New to ballet- need advice!

[Guest Mer1128]

Hey everyone! Well im not too new to it...I did ballet for a couple of years when i was 5, but i really dont even remember much about it. I'm 5'2 and weigh 114lbs, my upper body is good and strong, but my thighs are big...and im not talking muscle, im talking fat. I'm supposed to be starting ballet again next week but I just wanted to know before I did...will ballet make my thighs bulk (basically replace the fat with muscle and be the same size they are now)? Because i do NOT want that! I want them slimmed down all around...especially my inner thighs, annd around my knees, and just create lean muscle. I heard practicing plies were good for that as well. If you agree, what is the proper form and way to do plies?

 

Thanks everyone

[Victoria Leigh]

Hello Mer, welcome to Ballet Talk for Dancers

 

Ballet, taught correctly, will not bulk anything. It's about lengthening and stretching. However, over use or incorrect use of any muscles, particularly the quads, can cause bulk. Incorrect alignment and weight placement, like "sitting" in your legs can cause bulk. That said, ballet is also not a magic cure for heavy legs or anything else that is heavy. Exercise is always helpful, if done well and on a regular basis, but weight is not something we discuss here, as that is a matter of proper nutrition. There are some excellent "Sticky" threads on the Nutrition and Health forum which might be helpful to you.

[primasylph]

You have the same figure that I do, lean up top and heavy on the bottom so I know exactly what it's like to be self-concious about it. The one thing to remember is that there is no such thing as "spot reducing", i.e. exersicing only one part of your body to change it. It took me about a year of ballet as well as pilates and other fitness classes before I began to notice any significant change in my lower body. Now I have a very well defined upper body and though my legs are still on the thick side, the muscles are more lenghtened and have more definition. Another good thing to keep in mind is to not focus on what you think is wrong with you. Doing that will only make it seem worse in your mind than it actually is and prevent you from seeing the positive changes and even want to make you quit alltogether. Confidence is the most improtant thing for a dancer to have, possibly more importand that flexibility, strenght, banana feet or even skinny thighs!