High school sports that are good for a ballet dancer

[bluemountain]

Hello,

High school is upon us and DS seems to be interested in trying out for some of the teams. His choices are swim and rowing. Swim team's schedule most likely will conflict with his pre-pro time. Is rowing a good sport to be combined with serious ballet studies?

Thank you

[Moxie]

Too bad. I've heard that swim is the best for dancers since it doesn't over develop areas and helps keep them elongated, etc.

[bluemountain]

He will continue swimming, only not as part of the team. He is not dropping it, just most likely won't be able to take swimming to the next level. He said he is very interesting in rowing, which was a complete surprise for us.

[Victoria Leigh]

I have no scientific knowledge on this, but it seems to me that rowing, like weight lighting, for male dancers, would make good upper body strength for partnering. I would like to hear from our male teachers on this one, though.

[bluemountain]

Thank you, Victoria! That is what I thought as well. Now we just need to see if this will fit into DS's already pretty tight schedule .

[pasdedeuxmama]

Crew does wonderful things for not just upper body strength, but also full-body strength. He should be prepared for early morning practices and some wicked callouses on his hands, nothing he can't handle.

 

I had friends who did both swimming and crew, and both activities were incredibly full-on in high school during the season, with two-a-day practices. Is it a club sport?

[bluemountain]

I really don't know. Unfortunately, it looks like that DS will only have time for ballet, swim privates and his high school homework. Every sport we have inquired about at the high school fair required daily practice. With ballet classes starting an hour after the school day ends and going on until 7-8 pm, plus Saturdays, it doesn't seem to be realistic to add another team sport to it.

[pasdedeuxmama]

That's too bad. Depending upon where you live, there might be rowing clubs that he could get involved with. We have a number of amateur scullers in our town.

[bluemountain]

We are in Northeast, there are many, many options to stay healthy and fit, including rowing along the Charles river. But I'll leave it up to DS to figure out what else he wants to add to his schedule . Thank you, pasdedeuxmama!