Classical dance training: how to do it?

Classical dance training: the basics 

Classical dance training, whether in class or at home, is done in the same way. You should start with a warm-up, a stretch and work on your flexibility. 

What is classical dance training for?

L’entraînement global en danse classique à pour objectif de prepare the body for practice. Indeed, like any sport, classical dance requires a certain physical condition that it is necessary to work as well as a certain rigor. 

L’entraînement a également pour but de conserver les apprentissages et ainsi d’habituer son corps à garder la même condition physique. Cela est notamment un enjeu pour la flexibility of the body which can easily disappear without training. 

Classical dance and floor barre

There classic dance is a discipline that requires a lot of rigor and of work. If you do not wish to embark on the practice, several alternatives are available to you, in particular the practice of ground bar. 

The ground bar is directly from classical dance by its history. In fact, the floor bar was invented by the ballet master Boris Kniaseff during the opening of his dance school. Its building being classified monument, il n’a pas pu faire accrocher les barres destinées à l’entraînement des danseurs et danseuses. Il a dû trouver une solution alternative et a donc decided to move the exercises to the floor, without using the bar. 

Cette pratique s’est par la suite développée et a su convaincre de nombreuses personnes. Ainsi, depuis les années 1940, la méthode barre s’est available in several versions such as the workou bart, there classic floor bar, there contemporary floor bar, etc. 

To find out more about the floor bar and its benefits, see our article on the subject. 

Bien se préparer à l’entraînement

First of all, you must put yourself in optimal conditions to start your training and promote good mastery of each movement that you are going to achieve. We'll explain how!

Gather all the conditions to do your training properly

A good sports session begins above all with a well dressed ! The more comfortable and comfortable you are in your clothes, the more you will be free from each of your movements. Indeed, clothing that allows you to achieve the range of movements in complete freedom and especially in classical dance is essential! 

You will be led to work on your flexibility and all of your muscles. So choose elastic, breathable and comfortable clothing. However, do not take too loose sports clothes which may not be practical.

Also avoid cotton which is a material that is known to absorb and retain perspiration. A cotton t-shirt will therefore not make your skin breathe and you will feel wet throughout your workout. 

Finally, don't do your training anywhere and anyhow. Put yourself in a conducive environment, with a ground sheet, THE material what you need,water and an towel to dry yourself if necessary. The main thing is that you feel good!

Classical dance warm-up

The warm-up is used to increase heart rate of your body and thus prepare it for the effort that will be made immediately afterwards. This way, you reduce the risk of injury and train your body for the future. We tell you more!

Why warm up?

Warming up your body and muscles is a practice obligatory before starting your sports session, all sports combined. This allows to fight against muscle and ligament injuries which can happen during the sports session. This is because you warm your body, your muscles and your joints.

Warming up can also have the benefit ofimprove the practice of your sport. In the case of classical dance, it is ideal for flexibility car lorsque votre corps est échauffé, il prend en température et vous pouvez donc ainsi profiter de l’élasticité maximale des muscles. 

How to warm up effectively?

For warm up the right way, Several options are available to you : 

• go for a quick jog : go for a run for about 5 minutes, run in place by raising your knees and doing heel-to-butt movements or run on a treadmill. You can just as easily take a brisk walk with a slight incline to work your cardio and muscles. Remember to stay flexible on your knees and hips 
• do sheathing : Position yourself in a plank position and contract your abs and glutes. Stay in this position for about 30 seconds then take a short break and repeat several times. You can also do variations: raise the left arm and right leg then the right arm and left leg, etc. 

If you don't know which exercise is best for you, try first one then the other Or do both for an effective all-in-one warm-up!

To learn more about the classical dance warm-ups, read our dedicated article!

Stretches to do 

It's important to do not confuse stretching and warm-ups. Indeed, as seen previously, the aim of warm-ups is to increase the heart rate and warm up the body. Stretching, for its part, aims tostretch joints and muscles to make the body more flexible. We tell you more about stretching.

Why stretch? 

THE stretching have the objective to stretch and relax the muscles with the aim of making the more flexible muscles and joints. You can do stretches before or after your sports session, while always listening to your body. 

Before your session, stretching aims to prepare the muscles for exercise by stretching them. In the case of stretching at the end of the session after exercise, this allows you to gain flexibility and mobility.

For classical dance, stretching is almost obligatory to increase flexibility but also for promote good posture. The posture must be impeccable in classical dance to provide the required elegance. The spine and head posture must be perfect!

The different types of stretching 

There are upper body stretches and lower body stretches which will therefore only target certain parts. 

Stretching upper body, which allow you to gain grace, can be for example: 

• for the back : working on your cervical muscles will allow you to stand better. Stand up, bring one arm behind your back then pull this arm with your other arm, while rotating your head
• for the arms : sit with your legs straight and place your arms behind you. Raise your knees to chest height and bring your glutes forward step by step to stretch the biceps.

Stretching for lower body, to work on your muscular range and flexibility, can be for example: 

• for the feet : essential element of the practice, you must pamper them! Squat on your shins and straighten your toes. Get up slowly by leaning on the front of your feet and pushing the ground with your hands. 
• for the hips : le travail d’amplitude de vos hanches est important. Pour parvenir à faire le grand écart, allongez-vous sur le sol et collez vos fessiers contre un mur. Ouvrez ensuite vos jambes et laissez-les tomber sur les côtés pour qu’elles arrivent jusqu’au sol.

To learn more about the stretching in classical dance, check out our article! 

Work on your flexibility

Directly linked to the stretching, THE flexibility work is one of the very foundations of classical dance. Without this work, you will not be able to be flexible enough to perform the different dance steps and your rigor will not be sufficient to excel in the discipline.

Why work on your flexibility? 

Work on your flexibility is very important in classical dance. Indeed, without flexibility, the execution of steps and choreographies can quickly become complicated. 

So, the more flexible you are, the more you will feel daily benefits. Flexibility allows in particular muscle recovery faster. This is notably due to blood circulation which is more easily achieved. 

In addition, thanks to the flexibility, tension in muscles and joints is relieved. This helps reduce the risk of injury.

Finally, good flexibility also allows gain performance through range of motion work. Thus, flexibility allows you to take care of your health on a daily basis, and not only during your training and within the framework of your discipline. 

Gain flexibility through exercises

There flexibility is not limited only to the flexibility of the legs, especially the splits. Flexibility obviously concerns the whole body and it is precisely by working on whole body that you will observe real changes in the practice of your favorite sport.

There are a large number of exercises for gain flexibility on all parts of the body:  

• back 
• abs  
• shoulders  
• pectorals and biceps 
• glutes  
• iliopsoas  
• adductors  
• quadriceps  
• hamstrings  
• calves  

You would like to inquire and have more details on flexibility exercises ? Our article will answer your questions!

What you should remember

To become a true prima ballerina, training is absolutely essential. However, even if you don't plan to become a dancer, it can be beneficial to take up classical dancer training!

First start by putting yourself in good conditions for your workout : 

• invest in good sports clothing : light, breathable, loose clothing, in a material that does not retain perspiration 
• put yourself in a suitable place : on a floor mat, with the equipment you need, a bottle of water and a towel. Also remember to ventilate the room you are in to make your breathing easier.

Then you need to move on to thewarming up to prepare your body for dance practice: 

• warm up your muscles and joints : to do this, go jogging or do a core workout!
• avoid the risk of injury : your body will be prepared for physical effort and therefore cannot be attacked by movement 

Stretching can be done before or after physical exertion. For classical dance, before and after are good times! Their objectives will be to work intensively on your flexibility and so promote the execution of all movements dance that you will be required to do. 

Finally, the flexibility work, closely linked to stretching, is one of the foundations of classical dance practice. However, it doesn't stop at the splits! You must therefore do several exercises to make all of your joints more flexible, which will allow you to gain grace and mobility.

Discover the floor bar at POSES Studio

The courses of classic dance have always had a certain resonance in you but you have never dared to take the plunge? It's not too late to get started...in a different way! 

At the house of Studio POSES, we do Barre Flow, which is a workout inspired by the floor bar method. You work muscle strengthening and flexibility on playlists personalized by our coaches. 

Come and discover this new way of doing sport, in the format of 50 minutes of workout in the dark and play of light.

By working on your muscles and flexibility, you will gain mobility, strength and fluidity throughout your body. 

Meet at heart of the Marais in our studio POSES and discover our world to escape during your session.