5 Ballet Skills to Effectively Improve Your Dancing

Let the dancer within you spread wings and soar high with ballet. This dance form, all about grace and elegance is a play of phenomenal mental and physical skills that transforms the body to look sensual and feel strong. As delicate and fluid as it looks, it is tough to execute a balletic movement. But worry not! Those mega-challenging tour en l’air or fouette turns come like breathing once you master these basic technical ballet skills for beginners: 

1.  Ballet Skills – Body Posture 

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a ballerina? Indeed their classically effortless posture would have flashed before your eyes.
It is after all the biggest ballet dancer’s secret to success – a strong, mindful foundation. Body posture in ballet is all about maintaining a good spine position. Every beginner will come across this as a crucial element in their ballet dance lessons, it is a must and one of the basic ballet skills needed. 

Though a good posture is generally important for all, learning ballet dance requires some extra effort- a little more work on the spine. This is because those elevés, relevés, and pliés demand a good blend of muscles, movement, and finesse.
So, the first technical skill is to work on the foundation. 

How to get a good ballet posture?

Here are a few tips for improving posture: 

●    Pull up the leg muscles and vacuum the stomach (by pulling in)
●    Develop some character in your shoulders by pushing them down, open, and back
●    Lengthen the neck by lifting the chin in elegance
●    Stand with your knees straight and feet out
●    Know when you slouch and correct yourself every time
●    Relax your head to keep the spine and neck elongated.
●    Position your arms to be smooth and graceful 

2.  Flexibility

It seems like beautiful ballet positions with a combination of precision, sophistication, and élévation, but flexibility is the fuel that runs this show. 
Flexibility is to a ballet dancer like breathing is to life. For this reason, only flexibility skill is the essentially focused element of all warmups, exercises, and stretches.
As a ballet dancer, you should work on getting flexible, hence why it is on this ballet skills checklist. Without this technical skill, you cannot progress. Just like posture, flexibility is also a ballerina’s holy grail. 

How to get flexible like a ballerina?

Try these out to attain maximum flexibility over time: 

• The biggest advice is to take it slow and listen to your body.
• Begin gradually by going deep into a focused ballet stretch. 
• Try a mix of dynamic (stretching while moving) and static (stretching in a sitting position for a stipulated time) stretching.
• Be consistent with your stretching routine and advance slowly.

3.  Ballet Skills – Balance

That pirouette and grand adage demand nothing else but balance and stability. They are the key to smooth transitions. You as a ballet dancer specifically need strong balancing skills. If you want to try classical dancing, the pointe technique allows you to balance the body weight on the feet. 

How to balance like a ballerina?

A mix of both these mental and physical strength exercises will help you balance like a pro:

●    Work on your core muscles. Engage the abdominal muscles by doing strictly core/abs workout
●    Establish a solid foundation by building up your base. Ankle strength will come in handy.  Supination and pronation (side-to-side foot movement) help a lot.
●    Keep your body aligned and find a focus point

4.  Coordination

Coordination and synchronization are as important to a ballet dancer as it is to a musician. You have to synchronize your steps to your mind by:
●    Planning ahead
●    Defining direction
●    Systematically integrating with your partner

All this is a play of superb coordinating skills. They help you:
●    Move effortlessly
●    Increase balance
●    Reduce chances of injury and communicate with your body

How to improve coordination for ballet dancing?

There are 3 easy ways to improve your coordination as a ballet dancer: 

-Timing
Timing is key in dance. While learning a new ballet technique or move, time your move to do it slowly to understand each associated mini-movement. Understand the sequence and define the speed accordingly. Take a mental note of each bend and twirl to execute it flawlessly. This is the secret of every successful dancer. 

-Orientation
Orientation is aimed at comprehending the ratio between your body and space.
It allows you to maintain the perfect balance between the two so that your moves are more well-positioned. 

-Manipulation
A ballet dancer has to manage his/her every move and execute full control over it. For this reason, only ballet dancing training exceptionally focuses on balance, the delicacy of each step, and the technique. 

5.  Ballet Skills – Alignment

The most eye-catchy element of a ballerina is her lean yet firm body. Moreover, it is the clean and planned movement in ballet dancing that adds the oomph factor to it. But in the end, all these are facilitated and beautified when the body is in perfect alignment. Alignment is the aesthetic energy that
If you aspire to become a better dancer, explicitly focus on alignment and posture.

How to get the body perfectly aligned for ballet?

These ballet skills workouts help to maintain a good body alignment:

●    Tone your leg muscles by targeting the inner thigh, core, and butt area. Suggested exercise- the bridge
●    Focus on defining the butt to tone and tighten. Suggested exercise- donkey kicks
●    Work on your core to keep your abdominal muscles engaged. Suggested workout- crunches, planks, boat pose
●    Strike a pose or stand mindfully by sticking to your posture. Keep the legs, knees, stomach, back, shoulders, and head in a straight line

Closing Thoughts On Ballet Skills

Now that you know the basics of improving your ballet skills, it’s time to put your learning to practice. Worry not! We have got your back. Ballet skills are essential for any aspiring dancer looking to excel in the art form. With dedication, practice, and proper training, one can develop the strength, grace, and technique necessary to perform at the highest level. Whether pursuing a career in ballet or simply seeking to improve one’s physical and artistic abilities, the study of ballet is a rewarding and enriching experience.