You’ve probably heard your teacher say how ballet is the foundation of dance. What exactly does that mean? Think of ballet training as the first floor of a building. Take away the floor, and the whole structure crumbles! That may sound a little dramatic but the truth is, if you don’t use ballet as your base, all the other dance styles you’re learning will suffer.
Even if you’re more focused on contemporary, jazz, hip hop or tap, ballet training lays the groundwork for becoming a better all-around dancer, especially if you plan to go professional. Here are some other reasons why it might be a good idea to stay enrolled in ballet:
1. It gives you a better understanding of your body. From the top of your head to the tips of your toes, ballet engages the whole body and requires you to work different muscle groups. Since ballet is so structured, it encourages you to learn more about anatomy as well as your own strengths and weaknesses.
2. It improves your posture and grace. You can easily spot a ballet dancer out of a crowd just by the way they stand – super straight! That’s because ballet training demands dancers to maintain a lengthened, vertical spine with square hips. And since grace is built into ballet technique, dancers become more graceful just studying it. The best part is these skills often stick with you throughout life.
3. It boosts your balance and flexibility. The more balance and flexibility you learn from ballet, the less likely you’ll get injured while doing other sports or dance forms. Believe it or not, even football players take ballet because the balance and flexibility exercises helps them dodge tackles, catch passes and avoid getting hurt.
4. It builds strong, lean muscles. Classical ballet requires you to rise on the balls of your feet, turn out in your hip sockets and hold high extensions to the front, side and back. These types of exercises enable you to build non-bulky muscles not to mention make you super strong.
5. It enhances technique in all dance styles. Most of the finalists from “So You Think You Can Dance” made it to the top because they had something their competition didn’t – technical ballet training. The classical ballet training you receive will carry over to other dance styles, making you stand out and look more polished.
6. It helps you appreciate music and rhythm. Classical music might not be your vibe, but it’s pretty complex in terms of rhythm, structure and quality. Being able to tackle a ballet dance set to a classical song not only helps you understand and appreciate music and rhythm, it enhances other dance styles. So bring it on Tchaikovsky!
7. It builds confidence. Remember when you were five years old and ran out of ballet class thinking you were a prince or princess? The artistry, musicality and grace of ballet are real confidence boosters, making you believe that anything is possible.
