In ballet, your core is one of the most important areas of movement and function while performing key ballet exercises. The core originates the majority of the full body movements that you perform. The core is also what determines your posture as it plays a large role in aligning your ribs, spine, and pelvis.

As a dancer this means a strong core is essential from standing in basic positions all the way to balancing and even turning! At a young age we develop muscle memory to keep the “ribs in” as you have heard from your ballet teachers many times. Holding those “ribs in” is just a start to learning core strength at a young age.

Contrary to what you may think, your core is actually more than just the abdominal muscles. The core consists of these major muscle groups including a few key back muscles;

Transverse Abdominis
External and Internal Obliques
Rectus Abdominis
Erector Spinae

There are simple exercises that you can do year round to help strengthen, tone, and firm your core for peak performance. You may even find that you will break some of the bad habits developed in ballet class after finding your core strength.
For Example; Many back injuries are caused by a weak core. If we work on strengthening the abdominal muscles and sides, we can take some of the stress off the back. All ballet movements will feel much easier and freer once you strengthen your core.

I have put together a comprehensive eBook with over 30 pages of core conditioning exercises for dancers. You can buy it now at www.balletstrength.com.