Many types of clothing can be worn over the traditional leotard as a cover-up. For example, skirts can be a form of cover-up for ballet class. The Dance Academy in Westland, Michigan, lists T-shirts, pants and shorts as examples of cover-ups, while the Viktor Yeliohin International Ballet Academy includes shorts, pants, leg warmers and skirts in its definition of cover-up clothing. Some manufacturers even sell attire specifically marketed as ballet cover-ups.
Most schools of ballet do not allow cover-ups of any kind during class. City Ballet of Raleigh, North Carolina, prohibits cover-ups because they can hinder a dancer's movement, and because cover-up clothing also hinders an instructor's ability to critique a dancer's form. However, schools of ballet sometimes make exceptions to this rule. For example, Orlando Ballet School allows a female teenage dancer to wear a black skirt as cover-up while she is on her period.
Although cover-ups are generally discouraged during class, many schools of ballet encourage or even require students to wear cover-ups to and from class. In some cases, this is so that dancers will not be cold. This rule is sometimes applied because it is seen as immodest to appear outside of a ballet studio in ballet dress; Cricket's School of Ballet in Pennsylvania believes that such behavior is "not proper." Other ballet schools, such as Napa Valley Ballet, view this rule as a matter of respect for ballet traditions.
Many schools of ballet offer classes in forms of dance other than ballet; common offerings include jazz dance, hip-hop, tap dance, theater dance and modern dance. Although cover-ups are usually not allowed in ballet classes, rules may vary if you are taking classes in a different form of dance. For example, The Dance Academy in Westland, Michigan, allows students enrolled in hip-hop dance to wear a cover-up during class.