Ballet, with its graceful movements and artistic expression, is renowned for its focus on balance, flexibility, strength, and poise, offering numerous benefits. But it isn’t just for tutu-clad children. Adult ballet not only enhances these qualities but also improves cognitive functions like coordination and concentration, while demonstrating notable effectiveness in alleviating symptoms linked with depression, arthritis, and diabetes.
In this article, we delve into the diverse benefits of adult ballet, where each movement and plié offers the potential for heightened well-being. Let’s delve deeper into these discoveries!
1. Posture and Poise
Improving posture isn’t just about appearances; it’s about caring for our bodies, especially our backs. In ballet, we hold our core strong and back straight whilst breathing through the exercises. Lifting the arms through the various positions also allows us to create space through the spine. We are able to build strong supporting back muscles and also release tension from the build up of bad positions (such as sitting at a desk or slouching while standing).
Moreover, the focus on posture in adult ballet extends well beyond classes. Even just reading this might make you aware of how you are standing or make you sit up straighter. Training the body and mind to hold your head up high and keep your shoulders back will become a part of how you poise yourself in and outside of the ballet studio in no time.
2. Balance and Core Strength
Adult ballet is good for balance in many ways! Whether at the barre or in centre, every time we use our balance, we improve it. Through training balance we can have better control of our movements, increase agility, and even improve cognitive functions such as memory and spatial awareness.
At the heart of balance lies core strength. We use our core muscles to maintain good posture and alignment, especially when standing on one leg, but we also need core stability to control turns, jumps and transitional movements. Practising these movements is a fun and holistic way of strengthening those important muscles and to move with more confidence.
3. Flexibility and Mobility
Flexibility isn’t just for doing the splits. When was the last time you needed to reach down to get something and you were worried about putting too much stress on your back? Can you comfortably sit in a cross-legged position for an extended period?
Dynamic stretches are often incorporated into adult ballet training, where joints and muscles go through a full range of motion during the stretch, which means your muscles are activated and elongated at the same time. Although we can’t actually ‘lengthen’ our muscles past their point of maximum extension, we can keep them supple and encourage them to flex further. By working safely within your body’s natural range of motion, you gently increase joint and muscle flexibility with each practice.
4. Muscle Strength and Tone
Adult ballet trains lean muscles, and just because they aren’t bulky doesn’t mean they aren’t strong. Regular ballet training can produce the same results as lightweight training. A beautiful benefit of ballet training is that you work out your entire body all at once in an expressive way.
Emotions and stories are expressed through a range of dynamics in ballet such as using slow and controlled extensions in an Adagio, or jumping explosively and pushing off the floor in a Grand Allegro. Each step moves with resistance which strengthens and shapes our muscles. This reshaping of our muscles is called ‘toning’. By supporting and lifting our own body weight, and at the same time constantly thinking of elongating, dancers can avoid ‘over-bulking’ and build strong, lean muscles.
5. Physical and Mental Coordination
Anyone who has done a class knows that ballet requires a bit of multitasking. When you are dancing, you are doing a complex set of physical actions – moving different parts of the body in opposing directions, simultaneously stretching and controlling your muscles, while coordinating your movement to music. The result: a conscious dancer who can move with intention and coordination.
It can be tricky at first but the more you practise, the easier it becomes and your body and mind become more coordinated over time. Working your cognitive functions will no doubt benefit your overall brain function and coordination in other areas of your life as well.
6. Stamina and Energy Levels
Any kind of exercise helps you gain stamina in one way or another, but taking an adult ballet class for 60 to 90 minutes is a terrific way to do so. Keeping your heart rate up and resting for 30 – 60 seconds between exercises is an ideal way to improve stamina and to find a great work/rest balance for your muscles. The structure of a traditional ballet class also demands endurance and energy as the exercises progressively increase in challenge. The steps start small and slow, gradually become faster and bigger, incorporating the entire body and moving across the whole studio space by the end of the class.
Dancing also increases our circulation which strengthens the heart muscle. This results in increased energy available for our body – and not just during class, for a long time afterwards too. Dancing causes your brain to increase production of chemicals known to have antidepressant effects as well as boosting energy. It’s a cycle: The more we dance, the more energy we have to dance and we feel great while doing it!
7. Health and Longevity
Improve Metabolism: Adult ballet is a total body workout, thus increasing your circulation, breathing rate and muscular activity which all contributes to elevating your metabolism. One report even claims that ‘dancing elevates your metabolism 3 – 6 times above your resting metabolism’.
Lymph Drainage:When you think about lymph drainage you probably think of a nice relaxing massage but exercise is actually another great way to detox your lymphatic system. The proper functioning of the lymphatic system drains and detoxifies fluids in our body, enabling it to function properly and stay disease-free. In a nut-shell, it’s vital for a healthy immune system.
Reduce onset of Osteoporosis: Because ballet is a weight-bearing exercise, it helps bones to grow healthy and increase in strength. Ballet for adults, in conjunction with a healthy diet can increase bone strength and prevent bone loss in old age. Additionally, because ballet strengthens muscles, bones are well supported and chance of injury is reduced.
Prevent Dementia: A study in 2003 tested a range of cognitive and physical activities and results showed that regular dancing reduced the risk of dementia by 76% (twice as much as reading!) Ballet is a mental workout as well as a physical one and this helps our minds stay sharp and elastic. As well as strengthening neural connections, ballet can help to improve our memory and mood.
8. Discipline and Mindfulness
One of the benefits of ballet training comes from its culture of respect and discipline in the studio. There is a structure to the classes from listening to instructions and putting them to practise, to the very order in which actions are performed. And that order is important and deliberate – you can’t do anything else in class without first warming up with pliés.
Whether you are new to ballet or have been dancing for years, your levels of concentration in class will always surprise you. It’s difficult to just zone out and go through the motions. You need to be listening, present and concentrating on what you’re doing. This self-discipline and dedication can take just as much practice as the physical side of ballet.
Ballet training can also be a form of meditation. Leave the stresses of your day to day at the door and enjoy the sensation of being grounded and focused through movement. Take the time to listen to your body and to nurture it. Leave the studio with a deeper body-mind connection, more self-awareness and a calmer presence.
9. Confidence and Expression
Going for your first adult ballet class can be a bit of a nerve-wracking experience. You might not know anyone in class. You might be conscious of the mirrored walls and the fact that you can see everyone from many angles. You might be worried the instructor will single you out. But within minutes, you will find that everyone is in the class for the same reasons you are, and you can bet that they had those same initial fears. Getting through these concerns and focusing on enjoying the class, people and movements is a great self-confidence booster.
Simply standing up straighter leads to better posture, this in turn can make you look and feel more confident. As you continue with classes you will get to know your body and what it is capable of. You might surprise yourself with your ability, strength and coordination, and your confidence in class will improve. The more confident you become as a dancer, the more fun you have. The best dancers stop worrying that they aren’t good enough and instead put the work into getting better and enjoying the art.
Ballet will help you to understand your body and become much more aware of how you move. It can feel very joyful and rewarding to express yourself freely through graceful movement and music. Ballet might be an opportunity for you to get in touch with your emotions and thoughts, and release them through dance.
10. Social Skills and Community
While a lot of focus in ballet training is on personal development, and it isn’t a team activity the way many sports are, there are still important social factors to take into account. You will be able to meet and socialise with other ballet dancers. This can be a really fun way to make new friends and find like-minded people. The community of ballet dancers and instructors strive to be very welcoming and encouraging. Everyone does their best to ensure that you have a positive experience and come back to the next class ready for more.
There can be a competitive quality to a dance class, there’s no denying it. But the best-trained dancers will learn grace, humility, and celebration over their classmates’ advancements. Accomplishing something yourself is also a lesson in staying modest in your success.
Just remember, everyone is here for a common reason: We love to dance! That in itself creates a special camaraderie between you and your peers in the studio.
At BalletBody, our adult ballet classes offer more than just a workout. Our goal is for you to leave feeling calm and fully stretched, from head to toe. Immerse yourself in the tranquil atmosphere of our studio, where you can enjoy your solo practice or join your ballet buddy for a shared experience!
Train like a Dancer with us.
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