Science in Dance Posted March 21, 2017 Share Posted March 21, 2017 I thought I would pop this thread in here purely for the reason that because the 21st century Dancer and aspiring Ballet Dancer are required to possess very demanding physical attributes and skills from a very young age. In the process of this there is more and more calling for Dancers to possess strength, flexibility and general athleticism and simultaneously avoid becoming injured There are some safe and effective ways to enhance performance and there are some methods which are more risky and dangerous and should be avoided. There also some approaches that Dancers are starting to adopt to enable their bodies to withstand the large demand placed upon them. Therefore I wanted to open this topic to discuss evidence and research based methods for improving the strength and flexibility of young Dancers safely and for questions to be asked surrounding myths and methods for improving a Ballet Dancers athletic and aesthetic capability whilst decreasing risk of injury. Please feel free to post any questions that may be Physio related or any queries regarding exercises and training for Young Dancers. All the Best. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArucariaBallerina Posted March 21, 2017 Share Posted March 21, 2017 I wanted to ask what people thought of the Ballet Beautiful series for Body Conditioning? I do the short full body workout every 2 days and just wondered if this is good? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparkly Posted March 21, 2017 Share Posted March 21, 2017 Hi, I'm new to the forum so hello all! This is a fab thread idea. My 11 year old DD is always doing extra strengthening and stretching at home. She tends to do planks for core, theraband and rises in parallel for feet/ankles in the morning plus leg, feet and back stretches at night. She also wears ankle weights during her class warm ups. It would be interesting to hear what other children are doing. She saw a physio a few months ago as her feet are quite stiff and not that bendy even when she's stretching them her hardest - they recommended rises, theraband and stretching tops of feet using hands. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Science in Dance Posted March 22, 2017 Author Share Posted March 22, 2017 Hi, I'm new to the forum so hello all! This is a fab thread idea. My 11 year old DD is always doing extra strengthening and stretching at home. She tends to do planks for core, theraband and rises in parallel for feet/ankles in the morning plus leg, feet and back stretches at night. She also wears ankle weights during her class warm ups. It would be interesting to hear what other children are doing. She saw a physio a few months ago as her feet are quite stiff and not that bendy even when she's stretching them her hardest - they recommended rises, theraband and stretching tops of feet using hands. Hello The exercise prescription of rises and theraband work for feet and ankles is one correct method that can be used. However, I would tread cautiously when using ankle weights during warm ups as the idea of a warm up is to facilitate movement and not to overwork the body. Using ankle weights during ballet class can often over stress the hip flexor muscle groups and make precise ballet technique more difficult. In practice a child should become accustomed to moving their own body weight well and performing ballet movements with out extra resistance in a warm up. Please get in touch and I can give you more information on improving the aesthetics of feet for ballet. shapedynamix@gmail.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pas de Quatre Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 I have a pupil who is taking conditioning classes at a contemporary dance centre in a nearby town. In principal this should be good. However, I am finding that it appears to be having a negative effect on her posture. She seems to be "tucking" as if she has done to many crunches or sit ups, and has her weight back on her heel with a slightly bent supporting leg in extensions. She has a tight body in the first place, is not yet in splits and her extensions are amongst the lowest in her ballet class. I feel she needs more stretching rather than "conditioning". Any opinions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparkly Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 Thank you, I've just emailed you :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drdance Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 I too would guard against ankle weights - there's been some research that shows they have been associated with hip injuries. PdQ do you know what sort of things your pupil is doing in her conditioning classes? What are the credentials of the teacher? Conditioning done properly should not change the way a dancer moves so it could be that she's doing dance movements and getting conflicting technical feedback (just a thought) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Science in Dance Posted March 23, 2017 Author Share Posted March 23, 2017 I have a pupil who is taking conditioning classes at a contemporary dance centre in a nearby town. In principal this should be good. However, I am finding that it appears to be having a negative effect on her posture. She seems to be "tucking" as if she has done to many crunches or sit ups, and has her weight back on her heel with a slightly bent supporting leg in extensions. She has a tight body in the first place, is not yet in splits and her extensions are amongst the lowest in her ballet class. I feel she needs more stretching rather than "conditioning". Any opinions? How old is the pupil? It is important not confuse strengthening with stretching as stretching in many respects loads muscles in a similar way to strength training. If you think of a muscle as an elastic band then a stretch is just a passive loading of a muscle without added weight. Therefore it likely that the pupil needs specific strength assessment so that she has a stronger supporting leg and lower limb foundations. The ability to extend the knee will come as a result. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pas de Quatre Posted March 23, 2017 Share Posted March 23, 2017 She is 16. It appears to me she overlocks her lower and upper abs, and thus flattens her lower spine. Shoulders hunch a little too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Science in Dance Posted March 23, 2017 Author Share Posted March 23, 2017 (edited) She is 16. It appears to me she overlocks her lower and upper abs, and thus flattens her lower spine. Shoulders hunch a little too. Thanks PdQ would you like to send me an email and we could discuss posture, pillar strength and core stability. See if I can offer some solutions? shapedynamix@gmail.com Edited March 23, 2017 by DanceScienceandMedicineDOC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Science in Dance Posted March 24, 2017 Author Share Posted March 24, 2017 https://www.facebook.com/ScienceinDance/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moomin Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 Do you have any suggestions for exercises to help feel which muscles should be used for turnout and help strengthen them? Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Science in Dance Posted March 27, 2017 Author Share Posted March 27, 2017 Do you have any suggestions for exercises to help feel which muscles should be used for turnout and help strengthen them? Thank you! I most certainly do. There are some major muscle groups that help with turnout and some very general exercises that can be done to strengthen these external rotator muscles or "turnout" muscles. There are also some deeper external rotators that can be targeted. Would you like to drop me and email and I can try and take you through the full list there are probably too many variations to write here in full. Some really nice easy tricks that can be done too. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moomin Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 Ok thanks, I'll email! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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