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6 real world shifts to harness the power of classical ballet and modern dance science!
Fun ballet legend for you, ballet friend — when the world famous Ballets Russes went on tour, they refused to travel without their teacher, Maestro Enrico Cecchetti. They depended on classes that refreshed and strengthened their techique, so he created a formula.
Last month I wrote about how Cecchetti’s training system catered to every aspect of classical technique, and why it’s NOT the most practical setup for passionate adult amateurs. Although our life circumstances and access to dance science have changed, the principles of ballet still guide our work. ✨ 🩰
I strongly believe that your ballet practice should build you up, not break you down. While that doesn’t mean ballet’s always easy, it does mean your class work should be adaptable and tailored to you. Group classes juggle many dancers’ needs at once, so this week I’m sending along some real world shifts to get what YOU need out of any class.
Choose the right challenges – go in with a personal goal (try well placed feet or a sense of aplomb on for size) and adapt your classwork so you can achieve it.
Prioritize expressive movement — getting artistic and letting your personality shine fosters your innate coordination. That way you don’t have to micromanage each movement.
Support your body – compression gear, custom taping techniques, and supportive dance shoes make a huge difference in distributing force, adding stability, and keeping you dancing.
Be selective with high impact steps — ballet physiotherapist Moira McCormack suggests that dancers may benefit from skipping jumps every other day — especially if you’re hypermobile or recovering from injury.
Tailor your conditioning to your workload – for every 2-5 hours you’re dancing, aim to include 30 minutes of mobility, 60 minutes of strengthening, and 30-60 minutes of cardio. You can build some into the days you’re skipping jumps or join me for ballet conditioning!
Make time for rest – the goal is to regenerate your body, not devour it. When life’s on easy mode, recovery fits in whenever, but when stress comes knocking, guess what gets the axe first. You wouldn’t skip breakfast, so don’t skip this!
Take excellent care and have lots of fun,
Natasha
P.S. Our next ballet conditioning class is on Friday 💪 Get the details here!