Pilates to the Rescue
Most dancers know what a godsend Pilates is as a complementary discipline to dance. Chris Veljovic discovered it the hard way. Sure, he learned a few moves in the Body Conditioning Studio at the Houston Ballet Academy, but after a career-ending injury while performing as a soloist for the Houston Ballet, he gravitated to Pilates to put himself back together. Now he's so enthusiastic about the practice, he's opened his own studio in upper Manhattan (www.pilatesintheheights.com). "I wish I'd known then what I know now," he states emphatically, as he illustrates the difference between what a dancer thinks is good posture, and what it really is to the Pilates-trained. "It makes you a more effective dancer, a healthier dancer...it just makes thing easier," he says, and you believe him, because he still moves with the grace and precision of a dancer though he's been a full-time Pilates teacher for over five years. Christopher's Pilates Tip o' the Month: "Engage your seat as you're walking up stairs by purposefully pressing your heal down--it takes some of the workload off the quads."