Pilates for Dancers Stretching
Stretching is a big part of a dancer's world. The only thing is that the concepts behind stretching can be a bit confusing. Do I stretch before I dance? How about after? Can I stretch at home when I am cold? Is it possible to be too stretched out? Then things become even more confusing for the non-dancer or ex-dancer. The main answer behind all of these questions is that stretching is not just good for you; it is great for you. A healthy muscle will be one that is stretched as well as strengthened.
Stretching for the dancer can be done both before the dance class and after. There are two different kinds of stretching: warming up the muscles and cooling down the muscles, and both of these should be done around the dance class. It is good to get to the studio early and stretch before any class - in fact it should be a must. It is so dangerous to get into the classroom and start moving around without warming up the muscles first.
You should warm up the major rotation areas, like hips, knees, ankles, feet, shoulders, chest and back. The stretching routine before class should be light-consisting of rotations, like ankle circles, leg circles lying down in attitude, some butterflies for the hips, pike pos-ition stretch and so forth. It is important not to force anything while your muscles are cold, like splits or straddles. This means no bouncing, pulling yourself down or active stretching with a partner or without a partner, as in up against the wall. Active stretching, meaning that something else is introduced to further the stretching - like resistance, should be kept for after a dance class, or between classes when the muscles are really warm. This is the time to improve your flexibility. One-on-one stretching with a partner is great. Just make sure to be vocal about when you feel the burn. It is important not to push too hard or too fast. It is also very important to cool down after class. You should not finish your fouettes, jump into your sneakers and take off. That kind of routine will actually hurt your flexibility. The contrast from intense movement to such restrictive movement will cause a kind of atrophy to the muscle which will make it even harder to regain your flexibility the next time you take class. Even if it is two minutes in pike position with your head to you knees, or a slow roll down to touch your toes then a slow roll up to stretch the muscles in your spine, your body will thank you the next time you take class!
The answer to the question is Yes. Yes, you can be too flexible, and that is called hypermobility, and it not always the healthiest kind of muscle. Have you ever wondered why you can kick your ear or do a perfect split in your saut de chat, but when you developpe it never seems to get as high as you would like? This is due to a muscular imbalance. Muscles that are too stretched are weaker. Consider a rubber band that has been overstretched - it loses its elasticity. The same is true for our muscles. It is important to find those weak spots in our bodies and stretch and strengthen at the same time. We will revisit this concept in a future article.
The same stretching concepts hold true for the non-dancer as well as the ex-dancer. Light stretching can be done before activities like Pilates, yoga, cardio, dance classes, etc. And, it is very important to cool down after these exercises. A very simple standing roll down, reach/touch the toes and slow roll up can be the difference between a healthy workout or muscle spasms for hours.
I have a few simple stretches that can be performed once the body is warmed up. These exercises are good for the dancer, non-dancer or ex-dancer: (A) The first stretch has the feet up against the wall. This will help stretch the hamstrings as well as the back. If you have flexible hamstrings already you can either flex the feet more so the toes are off the wall or you can use a small prop like rolled up socks under your heels to increase the stretch. (B) This same stretch can be done with one leg in half butterfly or, (C) hinging from the hips helps access the hamstrings. (D and E) These stretches help in lengthening the lower back for such things like front attitude. (F) Pulling your body back in your butterfly stretch so that your bottom half (belly button to sit bones) is straight up and your top half (bra strap area to head) is curling forward, will help in stretching your upper back. You will feel this stretch in your neck, between the shoulder blades and maybe even your mid to upper back. (G) Reaching forward in your butterfly will help stretch out your hips and butt. And you thought butterflies were for babies!
Alison Hesh, a former professional dancer, teaches ballet to all levels and is a fully certified Pilates instructor through the Physicalmind Institute. She currently teaches both, Pilates as well as ballet, and is a professor of English at FIU in Miami.