7 Highly Effective Habits In Ballet Training

There are 7 highly effective habits that affect: the key area of dancing for young ballerinas, pointe work, and; a key area for men in ballet, jumping. In early training, regardless of age, these will contribute to excellence in both these areas. This analysis can apply to other areas of dance in the same way also, I'm choosing this one for the sake of discussion.

***First, education as to specific physical attributes and shortcomings. One example is, every dancer would like to have long and stretchy Achilles tendons, and flexible ankles. These 2 advantages provide the biggest range of movement between the bottom of a demi-plie and the take-off point of a releve or jump. One of the dancers in my class at the National Ballet School of Canada had a very shallow demi-plie. Yet, she had very flexible ankles and a high arch, and this gave her the thrust to jump very high.

***Second, technical education . Regardless of physical advantages, progress can be made by understanding the ideal ballet movements and by learning correct ballet stretches. Also, get the correct preparation for dancing in ballet pointe shoes. There is no restriction on our access to information.

***Third, a teacher who not only has decent credentials, but who has the required habit of demanding correctness in class. This is a variable, and inexperienced teachers do not realize how often they are going to repeat the same old correction over the years of training, to the same students.... in a million different imaginative ways.

***Fourth, knowing that there is cross-training that will help you compensate for your physical shortcomings. If you need to get more flexible, there is Pilates, massage, and Yoga. If you are flexible but weak in some areas, Pilates, and weight training will help.

***Fifth, knowing where more details count - if your habit is curiosity, that's a huge asset. If it's not, adopt it. Studying how to increase your ballet turnout and extensions is a plus.

***Sixth, coordinating your knowledge of your physiology, and how you might be compensating detrimentally to get the deepest demi-plie and best take-off that you can, and instead compensate more with cross-training and less with bad habits. It's only a life-long process, even for the most gifted.

***Seven, a truly habitual appreciation of your own uniqueness, talents, intelligence, and determination. There will always be an invitation to doubt yourself, envy others' real or imagined superiority, and waste time thinking negative thoughts.

Proper rest and good nutrition have a lot to do with #7. Body and brain fatigue, and nutritional deficiencies are directly related to mood. Please be curious and get the information you need.

These 7 highly effective habits are just the tip of the icebergs, but they are a great guide to go with until you develop your own uniqueness in training priorities.