Over and over again we use the words "engage your core" and "pull up your center", but what the heck does that really mean and what does it have to do with dance? Glad you asked. Because the answer is EVERYTHING.
The core, your abs, your back, your center...call it what you like just make sure you are strengthening it DAILY! Core work should be a part of every class and, especially in your pre-competition/performance warm up. When your core is activated and warm you will dance stronger, have more control, and be more "on your center". I can ALWAYS tell when a dancer has not warmed their core before jumping on stage the moment they hit their first pirouette...which brings me into my next discussion of "why is my core so important?"
We call it the CORE because it is literally the center of your body where all your movement is initiated from. Your core is important to everything you do in every form of dance. But today we are going focus on your core and how it helps your turns...
Other than the one million things dancers must think about to execute the perfect pirouettes, the core is, in my humble opinion, the most important. For the sake of this blog we are talking about the main part of your core-your abdominals.
There are 3 main sections of your abdominals-lower, obliques, and upper.
In your pirouettes, all three sections play an important role-the lower abs will help pull up your passé and make sure it's locked into place, your obliques are used to "wrap" or "pull" everything onto your center for more balance and torque, and your upper abs help pull you up and keep your weight forward so you don't fall backwards off of your relevé which will ultimately limit the number of rotations you will get.
The best exercise to tackle all of these abdominal muscles as well as build your center specifically for your turns is... (drum roll please)... the PLANK! Yes, everyone's favorite abdominal exercise focuses on all the abs (and even your shoulders, back, glutes, and legs...but we will talk about that on another blog).
Dancers, just like eating veggies, you should be doing planks everyday. Check out my video on my favorite plank exercise for stronger balance and passé for your pirouettes. There are so many other options to choose from so have fun with it. Just stick by these rules-make sure your back is flat and is not dipping or lifting, stay in your plank a MINIMUM of 2 minutes. You can work up to longer as you get stronger.
As always, reach out with questions lizborom@gmail.com. See you at a competition soon and tag me in your pics doing your planks to win a free online session with me :)!
Take care of YOU, dancers,
Liz