Why Ballet?
Does your skating club recommend dance classes? Does your figure skating coach suggest a ballet class or two? Most skating professionals agree that ballet is helpful. Here are a few reasons why:
- Posture. You will learn how to stand straight and tall.
- Flexibility. The stretching and dance exercises teach you how to turn out your legs, develop your leg extensions, and improve your overall range of motion.
- Grace. You will do exercises and dance steps that require soft, controlled, and flowing motion.
- Timing. You will develop a stronger sense of rhythm and awareness of the various styles of music.
- Presentation. Ballet helps you discover ways to express emotion with your movement.
Similar to figure skating, ballet requires a bit of patience. At first, the exercises and dance steps will feel strange. Give yourself credit for trying something new and different. After a few tries, you'll notice subtle changes...remembering the names of the various steps and feeling more at ease standing in and moving through the ballet positions.
