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31 March 2021

At Home Ballet Exercises to Help in the Studio

Grab your workout clothes because we are sharing six exercises that will help improve your ballet technique and performance in the studio!

Plié Squats Lower body strength helps give ballet dancers the endurance and power perform for long periods of time. Improve your lower body strength at home by performing plié squats. To perform plié squats: Stand in second position - second position is feet placed hip-width apart and turned out. Hands are placed on the hips or held out to the sides Slowly sink your lower body by bending your knees Hold your body in the sunk position for 30 seconds Press your heels into the floor and straighten your legs Repeat this exercise three times for beginners, five times for intermediate, and seven times for advanced dancers Raised Leg Crunches Strengthen your core by performing raised leg crunches. Raised leg crunches are performed by: Lay on your back - make sure your lower back is flat to the floor and your back isn’t arched Lift your legs in the air - keep your legs straight and even with your hips Lift your upper back and reach for your toes Repeat this anywhere from 10 to 30 times Plank Another exercise that can help strengthen your core is the plank. To perform a plank do the following: Get into the same position you would to do a pushup Lower your elbows to the floor - bending them at a 90-degree angle and keeping them even with your shoulders Keep your back and legs straight Hold the position for anywhere from 30 seconds to 3 minutes Bridge Bridges will help improve the strength and flexibility in your back so you can perform those amazing backbends that happen so often in ballet. To perform a bridge: Lay on your back - make sure your lower back isn’t arched and that your shoulders are pushed into the ground Bend your knees so they are at a 90-degree angle - keep your feet even with your hips Push into the floor and raise your hips towards the ceiling - keep your shoulders to the ground Slowly roll up until only your feet and upper back is on the floor Hold this position for 15 to 30 seconds Slowly lower back down to the ground Repeat three to eight times Relevé This simple at home exercise will improve the strength in your feet, calves, legs, and glutes. To perform a relevé: Stand in your preferred ballet position - first position is extremely popular, but some people prefer to stand in second, fourth or fifth Push into the ground with your feet while raising your heels Hold the position once you are standing up on your toes - hold it for three to eight seconds Slowly lower back down Repeat several times - approximately three to seven times Side Lunges Inner and outer leg strength is needed to perform a lot of the movements in ballet. Side lunges work to strengthen both the inner and outer leg while also strengthening other parts of your lower body. To do a side lunge: Stand with your feet together - make sure your knees are together and your feet are parallel Take a large right or left step - make sure to not put the foot too far away from your body Bend your knee - keep the knee over the foot when bending and keep the opposite leg that isn’t bending straight Straighten your knee and pull your foot back in - so you are standing in the same position you started Repeat the same movement on the other side Do three to eight sets of lunges - both left and right side

P.S. Check-out the adult open classes at The School of Ballet Arizona, offering beginner, intermediate, and advanced technique. Click here for our Spring 2021 schedule. 

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