Creative Ways to Keep in Shape

Are you feeling a little discouraged with the news of another extended lockdown? We get it, dancing from home is not the same as being in the studio BUT we can make the best of the situation we are in and can stay positive knowing that this is temporary. There are many different ways to keep in shape during this time at home while having fun and even learning new skills! Let's take a look!

 Try out some yoga or Pilates

Conditioning exercises for dancers are a must, especially as we get older and are performing increasingly difficult material. Yoga and Pilates are great options to help keep us in shape as well as aid us in finding and activating deep intrinsic muscles, developing superior muscle control and increasing flexibility safely. Les Petits Ballets began offering online Pilates classes last year and continues to do so for our Adult and Pre-professional programs. If once a week isn't enough for you, there are a wide range of yoga and/or Pilates videos available on Youtube. Be diligent with your conditioning and watch your ballet technique soar!

Floor barre and/or doing barre without the barre

Floor barre is a great way to keep in shape and is used by dancers primarily when they are rehabbing an injury. It is also fantastic while refocusing technique. It's extremely hard to cheat doing floor barre and a way to develop a better understanding of alignment.

Doing barre without the barre is also a great indicator if we are properly aligned, working with proper technique and are balanced over our supporting legs. Try it out and see if you are able to perform your barre without any support. We bet you'll find it pretty challenging!

Ankle stability exercises

We use our feet and ankles A LOT in ballet, particularly ladies who do pointe work. Therefore, having good ankle stability is extremely important and these exercises don't take much room. This can be as simple as standing on one foot with your eyes closed. Take it to the next level by adding a balance board or bosu ball!

Work on your endurance

Hiking, running, climbing stairs, jumping rope and swimming (if you have a pool) are all examples of ways you can work on your endurance while at home. Ballet is largely an anaerobic activity which means that lots of dancers could use a bit of aerobic exercise. Try increasing the intensity of your exercise over time by doing more repetitions or going for longer intervals to increase endurance. This way, once we get back to the studio, allegro will be a breeze (we wish!).

What are some other ways that we can keep in shape while being at home? Let us know in the comments.