Building Strength in Dancers

You’re on stage performing and your arms start to droop, your shoulders hunch over, your spine starts to bend when it’s not supposed to…OH NO – WEAK CORE ALERT!!!

How do you fix this horrible problem?

BUILD STRENGTH!! Dancers can build strength by, first, working on their core stability. The abdominal muscles are such an integral part of how dancers are able to manipulate and utilize their bodies. A weak core doesn’t enable a dancer to fully support all the elements a dancer needs to perform with power, beauty and strength. When we strengthen our core, we also help prevent lower back and hip injuries.

Sit-ups (there are a multitude of sit-up positions that engage the stomach muscles), planks, crunches, v-pose, kickbacks, swan dive (we call them supergirl or superman pose in class) and squats are just a few exercises that engage the core. In addition to working on the core stability, a dancer needs to constantly be improving their overall muscle strength. When our muscles are strong and firing on all pistons, it supports a dancers endurance ability in their performances and also helps prevent injuries. Avoid the weak core alert and build your strength!!