We are excited to announce that with the launch of the new balletstrength.com, our Ballet Skills blog has moved! Now you can get all of our helpful free blog tips as well as our products that offer solutions to the most common ballet problems in one place!
Don’t worry, we’ll still check back with you here periodically but our most recent and up to date blog posts and products will be posted to our new blog at http://www.balletstrength.com. Thanks again for all of your support and I look forward to hearing your feedback on the new blog!
If you are one of those dancers who has tight iliotibial bands or “IT bands” you know that it is not an easy task loosening them up. Today I want to share with you a different way to loosen up your IT band. These exercises work well because they do not put direct pressure on the IT band, rather on the muscle groups surrounding it which are the real culprits for the tightness!
But first lets explore the IT band by locating it. The Iliotibial Band is a thick strip of connective tissue that connects several muscles in the outside thigh. It plays a key role in the movement of the thigh by connecting hip muscles to the tibia of the lower leg. (see below) Tight IT bands in dancers is very common and can cause hip and knee pain as well as injuries. It can also inhibit flexibility which of course affects extension and developé.
Anytime my Ballet Strength clients start to feel hip or knee pain and/or tightness, I add the exercises in the video below to their training program. Give them a try yourself, performing 10 repetitions in each position to increase your flexibility.
There is nothing worse than waking up in the morning with a sore throat and a full day of rehearsals ahead of you. No matter how healthy you are it is inevitable that the flu or a cold will hit you at some point during peak season. I get asked a lot by my dancer clients whether they should continue classes and rehearsals while sick. The answer truly depends on just how sick you are. Is it a cold? Allergies? The flu? Are you contagious?
In general, if you are sick you stay home and rest but with dancers it can be a really tough decision to make. If we miss a day of rehearsals, for example, our understudy will get a chance to do our part or we may lose our spot altogether. So what do you do? Be sure to talk to your studio or company director directly on the phone (so they can hear just how sick you are) and take care of YOU. Staying home may make you feel lazy, but it is an essential part of your recovery – and the faster you recover, the sooner you will be back to dancing.
The general rule is that if the symptoms are above the neck it is usually okay to exercise but at a lower intensity than you are used to. As dancers, we don’t really get the luxury of determining the pace of class and rehearsals, so If you absolutely must go through with it, alert your teacher or director that you will be taking it easy. Dancing while you are ill could also lead to injury so be cautious. The key is to listen to your body – it is definitely not a good idea to push yourself beyond your limits when you are under the weather so take it easy.
You wouldn’t want the rest of the dancers at your studio to get sick either, so be sure to wash your hands and wipe off your barre spot with disinfecting wipes. Get lots of rest when you can and be sure to drink lots of liquids whether you are at the studio or at home.
When you should definitely NOT dance while you are sick:
• When you are vomiting
• You have a fever
• Coughing or chest congestion
• Widespread body and muscle aches
When it is okay to dance with a lower intensity:
• Sore throat
• Nasal congestion
• Sneezing
• Runny nose
My hope is that you stay healthy this Fall and Winter and continue to thrive as a dancer. Be sure to stay up on your nutrition and rest to avoid getting sick!
If you had a chance to watch any of the World Dance Day video, you saw that in addition to showing live ballet classes and rehearsals, they also showed what the dancers do to stay in shape outside of the studio. At Ballet Strength, we love that they chose to reveal dancers behind the scenes in the gym strength training. My favorite clip they showed was of National Ballet of Canada dancer, Chelsy Meiss. Pictured below is Chelsy performing an exercise called the “deadlift” from the World Dance Day broadcast. Today I am going to share with you how to do this exercise correctly so that you can maximize your Ballet Strength just like Chelsy!
Dancer Chelsy Meiss performing deadlifts
At Ballet Strength all of our programs and DVD workouts incorporate Romanian deadlifts. Romanian deadlifts are a great way to strengthen your hamstrings and spinal erectors, the long muscles that run up and down the sides of your lower back. Our goal in using this exercise during cross training is to strengthen the core and glute/ham tie in to help take the brunt of the stress from dancing off of the ankles – helping to stay injury free. Strength and power in the upper legs will also help with jumps, balance, and turns.
How to do it: A.) Start with the feet hip width apart, holding a light bar or two dumbbells. Knees should be slightly bent with the weight in the heels. B.) Bend forward from the torso, sliding the bar or weights to mid-shin (do not go all the way to the floor!). Be careful that you do not bend the knees additionally and keep the weight in the heels. Do not round the back. C.) It is a good idea to even lift the toes off the ground to ensure that you form is proper with the weight in the heels. Perform 3 sets of 12 repetitions.
Any good ballet cross training program will include deadlifts such as our Sensationally Strong Jumps Program or the Power Pirouettes DVD. The dancers whom I work with in companies such as San Francisco Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, and Boston Ballet all do this exercise too! Give it a try and take your Ballet Strength to a new level.
If you are a dancer who is looking to improve your jumps and stamina, plyometric training could be right up your alley. While there are many beneficial plyometric exercises for dancers, I want to discuss the pros and cons to plyometric training and the exercises that may work better for the goals that ballet dancers are trying to achieve.
When it comes to jumping, the problem usually lies in the muscle groups that are recruited during jumps and their ability to fire correctly. What does this mean in simple terms? It means that simply jumping more is not going to fix the underlying issue. Dancers looking to improve their jumps through plyometrics need to be extremely careful. If there is a weakness, imposing a new complex movement into the mix may create injury. Plyometrics can also be very hard on the knees and are usually performed in a parallel position, something that most dancers are not trained in.
Before you get started with plyometrics, you want to make sure you have the following basic exercises down to fix any potential muscular imbalances.
Squats- You need to master a basic squat before trying a plyometric exercises which will likely have you starting and ending the exercise in a squatting position. Try a basic wall squat as pictured below. Perform 3 sets of 20 repetitions paying close attention that you are keeping the weight in the heels, pushing through the heels particularly on the way up.
Lunges – You need to be able to fluidly transfer weight from one leg to the other in a parallel position before attempting plyometrics. This will challenge your lateral stability. Try 3 sets of 15-20 repetitions one leg at a time, not alternating.
Basic Jump Squat – The first plyometric exercise that you should start with is a basic jump squat, as pictured above. Begin in your parallel squat position, jump up with the legs in parallel and return to the squat position to finish. Perform 3 sets of 10 repetitions, eventually graduating to weights. *If your knees knock together when you land or your heels won’t stay down, this exercise is too advanced for you.
If you are looking to strengthen your jumps, plyometrics might be right up your alley, however as you have learned there are usually underlying issues. I work with dancers all over the world who are looking to strengthen their jumps and am happy to help you out with a program that best suits your needs. Feel free to email me or visit balletstrength.com to find the right program for you!
As dancers we need a strong core to hold our developés, nail those triple pirouettes, and leap across the stage with ease. The plank is one of the most popular core exercises and is no exception in the dance community. At a certain point the plank can get easy, (unless of course you are holding it for minutes at a time) so why not target the core muscles in a more challenging way – by taking the plank to the next level!
There are two variations of the plank that we are going to try today. Both exercises will utilize a stability ball. As always, use your best judgement with the approval of a physician before performing any type of strength training activity.
The first exercise (shown below) is a great “next step” for those of you getting bored with the usual plank. Rest the feet and ankles on the stability ball while holding a push-up position with the arms. Hold this position as long as you can without breaking form. Be sure that the glutes are not too high in the air – you want to aim for a straight line from the shoulders all the way down to the feet.
The second exercise is just the opposite of the last (shown below). You are going to start on your knees to position your arms correctly on the ball. Push up to balance on your feet and elbows. Be careful not to let the upper body collapse onto the ball – stay held on the shoulders. Again, you want an imaginary line running from the shoulders to the hips, all the way to the ankles.
Give these exercises a try as a warm-up before ballet class or as part of your cross training routine to become a stronger, well rounded dancer. I also have a program dedicated to core conditioning for dancers that you can check out HERE. Keep posted for more Ballet Strength exercises and tips!
If you are dancing for long periods of time, it is important to replace the fluids lost from sweating. If you become dehydrated while dancing, especially in the heat, it can cause fatigue, dizziness, decrease in coordination, and even muscle cramping. Examples include forgetting combinations, the inability to physically complete long segments of choreography due to fatigue, and legs cramping in the middle of a piece. We’ll talk more about how you can hydrate yourself during the dancing day to prevent some of the awful consequences of dehydration.
Chances are, you’ve probably experienced one of the three symptoms I mentioned above. Dancers are sometimes at a disadvantage here, as teachers are not all educated about the importance of hydration in the classroom and do not allow water or sports drinks to be brought into the studio. You can work around this by making a conscious effort to drink water and/or a sports beverage throughout the day, at home or at school, and in the morning before ballet.
Adequate hydration is an essential part of your ballet nutrition. Water makes up almost 60% of our body weight. Water is the most important nutrient for your body. Its functions include lubricating joints, regulating body temperature, and transporting nutrients through the body. We lose water during the day through sweating, respiration, and through urinary and fecal output.
Electrolytes-
When you hear the word “hydration” you immediately think of water, but being hydrated sometimes means more than simply drinking more water. Dancers who spend more than 3 hours rehearsing per day can be at risk for dehydration and fluids need to be replenished in the form of electrolytes. Electrolytes are minerals that are essential to the human body.(examples: sodium, potassium, magnesium) Electrolyte beverages utilize these minerals to restore the body’s water levels.
When I was dancing with a ballet company that required 8 hours per day of class and rehearsals, I sipped on an electrolyte beverage all day long. Many of my friends didn’t even drink as much as water during the long rehearsal days and let me just tell you – it is part of the reason why their performance in class and rehearsals suffered day to day.
Choose your “sports drink” wisely – although some may taste like kool-aid this is likely due to the fact that they contain too much sugar. My favorite brands of electrolyte hydrators such as the brand Vega, are found at natural health food stores.
I hope this blog will help you understand hydration and how it effects your ballet performance and recovery. For more information please be sure to subscribe to this blog and join us on Facebook or check out my eBook, Ballet Nutrition. Happy Dancing!
A beautifully pointed foot is the finishing touch to any dancers physique. Sure, not everyone can attain the extreme arches of Beckanne Sisk, but with the right exercises, you can achieve the best foot for your body. With all of the complicated foot stretchers and contraptions these days, it is hard to know what to trust or what really works. The good news is that you don’t have to spend a ton of money on a fad product to get beautiful ballet arches – there are simple exercises that you can do at home to get those fab feet!
Exercise 1 – Flex and Pointe – This sounds simple, but I want you to try this exercise (video below) while lying on your back. This exercise will not only strengthen the arches of your feet, but also the muscles in the ankles and the calves. I recommend starting with 10 repetitions of each part, there are 4 parts to this exercise.
Exercise 2 – Towel Scrunch – This is a secret go-to exercise for dancers who are injury prone in the ankles and metatarsals. I recommend doing this at least three times per week for 15 minutes at a time. Video can be found here –> http://balletstrength.com/Ballet_Strength/intrinsic.html
Exercise 3 – Thera-band – While you may not have a thera-band lying around the house, they are not hard to find. You can get off brand versions at Walmart and sporting goods stores now. Give these basic exercises a go before class or as a cool down in the evening.
Give these three exercises a try and you will be well on your way to having your best feet and arches! As always, please feel free to contact me if you have any questions regarding these exercises. I have also designed a 6 week Perfect Pointe Program to take the guess work out of foot and ankle training for you. Available exclusively at Ballet Strength –> http://balletstrength.com/Ballet_Strength/powerpointe.html
If you are like the majority of dancers, your daily routine begins by showing up 30 minutes or so before ballet class starts to warm-up. The keyword here is “warm-up.” What most of you end up doing is stretching as a warm-up which may be causing more harm than good. Read on to find out the proven reasons why you should not be stretching before class.
If you are stretching in an effort to increase or enhance performance prior to ballet class or the big show, you are really doing yourself a great disservice. Static stretching results in a decrease in performance while dynamic stretching results in an increase in performance (*see reference 1 below).
Some of us don’t really know why we stretch before class…we just do it because we saw someone else doing it. I don’t know about you, but I never had a ballet instructor suggest stretching before class. They did however suggest warming-up. There is a big difference.
Your pre-ballet class ritual should consist of a dynamic warm-up done in an effort to specifically turn-on and activate muscles through heightened neurological communication between the brain and muscle motor units. Stretching will not achieve this. Stretching should be done in an effort to recover and restore fatigued muscles after ballet class or performance. The goal of post class/ performance stretching would be to restore range of motion and/or to release tight muscle fibers to provide efficient blood flow which brings essential nutrients into the muscle to repair, restore, and recover.
A great dynamic warm-up for example would consist of high knee lifts (think marching in place), torso twists, arm circles, and believe it or not a jog around the ballet classroom to elevate the heart-rate and get the blood moving. How many of you have seen girls jogging around the room in auditions to warm-up and laughed at them for doing so? (now the joke is on you!) Below are a few good warm-up exercises to try before class:
1.) The Plank – hold this position for 30-60 seconds. Warms up the core muscles and really, the whole body.
2.) Hi Knee Marches – Do 20 or so of these to warm-up the hip flexors, glutes, hamstrings.
3.) Calf Raises- This is a great way to warm-up the feet, ankles and calves. Perform 15-20 of these along with some ankle rolls.
If you are looking to maximize those splits or extension, work on your deep stretching after class from now on. Also, be sure to give a dynamic warm-up a try before class this week and notice the difference in the way your muscles feel during class. I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts and experiences with this!
*Resources:[1] L. Parsons, N. Maxwell, C.Elniff, M. Jacka, and N. Heerschee Static vs. Dynamic Stretching on Vertical Jump and Standing Long Jump (2006), Greg Romero Coaching (2011)
What is the most common correction that you get in ballet class? Chances are, it has something to do with your arms. Rather than just telling you “shoulders down” or “elbows up,” today I am going to show you the single most important exercise that you should be doing outside of the classroom. If you never want to hear your ballet teacher scream at you in front of the class about your arms ever again, please read on!
Addressing the real problem – Like I talk about in my other blog posts, strength is the limiting factor (in our extensions and our pirouettes). Sure, we can stand around in ballet class all day long with our arms out in second position but this tends to lead to two things; 1.) Tired, droopy elbows which leads to 2.) Incorrect muscle memory. Over time, after repeatedly holding the arms incorrectly day after day and hour after hour, our bodies (and our minds) get trained to do the wrong thing – to hold the wrong position. The best way to address this situation is outside of the studio.
Dancers often lack upper body strength. We spend so much of our time focusing on what the legs and feet are doing that we neglect the upper body. (Core is another neglected component but we’ll get into that at another time.) The dancers that I work with at my studio and online work diligently to balance their upper body strength with the rest of their ballet skills. Some workouts are even entirely for the upper body. Why, you might ask? Because our upper body is responsible for a lot that goes on in our dancing. A turn cannot successfully be completed with droopy elbows, for example, and your jumps clearly will not get far off the ground if you are tensing your shoulders and neck midair.
So what exercises should you be doing? I am going to show you one of the single most important upper body exercises that dancers should be doing outside of the ballet classroom.
The Pec Fly – The Pec Fly (often referred to as the dumbbell fly) is an exercise that emulates a ballet port de bras that goes from first to second position.
The pec fly targets the pectoralis major and minor muscles, the serratus muscles in the rib cage, in addition to the deltoids to help stabilize the movement. What does this mean in dancer terms? It means that it directly targets the muscles that you use to keep those elbows lifted and shoulders down when holding your arms in first position. This means great things for your dancing like stronger turning positions, free moving jumps, and effortless port de bras.
Directions: Start lying on the floor, knees bent, feet on the floor as pictured, holding 2 weights (3-5 lbs to start) in a rounded ballet second position. Keeping the arms rounded, slowly bring the arms in to a first position, touching the weights together. Repeat this for 15 repetitions, rest and do this again for a total of three sets. As always, make sure you warm-up prior to beginning any ballet or fitness routine.
Below is a video of the pec fly exercise as well:
Upper body is something that I have incorporated into all of my Ballet Strength online programs and DVD’s as it is a vital component to your progress as a dancer. I go over multiple exercises that will improve your port de bras, just like the pec fly exercise above. Give this a try and I can’t wait to hear how this exercise helps you improve as a dancer!
Ballet Audition Tips
Ballet Skills 