Teen Ballet Dancer

I am a professional ballet dancer myself, as well as a personal trainer and a ballet teacher. One of the primary areas I focus on with my ballet students is core strength and conditioning. I often use pilates-based excercises to this end, as they emphasize proper posture and breathing during movement. After a postural ascessment, I often use rows, planks, and push ups to improve posture, especially in the thoracic spine. I always emphasize neutral spine during knee bends (plies) and leg lifts (tendus, battements, etc.). In addition, I work on hip rotation (turn out) with a tool called a swivel disk, which increases the outward rotation of the leg in the hip socket. I also do alot of ankle and foot conditioning using a theraband as resistance for plantar and dorsiflexion (pointing and flexing the foot, especially the ankle) and proper articulation of the foot (pointing the ankle first, then the metatarsal arch, and then the toes, and reversing the process for the flexing of the foot). In addition, depending of the level of the dancer, I work on proper jump mechanics (plie, straight knee, then releve on ball of foot) and also on turn mechanics, which include proper use of the head (spotting) and balance. Ballet is a very specific art form, so it may be advisable to watch the dancer take class and confer with their instructor on what the dancer's particular goals, strengths and weaknesses may be.