Ballet is one of the oldest dance forms in the world! It is also considered the foundation of all dance. From the body lines, to the technique, to even some of the verbiage, we have to give a lot of credit to ballet and its elegance. We spoke with Blake Beardsley, who was a professional dancer for 15 years before taking on the ballroom world, to get his thoughts on how ballet can benefit your ballroom dancing, and what to expect from our BALLET CLASS offering coming to the Mount Pleasant location on Saturday mornings.
There are many similarities between ballroom and ballet. Ballet, though it may look delicate, is a very powerful art form and requires a lot of muscular strength. Similarly, ballroom requires a lot of muscle control to make every move flow effortlessly across the dance floor. From the power required of the legs, to the beauty of the arm styling, to the powerhouse of the core, you will find that ballroom and ballet are almost identical in how your body works. When asked about how ballet training will complement our ballroom training, Blake replied, “Overall, expect to develop core strength, foot strength, an increased range of motion, arm shaping development, and alignment of the spinal cord, just to name a few things.”
We also asked Blake what to expect from the class itself. “This class is going to be a full hour of learning various exercises that will be addressing strength, flexibility, and shaping in a way that is new and different.” Blake advises interested students to wear close fitting clothes…preferably leotards, leggings, tights, skirts, etc. “The goal is to make sure your core is visible and your clothing is easy to move in. Also make sure to have ballet slippers to protect the feet.”
Looking forward to our newest class addition? Stay tuned for details on when we will be starting up with this awesome opportunity! 👍