Is it time for a break, ballet friend?
Signs you’re overdue can include a lull in progress, low motivation, or injuries that stick around. If you’re feeling great, taking time off from ballet can make sure you keep having fun year-round.
After years of jumping from vacation to a jam-packed ballet schedule, here are my top tips for enjoying summer fun and rejoining studio life stronger than ever.
1. Rest up
If quality time in your jammies or basking in the sun sounds perfect, balance rest and movement with the occasional wiggle break. Keep your hamstrings active by sitting tall, flexing your feet, and doing a few heel presses into the front of your chair or over the edge of the pool, or reach tall and wide like you’re doing a humongous yawn every now and again.
2. Replenish your artistic side
Taking time off from ballet doesn’t mean you stop being an artist! Visit a museum, watch the sun set, or get creative in the kitchen. The more you feed your senses, the more you’ll have to draw from when it’s time to express and perform.
3. Move a little every day
If you want to maintain your progress, or know you feel better with certain movements in your life, stick ‘em in a mini-routine. I do my 15-minute core routine most mornings, adding ballet specific movements like standing leg rotation and calf raises, a week or two before returning to class.
4. Enjoy the outdoors
Research shows that dancers have similar aerobic and anaerobic fitness to sedentary folks. If dancing is your sole activity, you could be risking injury.1
Solution? Go play!
Whether it’s hiking, swimming, canoeing, or a long stroll with an ice cream cone… get your cardio on. Your resilience and performance power will thank you.
5. Use time off from ballet to get a handle on dance injuries
Summer vacation gives you room to offload injuries, figure out why they’re sticking around, and get a plan in place for the year ahead.
If you need support with injury rehab or building your ballet skills, I have extended availability for private and semi-private lessons in July and August.
Book a free call to chat about your goals and whether we might be a good fit!
Have fun out there,
Natasha
1Wyon, Matthew. (2010). Preparing to Perform: Periodization and Dance. Journal of dance medicine & science : official publication of the International Association for Dance Medicine & Science. 14. 67-72. 10.1177/1089313X1001400205.