Start 2025 right with our top 10 tips for improving your ballet form!
Tip 1: Warm up before class
Warming up before dancing is crucial, as it increases your heart rate and body temperature, promoting blood flow. This prepares the body for more complex movements, reducing the risk of injury due to sudden over-exertion.
What should a warm-up include?
Warm-ups can include cardiovascular exercises, stretches and joint mobilization exercises. It is advisable to opt for dynamic stretches over static stretches as holding muscles in a stretched position before exercise can decrease muscle power, increasing your risk of injury.
Side lunges, squats
Light jogging, jumping jacks
Joint rotations
There are two main types of stretching.
Type of stretching | Dynamic stretching | Static stretching |
Description | Stretching through active movements | Holding a stretch in a stationary position for a period |
Goal | Keeps the body temperature elevated and prepares muscles for exercise | To improve flexibility |
When to use | Better suited for warm-ups | Better suited for cool down |
Examples | Side lunges, Squats | Splits |
Tip 2: Stretch after class
Stretching after ballet class helps to reduce the lactic acid buildup in muscles, promoting muscle recovery and reducing muscle soreness. The most effective time to stretch tight areas is right after class when your muscles are warmed up, to allow for greater flexibility and range of motion.
Best post-class stretches:
Here, we can opt for static stretches
Splits to improve flexibility
Butterfly stretch for hip mobility
Tip 3: Strengthen your core
Core and back muscles can act as a stabilising force, to ensure proper body alignment. Strong core muscles can help maintain good posture, balance and control during turns and jumps.
Core exercises for dancers:
Regular planks, side planks
Dead bug
Tip 4: Perfect your arm placement
Strong, graceful arm movements complete your ballet lines, bringing fluidity to any dance piece. Maintaining the right position requires arm strength and core stability.
Things to note:
Keep your shoulders down and shoulder blades flattened out
Keep your elbows rounded to maintain a continuous line
Extend armline all the way to the fingertips
Exercises for better arm placement:
Arm circles
Prayer pulses
Tip 5: Improve your turnout
Turnout is essential in ballet, requiring proper technique to prevent injuries. Activating the hip rotators and inner thigh muscles can help to inmprove turnout safely.
Exercises for better turnout:
Clamshell (with resistance band)
Side lying leg raises
Butterfly stretch
Tip 6: Improve foot articulation
Foot articulation is crucial to perform precise and intricate movements when dancing, especially when doing tendus. Good articulation of the feet can elevate the technique and enhance the overall aesthetic of the performance.
How to strengthen your feet:
Point and flex (with resistance band)
Doming exercises
Tip 7: Safely improve flexibility
Flexibility is a key component of ballet, allowing one to achieve high extensions and make challenging movements like développés, arabesques, and grand battements appear effortless.
Best practices to improve your flexibility:
Balance flexibility with strength to prevent hypermobiliy issues
Stretch after class when muscles are warm
Incorporate active flexibility exercises
Tip 8: Refine coordination and fluidity
Ballet is all about making movements look effortless and having a seamless flow between steps. Improving coordination and fluidity will improve the overall performance quality and minimises energy expenditure.
Here are some things to focus on:
Breath control
Maintaining lines that flow -- from the arms to the legs
Ensure that movements flow into one another
Tip 9: Use different methods to memorise choreography
Memorising choreography is the first step to a polished performance. When choreography is fully memorised, dancers can focus on expression, musicality, and connecting with the audience rather than worrying about the next step.
Ways to memorise your dance choreography:
Chunking
Utilising audio cues
Word association/imagery
Tip 10: Practice with intention
To refine ballet technique, dancers should actively apply corrections consistently, both during class and in personal practice. It is important to listen to feedback from instructors and internalise the right technique, to ensure lasting improvements.
How to practice effectively:
Break down complex movements into smaller segments
Refine technique and strengthen muscle groups with conditioning exercises
Record yourself, and rewatch the recording to see if any further improvements can be made
Starting 2025 with a focus on refining your ballet technique will set the stage for growth, strength, and artistry throughout the year. By incorporating these 10 tips, you will build a strong foundation that enhances your performance quality and supports long-term progress and injury prevention.
Here’s to achieving your 2025 ballet goals! 🩰🌟
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