Ballet stretching recommendations

[Oksana]

Hi. I am after some advice for my 9yo. She is currently doing ballet 3 times a week and just completed JA as well. She is naturally not very flexible and I am not sure how to help her. She gets upset that her friends are hypermobile and are selected for tricky parts that require flexibility. Hence trying to figure out what to do. She did gymnastics before and that was helpful but we stopped due to move. Are there any online exercises/teachers/apps that can help her? She is happy to work hard but needs structure she can regularly follow. No pressure from teachers or us parents, more of a competitive streak. Thank u. 

[Adagio123]

5 minutes ago, Oksana said:

Hi. I am after some advice for my 9yo. She is currently doing ballet 3 times a week and just completed JA as well. She is naturally not very flexible and I am not sure how to help her. She gets upset that her friends are hypermobile and are selected for tricky parts that require flexibility. Hence trying to figure out what to do. She did gymnastics before and that was helpful but we stopped due to move. Are there any online exercises/teachers/apps that can help her? She is happy to work hard but needs structure she can regularly follow. No pressure from teachers or us parents, more of a competitive streak. Thank u. 

You could see if there are videos on Youtube for free. Otherwise Claudia Dean does lots of tutorials for stretching and all sorts

[Oksana]

Thank you. I'll check her out.

 

[alison]

Being hypermobile is not actually an advantage, though, I understand.  See, e.g., 

 

[taxi4ballet]

I wouldn't do anything at all without speaking to her ballet teacher first. 

 

The sort of flexibility required for gymnastics and some other dance styles is not necessary for ballet, and can actually be a hindrance.

Edited April 22, 2023 by taxi4ballet

[junedancer]

My DC wasn’t flexible at that age and has worked on it safely and slowly over the years and is now more flexible and stronger than her peers who were more flexible when younger.  Flexibility is only one element of what a dancer needs and something like Pilates or PBT and strength training would perhaps be more beneficial in the long run.  My DC had three vocational school offers for Year 7 without being fully in all three splits. Advice from teachers is best as they will know what she needs.

[OnTheMove]

She’s so young I wouldn’t be worrying. Regular class and working on her technique is all that’s needed for now. You don’t want her to hurt herself. 
As she gets older she can work on strength and getting more

flexible but there’s no rush. 

[Colman]

No rush, let her teachers sort her out when she’s ready and needs it. Ignore Instagram and ignore her hyper mobile  friends half of whom will likely end up plagued by injuries. 

[Anniedancemum]

I would agree with lots of what has been said here. However, my daughter isn’t naturally flexible either and has to work hard. We found FlexAbilities by Shelby on You Tube and it’s really helped. There are lots of short videos to work on different things and they’re all different levels depending on ability. What I would say though is, watch her carefully while she does them and adapt as necessary. My daughter is 7 and she finds it really helpful to have someone to copy/guide her when stretching at home rather than just trying to remember what to do. I do watch her though to make sure she’s not going to hurt herself and adapt where necessary. 

[glowlight]

Looking back as a mature ballet mum I now know that flexibility and strength are often two sides of the same coin.

 

So if your dd is less flexible, she may be stronger than some of her class mates.

 

She is very young.  Ballet is a long game and I would encourage you, and her to think of it in this way.

 

Over the next few years she will start to develop the flexibility to go with her strength, just as the hyper mobile girls with start to develop the strength to go with their flexibility.

 

She is very young.  Don't rush it.

[Laura_ballet]

My daughter does YouTube Hannah Martin tutorials and Anna McNulty. Not too much equipment needed. They don’t tend to warm up that well so spend 5 min doing some sort of warming up. 

[taxi4ballet]

It would be unwise for a 9-year-old to follow youtube videos and do stretching exercises unsupervised.

[Laura_ballet]

Yes very true. I stay in the room and observe, make sure she’s not over doing it. As I said, definitely need to ensure they have a good warm up before hand. I think sometimes we tread so carefully about all this stuff, if you’re in the room you can supervise them. This is the option we use and it works for us. Others may find another route. I was just sharing. 

[Ruby Foo]

21 hours ago, glowlight said:

Looking back as a mature ballet mum I now know that flexibility and strength are often two sides of the same coin.

 

So if your dd is less flexible, she may be stronger than some of her class mates.

 

She is very young.  Ballet is a long game and I would encourage you, and her to think of it in this way.

 

Over the next few years she will start to develop the flexibility to go with her strength, just as the hyper mobile girls with start to develop the strength to go with their flexibility.

 

She is very young.  Don't rush it.

 
Great post!  ‘Ballet is the long game’.

[Jan McNulty]

2 hours ago, Thelittleswans said:

My daughter does YouTube Hannah Martin tutorials and Anna McNulty. Not too much equipment needed. They don’t tend to warm up that well so spend 5 min doing some sort of warming up. 

Gosh I misread the post and thought you were saying I did stretching tutorials!

[Anna C]

15 hours ago, Jan McNulty said:

Gosh I misread the post and thought you were saying I did stretching tutorials!

Hidden talents, Jan? ❤️
 

Hi Oksana, I can only echo glowlight’s excellent advice.  The other girls may or may not be truly hypermobile, but if they are, it can definitely be a curse rather than a blessing - especially if the hypermobility is caused by a connective tissue disorder.

 

Flexibility can absolutely be improved, but it needs to be done gradually, safely, and at a young age, under the supervision of a qualified teacher or physiotherapist.  Stretches and other exercises should be “prescribed” and personalised for each child in order to avoid injury.  So personally I would not let a 9 year old do stretches from Youtube, but as the others have said, chat to your dd’s ballet teacher first. 😊

 

[Swanwings]

Stretching is a slow and steady accomplishment, it should be balanced with strength gained and not forced or pushed too quickly.... thats when damage can occur.  Each body is different and will work at a different pace, puberty also plays a part. It is always possible to improve though and children will just get there at different stages, frustrating as that might be.  I would also try to see a ballet physio (be sure it is one who knows young dancers bodies) for some specific advice as this can be invaluable. 

 

My own dd took ages to gain flexibility, she was not blessed with natural facility, but she grew a lot around 12 and then suddenly gained flexibility rather more quickly; she also had guidance from a ballet physio. Now, a few years later, she is still working for her desired flexibility, but it is improving all the time, slowly but surely. She was also told early on that her lack of turnout would hold her back..... well now she is completely flat.... you just never know when they are young.

[Beezie]

@Swanwings That is so great to hear!  My daughter is not naturally bendy.  I know it is hard for her to be in class with girls who can have insane extensions and back flexibility with little effort or practice.  It’s easy to say “I just wasn’t built that way.”  That is why it is so nice to hear that hard work over time can pay off too!  And that puberty didn’t decrease flexibility (which I hear is often the case, but may be aimed more towards those super bendy girls.)

[taxi4ballet]

When I say that children shouldn't attempt these stretching exercises unsupervised, what I meant is that if they are going to do them, then they need to be supervised by a dance teacher (or other professionally qualified person) who will know which exercises are suitable for the individual, and will ensure that they are done correctly.

Edited April 24, 2023 by taxi4ballet

[Laura_ballet]

My girls did cheer leading and acro classes which helped massively with their flexibility. When they stopped those activities and focused on dance, they maintained their flexibility by continuing to stretch at home which has helped in their technique classes. I would recommend if you can enrol your daughter in a “tumble” class or acro class that would really help 

Edited April 25, 2023 by Thelittleswans

[Beezie]

Just thought I’d add - I had an interesting discussion with the dance teacher.  She was of the opinion that RAD training method can build flexibility slowly in dancers with limited initial range.  (Whereas I presume, methods like Vaganova pre-seek high flexibility from a young age.)  I thought it was an interesting comment, and very helpful as selection between studio curriculums is always a bit of a black-box to me.