Tips for Improving Your Ballet Posture

Practical Advice from Your Dance Academy in Edmonton

Ballerinas are known for their exquisite lines. In ballet, perfecting and maintaining the correct posture to achieve ideal forms and movement takes years of hard work and dedication. Good posture is a way of life and becomes something serious ballet dancers are always thinking about and working on. Proper posture is not only important for conveying grace and elegance as a dancer, but it can also help reduce the risk of serious back injuries. However, our modern lifestyles don’t make it easy for humans in general to maintain good posture. While sitting and slouching leads to poor posture in both dance and in life, there are several ways you can develop better posture over time. For a hands-on learning experience in how to correct your posture and become a better dancer, enrol at our dance academy in Edmonton or take dance classes from our studio in Calgary.

4 Techniques for Heightened Posture

Whether you’re standing in an audition room or walking down the street, good posture is everything. Learning and understanding how to properly hold your body is one of the fundamentals of ballet. Having outstanding posture as a dancer is necessary for balance and functional movement, in addition to ensuring you are able to perform at an elite level. Here are a few tips for improving your ballet posture:

• Use a Prop or Visual Aid: Most dancers learn how to perfect techniques and postures in a visual manner. Use visual cues like photos or videos to examine what good and bad posture look like. Another way to help improve posture is by using props like a small ball or bean bag to help you keep your arms straight and shoulders back. If you attend dance classes in Calgary, your instructors will encourage you to never lose sight of maintaining good posture.
• Corrective Stretching: One of the best ways to safely realign trouble areas is to stretch it out. If you feel any tension entering your body, simply sit on your heels and reach your arms forward, allowing your forehead and torso to gently lower to the ground. If it feels good, you can also open your knees apart. This pose will help ease tension in the back, while also stretching out your hips and glutes.
• Engage Your Core: One of the key elements to good posture is having a strong core. Strengthening your abdominal muscles can significantly improve your posture if you work on being aware of the belly button and keeping it close to the spine. The goal is to create a lifted feeling and consciously engage your core without having it affect your breathing.
• Practice Makes Perfect: Good posture is very easy to lose. You need to be conscious of your posture throughout the day if you want to improve it in the dance studio. Be aware of keeping your shoulders down and open, look up and out and stand in front of a mirror to make sure your posture is correct. Practicing good posture not only offers benefits when it comes to ballet, but it can also improve your mood and general outlook on life too.

Perfect Your Ballet Posture at Our Prestigious Edmonton Dance Academy

For nearly 30 years, Alberta Ballet School has been recognized as one of Canada’s most prestigious dance schools. During this time, we have helped thousands of students from all over the world, learn how to perfect their craft, taught by acclaimed instructors from our facilities in Calgary and Edmonton. At Alberta Ballet School, we want our students to be the best that they can be, both inside and outside of our studio. While we aim to provide a safe, positive, and inclusive environment for all our dancers, we also expect our students to adhere to specific standards required by the art form. This means mastering all the elements of dance including having and maintaining excellent posture. Better posture is not only a key component of ballet training, but it also has the power to transform your everyday life, giving you the necessary tools to feel healthy, happy, and confident.

If you want to enrol at our dance academy in Edmonton or sign up for dance classes at our Calgary location, please give us a call at 403-245-2274 ext. 722 or fill out our online contact form and we will be happy to provide you with more information about any of our dance and training programs.