Pilates is a great form of conditioning for Ballet Dancers because they learn proper alignment and form, core strength and stability.
If a dancer can’t perform a step, she is sometimes told that she simply is not strong enough to do it. What looks like a lack of strength in individual muscles may actually be an inefficient technique such as
- poor alignment,
- imbalance,
- lack of flexibility,
- or improper movement initiation.
The point is, if you increase the strength of individual muscles without considering your whole body coordination, you cannot achieve better technique. So if you increase strength in a misaligned body, you will strengthen the misalignment.
Conditioning the dancer as an athlete and as an artist is a mind-body exercise:
- strength,
- balance,
- flexibility,
- alignment,
- and imaginery training
need to come together as a balanced whole.
If the dancer is able to break the cycle of misalignment movements and strengthen proper ones, she can not only become more skilled but also reduces her risk for injury.
Here is one of the Ballerinas that takes regular Private Sessions
