Potential later (re)starter to ballet

[Older Ballet Boy]

Well, as a youngster, I always admired ballet and was intrigued by it, but I'm in the working class industrial north of England, ballet was not really the done thing for lads from my background. Anyhow, I went away to college and took a few classes, but for a variety of reasons, didn't keep it up, though would occasionally do some of the exercises I picked up.

 

Nearly 20 years later, I've been thinking of giving it another go. Not particularly seriously, more of a different type of fitness regime. Problem is, I've had my share of injury niggles, mostly only minor. After I thought I'd warmed up, tried doing some stretches for my hip abductors, but something isn't quite right, so I'll be seeing my physio as soon as poss and once the problem is sorted (hopefully weeks, but until I know what the problem is, it could even be months), hopefully, I'll be ok to give it a go.

 

I'm quite fit and have always been very sporty, especially football (that's proper football for our friends in the States, not the type you play with an oval ball and wear helmets and shoulder pads!), and these days athletics (distance running). My physio has recommended yoga for flexibility to help me avoid some of the niggles I pick up, (though my hamstrings are flexible) and someone else I know suggested pilates for core strength. As I'm a runner, leg strength is important. My cardio-vascular fitness is good, but I could do with a bit more power and strength in the legs, and I hope that ballet classes would help in that respect, amongst other things.

 

Just wondering how compatible ballet is with running. Done a bit of research on the net, and it seems that they aren't, but as a runner, leg strength and flexibility are important. As we sometimes run off road on very uneven surfaces, balance is important too.

[Mel Johnson]

Welcome to Ballet Talk for Dancers!

 

Ballet and running are really incompatible, but you're not headed for a professional career. When a student has the necessary hip rotation for ballet, what happens to them from the knees down when they run is hard to look at from the back. The lower legs flail something awful, and it's hard on the knees.

[Older Ballet Boy]

Cheers, Mel. I honestly didn't realise that. I can understand how running could well hamper the career of an aspiring dancer. However, obviously I'm certainly not that! Just wondering if another fitness regime could compliment the running. There's not that many races between now and Spring. Once the spring/summer racing season starts, I'd have to knock the ballet into touch, but while it's effectivley "close season" for me as a runner, I'm thinking of giving it a go. Need to sort out this hip problem first which has just come on, as it's going to hamper turnout.

[Dave3254]

Welcome to the World of Ballet from another older starter in the North East of England! There are quite a few of us real Billy Elliots around here now!

 

Enjoy

 

Dave