Skip to content
TrakfloorTalk to us

Ballet room

A dance studio with a mirror wall, a barre and an existing threshold.

Usage class
Studio & Yoga
Governed by
Dance
Sports scored
4

A ballet floor wants sprung, not soft. Every fixed solid hardwood system in KTL's range is rated very suitable for dance, and the one build that puts a resilient covering at the surface is the one they rate unsuitable.

KTL define an area-elastic floor as one with a wide area of deformation when it is put under pressure, and they place that deformation below the floor surface. The advantage they list for it is a high level of stability whatever the load. Their other option is combi-elastic, which is a synthetic covering over the same kind of subfloor and which they describe as adding resilience at the surface itself as well as below it. That distinction is the whole ballet question. Structure that gives under a landing is what a dancer wants. A surface that gives under a pivot is not, because the shoe sinks slightly and the foot grabs instead of releasing, and KTL's own dance ratings follow that reading.

Recount the dance row and it splits cleanly. Five systems are rated very suitable: FlexiPRO 12 V3, PRO III, PRO II V2, Multiflex Advanced V2 and Multi Clip, and all five carry a solid KTL hardwood surface over resilience that sits below it. The two portable systems are rated suitable. The two lowest marks in the row both belong to FlexiPRO 21: less suitable with a 2-4 mm non-resilient covering, and unsuitable with a 6-9 mm vinyl or PU covering. That unsuitable mark is the only one in the dance row.

KTL's own recommendation for this class does not follow their own ratings, and the honest thing is to say so rather than quote the half that suits us. For their Studio and Yoga class they name one synthetic option, FlexiPRO 21 with a vinyl, PU or Lino covering, and the FlexiPRO 21 system page names dance and yoga studios in what the system is designed for. The dance row then gives those two builds the lowest two marks in it. We read the matrix as the more specific statement, because it scores dance directly rather than a class of rooms, and we would put the conflict to KTL in writing before specifying either way. Either way, one fact travels with that system: KTL supply only the birch plywood subfloor, so the covering that carries the classification is a third-party product.

The load case sets the floor rather than the shortlist. KTL define their Studio and Yoga class by light load and transport of equipment, and a ballet room carries dancers, a barre and a piano, so standard point and rolling load is sufficient here rather than a compromise. On its own it rules nothing out, and one of the candidates below carries high load capacity anyway. What chooses is build height, because a studio is usually fitted into an existing building with a fixed door threshold and a mirror wall landing on the finished floor. Across the five systems rated very suitable for dance the builds run 32 mm for Multi Clip, 39 mm for FlexiPRO 12 V3, 52 mm for Multiflex Advanced V2, 64 mm for PRO II V2 and 76 mm for PRO III, and PRO III rises to 96-156 mm once it is on wedges. In a retrofit the tallest of those is out before its performance is discussed.

The certificates are worth reading precisely. FIBA licences are issued per system and by number: WF73-06 for FlexiPRO 12 V3, WF73-03 for PRO III, WF73-01 for PRO II V2 and WF73-02 for Multiflex Advanced V2, all four stated as FIBA 2020 Level 1, and they are basketball approvals. BWF Grade 1 International Elite is badminton, and three systems carry it: PRO II V2, Multiflex Advanced V2 and Portable PRO. Neither body says anything about dance, and EN 14904 is a sports floor standard with no ballet classification in it. KTL publish class letters and no shock absorption, vertical deformation or friction figure at all, so a dance brief written around a deflection number cannot be answered from this catalogue.

The manufacturer’s own ratings, filtered to this room.

Read straight from their matrix at render time, so nothing here can drift from what they publish. The systems we would put forward are marked.

Suitability by system for ballet room
SystemDanceYogaAerobicFitness
Multi Clip SystemA3 · 32 mmVery suitableVery suitableSuitableSuitable
Multiflex Advanced V2A4 · 52 mmVery suitableVery suitableSuitableSuitable
PRO II V2A4 · 64 mmVery suitableVery suitableSuitableSuitable
FlexiPRO 21 + elastic coveringC4 · 26 mmUnsuitableSuitableSuitableSuitable
FlexiPRO 21 + hard coveringA4 · 26 mmLess suitableVery suitableSuitableSuitable
FlexiPRO 12 V3A4 · 39 mmVery suitableVery suitableSuitableSuitable
PRO IIIA4 · 76 mmVery suitableVery suitableSuitableSuitable
Portable PRO Summit V2A3 · 44 mmSuitableVery suitableSuitableSuitable
Portable PROA4 · 44 mmSuitableVery suitableSuitableSuitable

Three squares very suitable, two suitable, one less suitable, a bar unsuitable. The manufacturer’s own ratings, filtered to this room. A sport with no row in their matrix is marked as such rather than left blank.

What we would specify.

Recommended, lowest build height

Multi Clip System

EN 14904 A332 mmStandard load

EN 14904 A3, area-elastic, 32 mm, standard point and rolling load. It is the lowest build KTL make that carries their own solid hardwood surface, and it is rated very suitable for both dance and yoga, two of the four rows in KTL's matrix this room is scored against, the other two being aerobic and fitness, where every system in the range is rated suitable rather than very suitable. The resilient layer is an elastic foam underlay under 22 mm hardwood boards, so the resilience sits below the surface rather than in it. Two things about its catalogue page are worth knowing: it is the one system page where KTL left the designed for line blank, and it is the only system in the range they do not badge for a large arena. Against the blank line, KTL do name Clip in the recommended systems for their Studio and Yoga class, and that list plus the dance and yoga ratings is what our recommendation rests on.

  1. 1 millimetres. 7-layer UV coating + site game lines
  2. 22 millimetres. Solid hardwood boards, 22x130 mm
  3. 10 millimetres. Elastic foam underlay
  4. Levelled concrete slab

32 mm system height

Step up if the studio also works as a hall

Multiflex Advanced V2

EN 14904 A452 mmStandard loadFIBA WF73-02BWF Grade 1

EN 14904 A4, area-elastic, 52 mm, standard point and rolling load, FIBA 2020 Level 1 licence WF73-02 and BWF Grade 1 International Elite. Rated very suitable for dance, and the only system with a KTL hardwood surface whose designed for line names studio usage rather than arenas. KTL describe its batten system as carrying integrated progressive shock absorption, where Multi Clip's resilience is a foam underlay under the boards. They publish no shock absorption or vertical deformation figure for either, so that is a difference in construction and not a measured one. Take it when the same room has to host badminton or gymnastics between dance classes, both of which it is rated very suitable for. It is 20 mm deeper than Multi Clip, so settle the threshold and the mirror wall base detail first.

  1. 1 millimetres. 7-layer UV coating + site game lines
  2. 22 millimetres. Solid hardwood 2-strip parquet, 22/20 mm
  3. 29 millimetres. MFA battens + integrated elastic layer
  4. Levelled concrete slab

52 mm system height

Only if the slab is out of level and the threshold has 64 mm to give

PRO II V2

EN 14904 A464 mmHigh loadFIBA WF73-01BWF Grade 1

EN 14904 A4, area-elastic, 64 mm, raisable on KTL wedges to a range the catalogue states two ways, 86-144 mm on the overview page and 84-144 mm in the system text, high point and rolling load, FIBA 2020 Level 1 licence WF73-01 and BWF Grade 1 International Elite. Rated very suitable for dance. The single reason to bring it into a studio is an existing slab that is out of level: KTL list it for uneven concrete and describe a shoe system that combines with their wedges or other shims for levelling, taking up deviation that Multi Clip or Multiflex Advanced V2 would need a levelling screed to remove. KTL publish no maximum deviation the wedges will accommodate, so the survey decides whether they cover this slab or a screed still has to be scoped. On a flat slab it is the wrong specification for this room, carrying high load capacity that a barre and a piano will never test, at the greatest build height of the three.

  1. 1 millimetres. 7-layer UV coating + site game lines
  2. 22 millimetres. Solid hardwood boards, 22x130 mm
  3. 41 millimetres. PRO II LVL battens + integrated shock pads
  4. Uneven concrete or subfloor

64 mm system height, 86-144 mm on wedges

And what we would not, with the reason.

Saying what was rejected is half the value of a specification. Several of these are rated very suitable for the sport and are still wrong for this room.

  • FlexiPRO 21 + elastic covering

    EN 14904 C4, 26 mm, Standard load

    EN 14904 C4, combi-elastic, 26 mm excluding the covering, standard point and rolling load. Rated unsuitable for dance, and it is the only unsuitable mark in the whole dance row. The 6-9 mm resilient vinyl or PU covering that makes it comfortable to stand on is the same surface that grips a turning foot. KTL supply only the plywood subfloor here, so the layer that carries the C4 classification is bought from someone else.

  • FlexiPRO 21 + hard covering

    EN 14904 A4, 26 mm, High load

    EN 14904 A4, area-elastic, 26 mm excluding the covering, high point and rolling load. Rated less suitable for dance, the lowest rating of any area-elastic system in that row. It would work, but KTL supply only the birch plywood subfloor, and a 2-4 mm synthetic sheet bought from a third party replaces the solid hardwood surface every other candidate here carries, for no gain in this room.

  • FlexiPRO 12 V3

    EN 14904 A4, 39 mm, High load

    EN 14904 A4, area-elastic, 39 mm, high point and rolling load, FIBA 2020 Level 1 licence WF73-06, rated very suitable for dance, and named by KTL in the recommended systems for their Studio and Yoga class. It is the lowest profile A4 build with a KTL hardwood surface, the one a studio would reach for on height, and it is still the wrong one. Its own designed for line is large arenas, and concert and event arenas carrying heavy loads from retractable seating. It is fully bonded to its plywood subfloor with MS polymer adhesive, which makes it the only system in the range whose boards are glued down rather than nailed, clipped or floating, and it needs a level slab. Multiflex Advanced V2 is the A4 floor with a KTL hardwood surface that KTL describe for studio use.

  • PRO III

    EN 14904 A4, 76 mm, High load

    EN 14904 A4, area-elastic, high point and rolling load, FIBA 2020 Level 1 licence WF73-03, rated very suitable for dance, and on KTL's Studio and Yoga recommended list. It is ruled out on height alone: 76 mm, and 96-156 mm on wedges, the tallest system KTL make. What KTL say it adds over PRO II V2 is a thicker batten giving more stability, which a ballet room has no call on.

  • Portable PRO Summit V2

    EN 14904 A3, 44 mm, High load

    EN 14904 A3, area-elastic, 44 mm, high point and rolling load, FIBA Level 1 licence WF73-07. Rated suitable for dance, below every fixed solid hardwood system in the range. KTL state its purpose as professional basketball and other fast ball games in large sport and event arenas, and of the nine systems it is the only one they name neither in the recommended systems for their Studio and Yoga class nor in that class's synthetic recommendation. A portable panel system does nothing for a room that never has to be struck.

  • Portable PRO

    EN 14904 A4, 44 mm, High load

    EN 14904 A4, area-elastic, 44 mm, high point and rolling load, BWF Grade 1 International Elite. KTL do name it in the recommended systems for their Studio and Yoga class, so it is a fair question. Their own dance row answers it: rated suitable, below all five fixed solid hardwood systems, and KTL describe the system as multi purpose usage on a non professional level. Portability does nothing for a permanent studio; revisit it only if the room is leased or the floor has to be struck for other events.

What we add that the catalogue does not.

  • Slab moisture is ours to specify, because KTL do not. Their moisture story is entirely board-side, a customised moisture content and back-lacquered boards, and the catalogue says nothing at all about the slab. On a Thai ground-bearing slab we measure slab relative humidity before ordering and specify a surface damp-proof membrane against the reading.
  • KTL already customise board moisture content to the climatic conditions of the installation area, so the information they need has to come from us. The purchase order carries the installation city and whether the studio is continuously air-conditioned, because a conditioned studio and an unconditioned room are different specifications of the same floor.
  • Substrate flatness is a scope item, not an assumption. Multi Clip and Multiflex Advanced V2 are both listed for levelled concrete and both carry KTL's even subfloor requirement, so we specify the flatness tolerance the chosen system needs and scope the levelling screed to it. PRO II V2 is the exception, because KTL list it for uneven concrete and its shoe system combines with wedges or shims.
  • We specify low gloss for a ballet room. KTL offer low gloss, semi-gloss, glossy and super-glossy, and a high gloss floor facing a mirror wall is a glare problem. KTL publish no friction figure for any gloss level, so we specify low gloss on glare and appearance and we do not present it as a slip specification. It is settled at order stage, because the 7-layer UV coating is applied in the factory and KTL publish no site refinishing procedure.
  • No court markings. A ballet room takes no game lines, so site line marking is out of the scope and out of the programme for every candidate here. If the room is later asked to double as a hall, the marking goes back into the scope and into the programme.
  • Perimeter expansion and the mirror wall. A floating or battened wood floor has to be free to move at its edges, so we set the expansion gap and the skirting detail against the barre fixings and the base of the mirror wall, and we do it before the mirrors are ordered.
  • A threshold and services survey before the system is chosen, not after. The candidates run from 32 mm to 64 mm and the room decides between them, so we measure door thresholds, the mirror wall base, adjoining floor finishes and any underfloor services first and let the survey pick the build height.
  • A physical sample of the chosen species, and KTL's grading rule in writing, before the order is placed. KTL name six species and publish swatch photographs, a symbol legend, no grading standard and no technical data of any kind, so appearance and grading are settled against a sample in the room's own light rather than against a photograph.

What we would put to the manufacturer.

Before anybody signs anything. These are gaps in the published data, not doubts about the floor.

  • No shock absorption or vertical deformation figure is published anywhere, only the EN 14904 class letter. We would ask for the EN 14904 test reports themselves before answering any dance brief that names a deflection or resilience number.
  • No friction or slip resistance figure is published either. In a room worked in soft shoes, pointe shoes and bare feet, that is the property most dancers ask about first, and the catalogue is silent on it.
  • KTL's recommendation for the Studio and Yoga class and their own dance ratings point different ways. The class names one synthetic option, FlexiPRO 21 with a vinyl, PU or Lino covering, and the dance row gives the two FlexiPRO 21 builds the lowest two marks in it. We would ask KTL which of the two is their position for a dance studio, and get the answer in writing.
  • PRO II V2's wedge raise range is given two ways in the same document, 86-144 mm on the overview page and 84-144 mm in the system text. That has to be settled before a threshold level is fixed.
  • Six wood species are listed with no hardness, stability or suitability data for any of them. We would ask for a species comparison against a dance surface, not against a swatch.
  • Cleaning and maintenance is named by KTL as one of the factors in choosing a floor and is then never returned to. The only warranty statement in the catalogue is ten years on the 7-layer UV coating at normal wear and tear, with no conditions attached to it. We would ask what maintenance regime KTL require for that warranty to hold, since a studio floor is mopped daily.

If this is your room, tell us the sports and the heaviest thing that will ever cross the floor.