Quick reminder before I dive in — lunchtime ballet conditioning is this Friday! Get the details here.

And now it’s time to geek out:

When I was a tiny ballerina-in-training, my teachers often referenced the "Days of the Week" system that Enrico Cecchetti formulated to coach healthy, well-rounded dancers. Ballet scholars have almost mythologized this as the perfect class schedule — one that cycles through every principle of classical ballet, and "regenerates a dancer's body, not devours it."ⁱ

That’s not how I trained as a dancer or a teacher, though, so I took a deep dive to find out why...

This system was made for adult professional dancers. They already knew lots of ballet steps, and needed to care for their bodies and dance their best after a long, hard day. Sound familiar, ballet friend?

Cecchetti divided his principles of classical ballet throughout the week so dancers could practise everything, without over training.

Monday begins with the principle of aplomb — maintaining length, balance and suspension, especially as you transfer weight onto your supporting leg, even staying vertical in assemblé.