What tips would you give your 16 year old self, starting full time Training?

I would want to remind myself to keep sight of my goals, don’t get caught up in worrying what other people think, or what other people are doing. Be completely yourself and work towards goals that are purely focused on being the best dancer you can be.
Make sure you dance with all the passion you have.

 

What is your favourite strengthening exercise to work on your arabesque? 

 

Creating a beautiful arabesque line is a balance between achieving greater flexibility in your back and strengthening those muscles to ensure an elegant strong line. 

I find the best way to do that is to do lots and lots of correctly placed arabesques! Funny that!
Every time you find yourself in arabesque, which is quite often, try to push that leg up a little higher than it was last time, whilst keeping your abdominals engaged and lengthening your back muscles. 

 

 

What do you do daily to increase your Flexibility ?

 

I am not naturally very flexible, so it is important for me to work on my flexibility daily. I have found that stretching followed by trying to then use the muscles to hold the stretched position without assistance, is a good way to equally stretch and strengthen at the same time.

I think the most important thing is to never stretch first thing in the morning before you have done anything else! After class or a workout, when your body, muscles and ligaments are warmer and more supple, is the optimum time for stretching. 

After barre in the morning I like to do a quick stretch out of my major muscles and then after a full day of rehearsals I love to do a bit of yoga, use my roller and a longer slower stretch out of my full body. This helps ensure my muscles aren’t tight and sore for the next day in the studio, as they can be if I forget to stretch properly.

 

 

How do you rehab from injury? 

 

So for me the most important part of rehab is listening to the professionals. Get a few different opinions, sure, but ultimately you do need to trust that they know what they are talking about and are trying to look out for your best interests. So as tempting as it is to jump back into class, it is important not to rush back into anything. Instead slowly build the strength back up in the injured part of your body as well as the muscle groups that are going to help support that area and prevent further or future issues.

Be patient. It is in a dancer’s nature to want to get back into the studio or on stage as quickly as possible, but not properly letting your body heal can just cause more damage in the long run.