7 Tips for Ballet Dancers: The Shortest Guide to Perfecting Ballet Technique
Technical ballet is the highest form of classical dance. Despite being quite difficult, having good ballet technique involves dancing with many different kinds of steps to create a unified piece. Technical ballets are also known as ‘the hardest’ because they require exceptional ballet technique and precision. Technical dancers must be able to switch from one style of dance to another very quickly; in addition, they need to be comfortable with complicated moves and footwork. Because of these factors, technical ballet students should be prepared for an intense training period. These 9 tips will help you make technical ballet your top priority, achieve your goals faster, and have more fun along the way.
Don’t skip ballet technique warm-ups
Warm-ups are the key to a successful training program. Warm-ups are used to increase the flexibility, agility, and muscle strength of your body. If you don’t warm up, you’ll risk injury by stretching your muscles too far or by increasing your risk of cramping by contracting your muscles too much. Even if you’re a seasoned dancer, you should still warm-up before you begin training. When you skip the ballet technique warm-up, you increase the risk of getting injured or causing excessive fatigue. If you want to be the best technical dancer you can be, you’ll need to warm-up before you get started.
Dance and practice ballet technique everyday
The best dancers in the world don’t train every day. You, however, don’t have the luxury of taking a break between training days. You need to practice every single day. Why? Apart from building muscle memory, dance training is a mental activity. If you don’t train every day, you’ll slowly begin to forget how to do the moves. And then, when you do finally get to take a break from the studio, you’ll be completely unprepared. Technical training takes a serious commitment. You’ll need to be sure you’re ready to make this commitment before you enroll in dance class. If you can’t commit to training daily because you have a busy schedule, figure out how you can fit it in. It may be that you need to schedule your training into your workday or make it a priority on your to-do list. Make training a priority and you’ll be amazed at how far you can go in a short amount of time.
Lift weights and do bodyweight exercises
One of the best things you can do to improve your ballet technique is to add weight training to your routine. This is especially true if you’re a beginner. You don’t need to use heavy weights, but you do want to target your muscles with challenging resistance. Adding weights to your routine will increase your overall strength so that you’re more capable of doing more advanced moves. In addition to weight training, you should also include bodyweight exercises in your routine. These exercises are done using only your own bodyweight to perform exercises like push-ups, chin-ups, and squats. Doing this will help you improve your overall strength, flexibility, and coordination.
Learn ballet technique from your teachers as much as you can
When you’re learning technical ballet, one of the best ways to grow as a dancer is to work with professionals. You may have great teachers at your studio or you may be taking private lessons. Either way, get to know your teachers and take advantage of every opportunity you have to interact with them. If you have access to the Internet, try to find online classes that your teachers teach. This is an excellent way to learn from the experts and make connections in a way that would be much more difficult in a classroom setting.
Communicate with your coaches every step of the way
Feel free to reach out to your coaches and instructors with questions, comments, and concerns. This will help ensure that you’re getting the most out of your training and having as much fun as possible. In addition, reaching out during your training as often as you can will help you keep track of your progress. If you don’t check in with your coaches, you’ll be more likely to forget what you’ve done and get frustrated by your lack of progress.
Don’t get overwhelmed by all the technical terms
You probably know that technical ballet involves complicated footwork, jumps, and turns. But unless you’re taking technical ballet classes, you may not know exactly how much technical skill is involved in ballet. Don’t get lost in all the technical terms used in ballet. Instead, focus on the quality of your technique and keep your training fun and challenging.
Keep a notebook and record your ballet technique progress regularly
When you’re doing your technical studies, try to keep a notebook with you. This way, you can take notes while you’re training and make connections between the technical terms you’re learning and the steps you’re performing. It’s easy to forget what you’ve done a certain way or how you were doing something. Having a notebook handy makes it easier to keep track of your progress.
Conclusion
There’s no denying that technical ballet is the highest form of classical dance. It takes a tremendous amount of skill and dedication to master the technical dance moves. Technical ballet is also very challenging, but with the right mindset and dedication, you can achieve your goals. These 9 tips will help you make technical ballet your top priority, achieve your goals faster, and have more fun along the way.
If interested and want to learn more, sign up for a ballet technique class today!