancers do that in case they forget their ballet shoes. It is easier to dance barefoot than with tights on your feet.

Answer 4

Those are called stirrup tights. They come that way. They keep the tights from ridding up. Most ballet dancers don’t use those.  They are used more often by modern dancers who dance barefoot. 

There are also convertible tights which has a single small opening in the front by the toes. It makes it easier to access your toes in order to tape them or adjust padding when doing pointe work. Those are the type used most often by ballet dancers.  

^note:  With convertible tights  they can also roll up the tights if they are working on a contemporary piece that requires bare feet. 

Answer 5

The leggings normally come that way to accommodate different foot sizes.

Answer 6

They don't want to slip, and need the feeling and traction of heel and toes against the flooring.